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Utah man pleads guilty in death of Mackenzie Lueck

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-08/utah-man-pleads-guilty-in-death-of-mackenzie-lueck

A Utah man pleaded guilty Wednesday to strangling a college student from El Segundo whose disappearance over a year ago sparked a search that ended with the discovery of her charred remains in his backyard. Ayoola A. Ajayi acknowledged he planned the death of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck, whom he met on a dating app and arranged to meet in a park. After they returned to his home, he bound and strangled her, then burned and hid her body while police and loved ones searched for her, his lawyer said in court. Ajayi pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and desecration of a corpse in an agreement with prosecutors that removed the possibility of the death penalty. Prosecutors dropped charges of aggravated kidnapping and obstructing justice. Ajayi also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a different woman he met on a dating app. He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Salt Lake County Dist. Atty. Sim Gill said the guilty pleas allow Lueck’s parents to begin to get closure and a “measure of justice.” Gill said the family has asked for privacy. Lueck has been remembered as a bubbly, nurturing person who belonged to a sorority and was a part-time senior at the University of Utah studying kinesiology and pre-nursing. California The announcement by police that a Salt Lake City man was arrested on suspicion of killing University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck has sparked grief from her sorority sisters in Utah as well as her family in California. June 30, 2019 She went missing in June 2019, after returning from a trip home to El Segundo for her grandmother’s funeral. Lueck had met Ajayi, 32, on the site Seeking Arrangement, which bills itself as a way for wealthy “sugar daddies” to meet women known as “sugar babies,” his lawyer said. She took a Lyft to meet him in a park, prosecutors have said. Her phone was turned off a minute after the last text and never turned back on. Ajayi planned the slaying before the meeting at the park and turned off the video in his home-security system before he left to meet her, his lawyer Neal Hamilton said. When they returned to his Salt Lake City home, Ajayi tied her up and began to choke her. She tried to stop him, after which he put a belt around her neck, pushed her onto her stomach and strangled her, the attorney said. Ajayi then burned her body and buried the remains in his backyard, Hamilton said. After detectives came to his door to question him, he dug her up and buried her in a shallow grave in a canyon nearly 100 miles north of Salt Lake City. The search for Lueck went on for nearly two weeks before some of her remains were discovered in Ajayi’s backyard and he was arrested. He later revealed the location of her body in Logan Canyon, where she was found with her arms bound behind her. A native of Nigeria, Ajayi held a green card that allows him to legally work and live in the U.S., prosecutors have said. He was an information technology worker who had stints with high-profile companies and was briefly in the Army National Guard. Authorities have not discussed a motive for the killing. Ajayi said little at Wednesday’s hearing and occasionally hung his head. He was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, glasses and a blue surgical mask. He is expected to be formally sentenced Oct. 23. Ajayi also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing another woman he met on a dating app in 2018. They went to his house for dinner, and the abuse happened while they were watching television, he acknowledged. He pleaded guilty to forcible sexual abuse in that case. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor related to child pornography allegedly discovered on his devices during the investigation into Lueck’s death.

Vallejo approves emergency declaration to reform police department

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-07/vallejo-approves-emergency-declaration-to-reform-police-department

A San Francisco Bay Area city has declared a public safety emergency that allows officials to bypass normal channels to push through reforms in its scandal-ridden police department that is reeling from high crime rates, low morale and troubled community relations in the wake of shootings of minorities by officers. “Very brave step for all of us, but it’s something that needed to be done,” Mayor Bob Sampayan said as the Vallejo City Council unanimously approved the motion Tuesday night. City staff recommended the declaration, which allows the police chief and city manager to hire command staff and more quickly implement policy changes, although the city could risk litigation in doing so. The council also passed a broader police reform proposal directing the city manager and police chief to beef up community policing, provide options for independent oversight and find ways to improve public trust and transparency. California Vallejo cop fired over fatally shooting of Black man where officer shot so much he endangered others Oct. 1, 2020 The city of 120,000 faces “a crisis of legitimacy and trust” that demands emergency action, Vallejo spokeswoman Christina Lee said before the meeting. There have been more than 350 shootings and 22 homicides in the city this year, including an incident in August in which two people were killed and their 1-year-old child was shot. At the same time, police face mounting criticism and fiscal liability over shootings and misconduct by officers. Lee says two dozen federal civil rights cases and more than a dozen tort claims are pending that could cost the city $50 million as well as higher insurance premiums. Last month, Vallejo agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of a man who was shot and killed by an officer after being pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The man, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa, was fatally shot in June by the officer who thought he had a gun when he did not. Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, an organization that promotes best practices in policing, says he hasn’t heard of many cities declaring an emergency to address public safety. But it makes sense, he said. “When you have something as serious as this, you need to act quickly, and I think that’s what the city is saying. There’s a sense of urgency in what they need to do,” he said. About 30 members of the public spoke during the meeting, which was held online because of COVID-19 concerns. Some supported the plan as a way of reducing violence both in the streets and by police. But others said it was simply an effort to seize more power by local leaders and a police department they distrusted. “The real emergency is police brutality and complete lack of transparency and accountability in our local government,” commenter Melissa Smith said. “This is a department that continues to shoot unarmed Black and brown men.” The Vallejo Police Officers’ Assn. had argued that an emergency declaration would be an illegal power grab. It said the Police Department simply needs to hire more officers by offering better wages. Vallejo has a little more than 100 sworn officers, which city staff agree is insufficient for the population. Advocates of police reform are not persuaded that an emergency declaration will transform the department that has a longstanding reputation for violence, especially toward Black and Latino people. “Where’s my magic wand?” Councilwoman Katy Miessner asked before the vote. California The Vallejo Police Department has released the names of six officers involved in the fatal shooting of an aspiring rapper in a Taco Bell drive-thru, including one who was involved in the shooting death of another man last year. Feb. 22, 2019 Vallejo native and civil rights attorney Melissa Nold, who represents the families of people killed or harmed by police in Vallejo, said before the meeting that there’s no point in adding more command officers to the ranks if the department isn’t getting rid of bad officers. “It’s sort of like putting paint over something that’s dry rotted,” she said. “It doesn’t change the culture of the department.” Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams, who is Black and was hired in 2019, has pledged to make reforms recommended in May by an outside group commissioned by the city. The OIR Group found that the 2008 fiscal crisis, which led to the city seeking bankruptcy protection, devastated the department and equipment remains notoriously out of date, salaries are below market and the workload demanding.

Johnny Nash, singer of ‘I Can See Clearly Now,’ dies at 80

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-06/johnny-nash-singer-of-i-can-see-clearly-now-dies-at-80

Johnny Nash, a singer-songwriter, actor and producer who rose from pop crooner to early reggae star to the creator and performer of the million-selling anthem “I Can See Clearly Now,” died Tuesday, his son said. Nash, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes at home in Houston, the city of his birth, his son, Johnny Nash Jr., told the Associated Press. He was 80. Nash was in his early 30s when “I Can See Clearly Now” topped the charts in 1972 and he had lived several show business lives. In the mid-1950s, he was a teenager covering “Darn That Dream” and other standards, his light tenor likened to the voice of Johnny Mathis. A decade later, he was co-running a record company, had become a rare American-born singer of reggae and helped launch the career of his friend Bob Marley. Nash praised “the vibes of this little island” when speaking of Jamaica, and he was among the first artists to bring reggae to U.S. audiences. He peaked commercially in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he had hits with “Hold Me Tight,” “You Got Soul,” an early version of Marley’s “Stir It Up” and “I Can See Clearly Now,” still his signature song. Reportedly written by Nash while recovering from cataract surgery, “I Can See Clearly Now” was a story of overcoming hard times that itself raised the spirits of countless listeners, with its swelling pop-reggae groove, promise of a “bright, bright sunshiny day” and Nash’s gospel-styled exclamation midway, “Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies!,” a backing chorus lifting the words into the heavens. Rock critic Robert Christgau would call the song, which Nash also produced, “2 minutes and 48 seconds of undiluted inspiration.” Although overlooked by Grammys judges, “I Can See Clearly Now” was covered by artists ranging from Ray Charles and Donny Osmond to Soul Asylum and Jimmy Cliff, whose version was featured in the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings.” It also turned up everywhere from “Thelma and Louise” to a Windex commercial, and in recent years it was often referred to on websites about cataract procedures. “I feel that music is universal. Music is for the ears and not the age,” Nash told Cameron Crowe, then writing for Zoo World Magazine, in 1973. “There are some people who say that they hate music. I’ve run into a few, but I’m not sure I believe them.” The fame of “I Can See Clearly Now” outlasted Nash’s own. He rarely made the charts in the years following, even as he released such albums as “Tears On My Pillow” and “Celebrate Life,” and by the 1990s had essentially left the business. His last album, “Here Again,” came out in 1986, although in recent years he was reportedly digitizing his old work, some of which was lost in a 2008 fire at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Nash was married three times and had two children. He had loved riding horses since childhood and as an adult lived with his family on a ranch in Houston, where for years he also managed rodeo shows at the Johnny Nash Indoor Arena. In addition to his son, he is survived by daughter Monica and wife Carli Nash. John Lester Nash Jr., whose father was a chauffeur, grew up singing in church and by age 13 had his own show on Houston television. Within a few years, he had a national following through his appearances on “The Arthur Godfrey Show,” his hit cover of Doris Day’s “A Very Special Love” and a collaboration with peers Paul Anka and George Hamilton IV on the wholesome “The Teen Commandments (of Love).” He also had roles in the films “Take a Giant Step,” in which he starred as a high school student rebelling against how the Civil War is taught, and “Key Witness,” a crime drama starring Dennis Hopper and Jeffrey Hunter. His career faded during the first half of the 1960s, but he found a new sound, and renewed success, in the mid-60s after having a rhythm and blues hit with “Let’s Move and Groove Together” and meeting Marley and fellow Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston during a visit to Jamaica. Over the next few years their careers would be closely aligned. Nash persuaded his manager and business partner Danny Sims, with whom he formed JAD Records, to sign up Marley and the Wailers, who recorded “Reggae On Broadway” and dozens of other songs for JAD. Nash brought Marley to London in the early 1970s when Nash was the bigger star internationally and with Marley gave an impromptu concert at a local boys school. Nash’s covers of “Stir It Up” and “Guava Jelly” helped expose Marley’s writing to a general audience. The two also collaborated on the ballad “You Poured Sugar On Me,” which appeared on the “I Can See Clearly Now” album. After the 1980s, Nash became a mystery to fans and former colleagues as he stopped recording and performing and rarely spoke to the press or anyone in the music industry. In 1973, he told Crowe that he anticipated years of hard work: “What I want to do is be a part of this business and to express myself and get some kind of acceptance by making people happy.” A quarter century later, he explained to the Gleaner during a visit to Jamaica that it was “difficult to develop major music projects” without touring and promoting and that he preferred to be with his family. “I think I’ve achieved gratification in terms of the people I’ve had the chance to meet. I never won the Grammy, but I don’t put my faith in things of that nature,” he added. “A lifetime body of work I can be proud of is more important to me. And the special folksy blend to the music I make, that’s what it is all about.”

Government probes Microsoft's effort to boost diversity

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-07/government-probes-microsofts-effort-to-boost-diversity

Microsoft Corp. says the U.S. Labor Department is scrutinizing the company’s efforts to boost Black employment and leadership. The tech giant disclosed in a blog post Tuesday that it received a letter from the agency last week asking about the company’s June pledge to double the number of Black and African American managers, senior individual contributors and senior leaders by 2025. “The letter asked us to prove that the actions we are taking to improve opportunities are not illegal race-based decisions,” said Dev Stahlkopf, Microsoft’s general counsel. “Emphatically, they are not.” Chief Executive Satya Nadella made the June hiring commitment in response to Black Lives Matter protests and as part of a broader message to employees about racial injustice and promoting a culture of inclusivity at the Redmond, Wash., company. It’s not uncommon for tech companies to publicly tout efforts to increase staff diversity, given the industry’s longstanding dearth of Black, Latino and female workers in technical and leadership positions. But this time they are running into scrutiny by a Trump administration that has sought to intervene in universities’ and other institutions’ approaches to race and discrimination. President Trump signed an executive order last month “to combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating” in the federal workforce and among federal contractors. Microsoft is a major federal contractor, supplying its Office workplace software and cloud computing services to multiple government agencies. In a statement, the Labor Department said it “appreciates Microsoft’s assurance on its website that it is not engaging in racial preferences or quotas in seeking to reach its affirmative action and outreach goals.” The agency added that it “looks forward to working with Microsoft to complete its inquiry.” The letter from the Labor Department gives Microsoft until Oct. 29 to explain how it plans to carry out its pledge regarding Black leadership. The Labor Department did not respond to a question about whether it has started similar inquiries into other companies with federal contracts. The Trump administration’s move contrasts with a flurry of efforts by private companies and institutions to increase racial diversity in the wake of the Black Lives Matters protests. There has been a particular emphasis on bringing more Black people into leadership positions. More than 40 private and publicly traded companies have joined a pledge to add at least one Black member to their board of directors by 2021. Target Corp. pledged last month to increase the representation of its Black employees by 20% over the next three years. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced an initiative to recruit more bankers and traders from historically Black colleges. Other firms that have announced similar hiring or promotion goals include Salesforce.com Inc., Mastercard Inc. and Accenture. Glassdoor, the jobs site that lets users review their employers anonymously, added a feature for users to rate companies on their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Glassdoor said the feature was added partly in response to a 63% jump this summer in reviews mentioning diversity, following protests over the police killing of George Floyd. The Labor Department said its Microsoft inquiry follows a 1965 order signed by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson banning discriminatory hiring among federal contractors. Trump’s more recent executive order also references Johnson’s order but is focused on eliminating anti-racism training sessions that it describes as “blame-focused.” It sets up a hotline for complaints about workplace training sessions.

Trump administration to sharply limit skilled-worker visas

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-06/trump-administration-to-sharply-limit-skilled-worker-visas

The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to sharply limit visas for skilled workers, a move officials said was a priority amid job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move comes days after a U.S. district judge sided with businesses that argued President Trump had exceeded his authority in placing a current limit on the visas. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor officials said Tuesday that new rules for what’s known as the H1-B program will restrict who can obtain a work visa and will impose additional salary requirements on companies seeking to hire foreign workers. Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said about one-third of the people who have applied for H1-B visas in recent years would be denied under the new rules, which also will limit the number of specialty occupations available under the program. President Trump issued an order in June temporarily suspending the H-1B program until the end of the year. The new rules reflect a broader effort by his administration to curb both legal and illegal immigration, an issue important to Trump’s base, even if it’s less prominent in his campaign this year than in 2016. A new requirement that employers pay higher prevailing wages to foreign workers will take effect in the coming days, reflecting the need to help the job market recover from the coronavirus shutdown, Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said. “Immediate action is needed,” he said. The H-1B program was created under President George H.W. Bush to help companies fill specialized jobs as the tech sector began to boom, and it was harder to find qualified workers. Many companies say they still need the program to fill key positions. Critics of the program include labor advocates as well as people who seek limits on legal immigration. Supporters argue that H-1B holders fill crucial needs and don’t necessarily take jobs from Americans, but rather help expand the economy and create more opportunity. Increasing the required wages will especially hurt start-ups and smaller enterprises that may be unable to meet the increased requirements, said Cornell University Law School professor Steve Yale-Loehr, an expert in immigration law. “Companies may decide to offshore jobs overseas, hurting U.S. workers,” Yale-Loehr said. Cuccinelli and Pizzella said the program has been abused to allow companies to displace American workers with less expensive employees from overseas. “U.S. workers are being ousted from good paying, middle-class jobs and replaced with non-U.S. workers,” Pizzella said. “It has also caused U.S. wages in some instances to stagnate. That is wrong.” Among the new rules are significant limits on “offsite” firms that bring in large numbers of H-1B visa holders and then provide those workers under contract to other companies for a fee, a loophole that has been the subject of fraud and other abuse. There would also be increased workplace inspections and additional oversight of the H-1B program, Cuccinelli said. The U.S. can issue up to 85,000 H-1B visas per year in technology, life sciences, healthcare and other sectors. They are typically issued for an initial period of three years and can be renewed. People from India and China make up the majority of the estimated 500,000 H-1B visa holders in the U.S. Officials said the Labor Department rules would take effect immediately after publication in the federal register this week, while those that fall under the Department of Homeland Security would be adopted after a public comment period.

Trump halts COVID-19 stimulus talks until after election

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-06/trump-halts-covid-19-relief-talks-until-after-election

President Donald Trump abandoned COVID-19 relief talks on Tuesday, saying they won’t resume until after the election. The move came as the chairman of the Federal Reserve said that further fiscal intervention is needed to prevent the economy from spiraling downward. Trump tweeted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “not negotiating in good faith” and said he’s asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to direct all his focus before the election into confirming his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. How do you vote by mail? What issues are on the local ballot in Los Angeles County? Follow the latest news on the presidential race. Get information you need on the upcoming election. “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted. Trump’s move came immediately after he spoke with the top GOP leaders in Congress, who had been warily watching talks between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Pelosi. Many Senate Republicans had signaled they would not be willing to go along with any stimulus legislation that topped $1 trillion, and GOP aides had been privately dismissive of the prospects for a deal. Last week, the White House said it was backing a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and dangled the possibility of a COVID-19 relief bill of $1.6 trillion. But that offer was rejected by Pelosi. Business Many industries have taken a severe hit, but the state’s housing market should enjoy a quick recovery, a UCLA forecast predicts. Sept. 30, 2020 Pelosi had spoken with Mnuchin earlier Tuesday. After Trump’s tweets spiking the negotiations, Pelosi said Trump was “unwilling to crush the virus” and “refuses to give real help to poor children, the unemployed, and America’s hard working families.” Trump broke off talks after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned earlier Tuesday that the economic recovery remains fragile seven months into coronavirus pandemic without further economic stimulus. Stocks dropped suddenly on Wall Street after Trump ordered a stop to negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung instantly from a gain of about 200 points to a loss of about 300 points. Powell, in remarks before the National Association for Business Economics, made clear that too little support “would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses.” Trump cited Pelosi’s demands for state and local governments as a key reason for pulling out of the talks. Pelosi and Mnuchin were far apart on that issue — with Trump offering $250 billion while Pelosi was holding out for more than $400 billion. And Pelosi was asking for a higher weekly jobless benefit and refundable tax credits for the working poor, among other provisions. The negotiations started in July and were on pause for weeks before recently reheating. Pelosi was insisting on an aid package exceeding $2 trillion — roughly the cost of the landmark CARES Act in March. Trump said Pelosi’s offer was $2.4 trillion.

Eager to get back on campaign trail, President Trump offers false claims on COVID-19 as he recovers

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-06/trump-back-at-white-house-compares-covid-to-seasonal-flu

Still sickened by COVID-19, President Trump plunged back on Tuesday into downplaying the disease that hospitalized him for three days, one that has, so far, killed more than 210,000 Americans. He compared it anew to the seasonal flu and signaled he planned to return soon to the campaign trail. Back at the White House after a dramatic helicopter return from the military hospital where he was receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19, Trump’s attitude alarmed infectious disease experts. And it suggested his own illness had not caused him to rethink his often-cavalier attitude toward the disease, which has also infected the first lady and more than a dozen White House aides and associates. Anxious to project strength just four weeks from election day, Trump, who is still contagious with the virus, tweeted Tuesday morning that he was planning to attend next week’s debate with Democrat Joe Biden in Miami. “It will be great!” he said. Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!! Trump’s doctors have not provided an update on his condition since Monday afternoon, shortly before his departure from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His physician, Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, offered then that the president would not be fully “out of the woods” for another week. Trump returned to the White House on Monday night aboard Marine One, gingerly climbing the South Portico steps before removing his mask and giving a double thumbs-up from the terrace, where aides had arranged American flags for the sunset occasion. He entered the White House, where aides were visible milling about the Blue Room, without wearing a face covering. Politics Debate planners add precautions for the Kamala Harris-Mike Pence matchup as White House staff and Republican officials test positive. Oct. 5, 2020 In a video released later, Trump offered a nonchalant take on the virus, contravening the public health warnings of his own administration that Americans take the threat seriously and to take precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the disease as cases continue to spike across the country “Don’t be afraid of it,” Trump said. “You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines.” His remarks were strong, but he was taking deeper breaths than usual as he delivered them. pic.twitter.com/OxmRcZ5nUZ Left unsaid was that the president’s experience with the disease was far from typical, as his doctors rushed him onto experimental antiviral drugs and prescribed an aggressive course of steroids that would be unavailable to the average patient. While most must cope with their symptoms — and fear of whether they’ll take a turn for the worse — at home and alone, Trump had been staying in the presidential suite of one of the nation’s best hospitals, and he’s now at the White House, where there is a team of doctors on call with 24-hour monitoring. I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago! On Tuesday, Trump also returned to his previous comparisons of COVID-19 to the seasonal flu. “Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu,” he tweeted. “Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” World & Nation Acknowledging that tiny particles that linger in the air can spread the coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the public to avoid crowded, poorly ventilated rooms. Oct. 5, 2020 In fact, COVID-19 has already proved to be a more potent killer, particularly among older populations, than seasonal flu, and has shown indications of having long-term effects on the health of younger people it infects. Just days before, Trump suggested he had finally grasped the true nature of the virus, saying in a video, “I get it,” moments before he ventured out of the hospital while contagious to salute cheering supporters by motorcade — an outing that disregarded precautions meant to contain the virus. Trump’s efforts to play down the threat of the virus in hopes of propping up the economy ahead of the election have drawn bipartisan criticism. Science & Medicine Trump’s doctors treated his COVID-19 with corticosteroid drug dexamethasone. That suggests his early response to the coronavirus spurred serious worry. Oct. 5, 2020 Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told the Houston Chronicle editorial board that Trump had “let his guard down” in his effort to show that the country was moving beyond the virus and had created “confusion” about how to stay safe. “We have to be realistic in this: COVID is a complete threat to the American population,” Dr. David Nace of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said of Trump’s comment. “Most of the people aren’t so lucky as the president,” with an in-house medical unit and access to experimental treatments, added Nace, an expert on infections in older adults. “It’s an unconscionable message,” agreed Dr. Sadiya Khan of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “I would go so far as to say that it may precipitate or worsen spread.” Politics Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a televised town hall as Trump tried to downplay his own COVID-19 case following hospitalization. Oct. 5, 2020 Likewise, Biden, who spent more than 90 minutes on the debate stage with Trump last week, said during an NBC town hall Monday night that he was glad Trump seemed to be recovering well, “but there’s a lot to be concerned about — 210,000 people have died. I hope no one walks away with the message that it’s not a problem.” Biden tested negative for the virus on Sunday. Biden said he’d “listen to the science” ahead of the upcoming debates, adding that the campaigns and the debate commission should be “very cautious” in making plans. “If scientists say that it’s safe, that distances are safe, then I think that’s fine,” he said. “I’ll do whatever the experts say.” Conley said that because of Trump’s unusual level of treatment so early after discovery of his illness he was in “uncharted territory.” But the doctor also was upbeat at an afternoon briefing and said the president could resume his normal schedule once “there is no evidence of live virus still present.” I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 can be contagious for as many as — and should isolate for at least — 10 days. Trump’s arrival back at the White House raised new questions about how the administration was going to protect other officials from a disease that remained rampant in the president’s body. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced she had tested positive for the virus Monday morning and was entering quarantine. Science & Medicine When President Trump said he had tested positive for the coronavirus, he became ground zero for the most high-profile contact-tracing effort of the pandemic. Oct. 7, 2020 There were also lingering questions about potential long-term effects to the president — and even when he first came down with the virus. Conley repeatedly declined to share results of medical scans of Trump’s lungs, saying he was not at liberty to discuss the information because Trump did not waive doctor-patient confidentiality on the subject. COVID-19 has been known to cause significant damage to the lungs of some patients. Conley also declined to share the date of Trump’s most recent negative test for the virus — a critical point for contact tracing and understanding where Trump was in the course of the disease. At the hospital, doctors revealed that his blood oxygen level had dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick. Trump left the hospital after receiving a fourth dose of the antiviral drug remdesivir Monday evening, Conley said. He will receive the fifth and final dose Tuesday at the White House. Vice President Mike Pence returned to the campaign trail moments after Trump announced he would soon leave the hospital. The vice president boarded Air Force Two to fly to Salt Lake City, where he is to face off against Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris on Wednesday.

Michelle Obama accuses Trump of racism, urges Americans alienated by politics to vote

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-06/the-latest-michelle-obama-goes-after-trump-in-new-video

Michelle Obama, in a video released Tuesday, accused President Trump of racism and of lying to the American people about the deadliness of COVID-19, and she encouraged young voters and people of color to make a plan to cast their ballots. “It’s painful to think that months into this crisis, this is still where we are, with no clear plan, no peace of mind. And the worst part is, it didn’t have to be like this,” she said in the video, titled “Closing Argument” released by the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. The former first lady did not hold back in criticizing Trump, saying that he failed where others succeeded in containing the virus. During the 24-minute video, she also accused the president of telling racist lies “about how minorities will destroy the suburbs” to whip up fear and distract “from his breathtaking failures.” Young voters of color and others who feel alienated by the political process “cannot afford to withhold our votes or waste them on a protest candidate,” she said. Politics Trump’s and Biden’s reactions to racial injustice and protests illuminate how they approached the issue of race throughout their political careers. Oct. 3, 2020 “Politics has never been my thing,” said Obama, who has turned down invitations to run for office. But she has been an influential voice in politics, often encouraging young people to vote, and in discussing race in America. She spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, where she said Trump had failed to meet the moment during a time of racial reckoning and a deadly pandemic. The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has now surpassed 210,000. Politics The U.S. death toll — 200,000 — from the coronavirus has passed the total from WWI and the Vietnam War combined. Here’s a look at COVID-19’s place in history. Sept. 22, 2020 Trump knew COVID-19 was deadly, she said, yet he ignored advice from the country’s top medical experts and failed to secure testing for families and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. She noted that more Americans have died from COVID-19 than were killed in the Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Korean wars combined. “Our commander in chief, sadly, has been missing in action. And his willful mismanagement of the COVID crisis is just one example of his negligence,” she said. She went on to list others: his silence as wildfires raged on the West Coast; his disparagement of peaceful protesters; his dismissive comments about veterans and the war dead. World & Nation A new report details multiple instances of President Trump making disparaging remarks about members of the U.S. military who have been captured or killed, including referring to the American war dead in a cemetery in France as “losers” and “suckers.” Sept. 3, 2020 Samantha Zager, deputy national press secretary for the Trump campaign, called Obama’s words “baseless attacks.” Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s communications director, defended the president’s response to the crisis and claimed Biden would have handled it worse. The former vice president, he said, “has offered nothing but hyperpartisan, useless criticisms.” In her video, Obama said the former vice president, if elected, would issue free COVID-19 testing and work with other leaders on a national strategy to mandate masks and contain the virus, two things Trump has not done. Biden “will listen to doctors and scientists to make sure that any vaccine will be safe, effective and available to everyone,” she said. She also addressed the issue of racial injustice in the U.S. One thing that Trump is good at is spreading fear, confusion and lies, she said, referencing his comments about the mostly peaceful protests over police killings of Black men and women. Obama, the descendant of an enslaved person, called on undecided voters to consider what it’s like for “all those folks like me and my ancestors, the moms and dads who work their fingers to the bone,” who live up to the values the country claims to hold — truth, honor, decency — “only to have those efforts met by scorn, not just by your fellow citizens, but by a sitting president.” “Imagine how it feels to have a suspicion cast on you from the day you were born, simply because of the hue of your skin. To walk around your own country scared that someone’s unjustified fear of you could put you in harm’s way,” she said. To young, Black and brown voters considering sitting out the election, Obama encouraged them to make a plan to vote, saying: “We don’t have the luxury to assume that things are going to turn out okay.” “Work like this may not feel as impactful as attending a protest,” she said, “but trust me, it is absolutely the most important thing that we can do right now, to save our democracy.”

Supreme Court reinstates South Carolina ballot witness requirement

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-05/high-court-reinstates-s-carolina-ballot-witness-requirement

The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a requirement that South Carolina residents voting by mail in November’s election get a witness to sign their ballots. Democrats had sought to have the requirement put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Republicans had defended it as deterring fraud. While the high court reinstated the requirement as a lawsuit over it proceeds, voters have already started returning ballots. More than 200,000 absentee ballots have been mailed and 18,000 returned, according to the state’s election commission. The court said that any ballots cast before the court’s action Monday evening “and received within two days of this order may not be rejected for failing to comply with the witness requirement.” State Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick cheered the decision. “Despite the Democrats’ efforts to hijack a pandemic and use it to meddle with our election laws, they’ve lost,” he said in a statement. “We’re pleased the Supreme Court reinstated the witness signature requirement and recognized its importance in helping to prevent election fraud.” South Carolina has had a witness requirement for absentee voters since 1953. Under the current law, voters returning mail-in ballots swear an oath printed on the return envelope that confirms they are eligible to vote and that the ballot inside is theirs, among other things. The oath has to be witnessed by one other person who has to sign below the voter’s signature and write their address. Pointing to the coronavirus pandemic, state and national Democratic Party organizations and several individual voters challenged the requirement and other parts of state election law. And a judge blocked the witness requirement before the state’s primary in June. After the primary, state lawmakers made changes to the state’s election law, including allowing all residents to vote absentee in November. But they left the witness requirement in place. U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, an appointee of President Obama, late last month put the witness requirement on hold for the presidential election. She wrote that it could increase the risk of some voters of contracting the virus and require other voters already infected with the virus to risk exposing witnesses. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reinstated the requirement before the full appeals court reversed course and put it on hold again. Approximately a dozen states require mail-in ballot envelopes to be signed by one or more witnesses or a notary.

New Caledonia voters choose to stay part of France

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-04/new-caledonia-voters-choose-to-stay-part-of-france

A majority of voters in New Caledonia, an archipelago in in the South Pacific, chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence Sunday, leading French President Emmanuel Macron to call for dialogue, as the referendum marked a crucial step in a three-decade decolonization effort. In a televised address from Paris, Macron welcomed “an expression of confidence in the republic with a deep feeling of gratitude ... and modesty.” Macron promised those in favor of independence, “This is with you, all together, that we will build New Caledonia tomorrow.” He praised the “success” of the vote and called on New Caledonia residents to “look to the future.” World & Nation Native Kanak and descendants of French and other settlers paraded a giant wooden statue Saturday through the streets of Noumea on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia, turning the 152nd anniversary of its annexation by France into a celebration of ethnic diversity. Sept. 25, 2005 “We are facing our history in New Caledonia, a colonial history,” Macron said. “And we are trying to overcome it so that we are not trapped in it. We know that today we are at a crossroads.” The overseas ministry said 53.3% of the voters who participated in the referendum Sunday chose to maintain ties with France, while 46.7% supported independence. The vote was marked by high turnout. More than 85% of voters had cast their ballots one hour before poll stations closed, according to the overseas ministry. Some polling stations in Noumea, the capital, closed an hour late because people were still waiting in long lines to vote. Sunday’s independence referendum was among the final steps of longstanding plans to settle tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France. A peace deal between rival factions was achieved in 1988. A decade later, the Noumea Agreement granted New Caledonia political power and broad autonomy and planned the organization of up to three successive referendums. Two years ago, 56.4% of people in a similar referendum voted against independence. A third referendum may be organized by 2022. New Caledonian politicians acknowledged Sunday the need for dialogue between pro- and anti-independence groups. The president of the archipelago’s government, Thierry Santa, is among those who want New Caledonia to remain a French territory. He stressed the “deep division” in the population. “That’s up to us political leaders to have the intelligence to sit around a table and discuss what we want for the future,” Santa said. Sonia Backes, president of the South province, is also in favor of keeping ties with France. “The ‘no’ won one more time, but we need to take into account all voters, including independence supporters,” she said. The president of the Congress and a leading figure in the pro-independence movement, Roch Wamytan, vowed to “continue to fight for the independence of our country.” The president of the pro-independence Caledonian Union party, Daniel Goa, called on residents to “not let themselves be overwhelmed by emotions and welcome the result in a pacifist atmosphere.” The archipelago has a population of 270,000, including native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers. New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

Delays in verifying mail-in ballots in some battleground states will slow election tally

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-04/delays-in-verifying-mail-in-ballots-will-slow-election-tally

Voters awaiting results in some of the key presidential battleground states on election night should be prepared to keep waiting, thanks to obstacles that will slow the count for what is expected to be a crush of mailed-in ballots amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many states allow local officials to start processing those ballots weeks before election day or even as they arrive. But in some of the most crucial states on the electoral map, rules prevent or give clerks little time to begin sorting ballots and verifying signatures before the election. That’s priming a scenario in which results may come in days — or even weeks — later. In an election cycle that has seen President Trump baselessly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail voting, many fear that any delay in results could give the president more room to continue his attacks. Democrats are requesting mail-in ballots at higher rates than Republicans in many states, giving rise to the notion that Trump could enjoy election night leads — a so-called “red mirage” — only to see that edge slowly vanish as mail-in ballots are tallied over the days that follow. Potential problems are looming most acutely in Pennsylvania, which is being hotly contested by Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Republican state lawmakers there have not allowed additional time to process ballots that arrive before election day, despite pleas from local election officials. Pennsylvania is expected to see 3 million or more mail-in ballots — half of this year’s total and a ten-fold increase from 2016. Registered Democrats are applying at a rate of nearly 3 to 1 over Republicans. “The longer it takes for the election results to be known, the greater the risk that they’re going to be questioned and second-guessed, and that we’re going to be that national news story that we really don’t want to be,” said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Assn. of Pennsylvania. The seemingly mundane administrative task of processing ballots — verifying signatures and other voter information to ensure legitimacy, and separating them from their envelope so they are ready to be tabulated — essentially readies ballots for counting on election day. That helps speed up the release of results. County officials have pushed Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers to set aside a larger partisan fight and let them process mail-in ballots before election day. They argue that doing so will expedite vote counting amid concerns that the presidential election result will hang in limbo over a drawn-out count. During a recent rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said the only way he will lose the state is if Democrats “steal the election.” “A lot of people are worried that if it takes a long time to count, people are going to use that to say we can’t trust the results, when in fact it’s the exact opposite,” said Lawrence Norden, director of the Brennan Center’s Election Reform Program. “It’s taking so long because of all these security measures to make sure the count is as accurate as possible.” In Michigan, another battleground this fall, the Republican-controlled Legislature has approved a measure to let clerks begin some ballot processing in cities or townships with at least 25,000 people the day before election day. Democrats had asked for at least three days of processing time and for no population-based limits. “That one day can really make a difference,” said the bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Ruth Johnson, a former secretary of state. Johnson said allotting additional days would have been difficult because the new law will require volunteer election inspectors from both major political parties to observe the removal of ballots from their outer envelopes. “You need to make sure that there’s integrity,” she said. Still, the timing is tight. The day before election day already is a busy one for local election officials scrambling to get ready for in-person voters. Sonja Buffa, clerk for Warren, a city of roughly 135,000 people outside Detroit, has sent upward of 30,000 absentee ballots so far with hundreds more going out every day. “The day before is the worst day,” Buffa said. “I wish I had three days so we could spread it out and not be so stressed.” Democrats in Wisconsin, another closely watched state, sued in federal court to allow for absentee ballots to be tabulated before election day. They argued that the law, which had not been an issue before the pandemic when absentee voting was about 6% of all ballots cast, made it difficult for clerks to address problems with the ballots. But the judge was unmoved, noting in a September ruling that state law already allows for errors made on the outside of absentee ballots to be corrected before election day. It is on the outside of the ballot that voters must have a witness signature, address and date, the source of most of the errors seen in absentee ballots. The judge also said that extending the deadline for counting absentee ballots by six days — a ruling Republicans vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — sufficiently addresses the concern about not being able to count absentee ballots before election day. Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said “the earlier you start counting and the wider the time frame before you normally do it can introduce some risk into the processes and election integrity.” In a normal election, when about 5% of Georgia voters cast absentee ballots, scanning and tabulating them on election day isn’t a problem, said Gabriel Sterling, voting system implementation manager for the secretary of state’s office. But with fears about potential coronavirus exposure, nearly 1.2 million people voted absentee in the primary, about 50% of the total turnout. With such a dramatic increase, county election officials would be overwhelmed if they had to wait until election day to process ballots, Sterling said. The state election board implemented a rule before the June primary to allow county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots eight days before election day, as long as they aren’t actually tabulated until Nov. 3. Anticipating an even greater flood of absentee ballots this fall, the board extended that to 15 days. “If we had not done this, the system would have broken down,” Sterling said. “I do genuinely feel bad for those states where there’s a hard law against it.”

South African coffin maker saw COVID-19 at work and at home

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-04/south-african-coffin-maker-saw-covid-19-at-work-and-at-home

The coffin maker knew death too well. The boxes were stacked in his echoing workshop like the prows of ships waiting for passengers. COVID-19 was turning his business upside down. Then it moved into his home. Casey Pillay’s wife worked as a midwife, delivering babies for coronavirus-positive mothers in Johannesburg, the epicenter of the pandemic in South Africa — once fifth in the world in number of cases — and on the continent. That she would be infected, they knew, was a matter of time. When she fell ill during the country’s surge in cases, she retreated to the main bedroom. Pillay withdrew to a bedroom next door. Scared, he barely slept, managing a few hours before dawn as his wife wrestled with some of the worst days of her life. World & Nation Bosnia’s coronavirus deniers have grown more aggressive in recent months as the number of confirmed virus cases rise in the small Balkan nation. “I’d literally be on eggshells listening to what she was going through,” Pillay said Tuesday. “I would go in every now and then, fully kitted up, just to check vitals, whether she needed oxygen. When she recovered, we sat down and had a chat. She was really scared because at one stage she thought she was gonna die.” It was a blessing in disguise, he said, to see someone with COVID-19 recover after so much exposure to death through his work. Pillay, a manager at the coffin-making business, said about 10 colleagues also were infected. All are now OK. Their survival reflects the relatively low death toll from COVID-19 in South Africa, and in Africa in general, as the continent appears to defy dire predictions that the virus would cause massive numbers of deaths. Life has edged back toward normal after a surge in infections in South Africa in June and July that threatened to overwhelm public hospitals. Many of the more than 1 million graves that Gauteng province, home of Johannesburg, once hurriedly mapped out have gone unused. Still, the toll from COVID-19 — which has killed more than 16,000 people in South Africa, nearly half of the continent’s more than 35,000 deaths — has been painful, and the world surpassing 1 million confirmed deaths has again led to reflection. “It has been a crazy, crazy, crazy couple of months,” Pillay said. The need for coffins rose and fell as South Africa’s lockdown levels changed, but overall, he said, “business went down.” Under the strictest lockdown measures, so few people were driving in South Africa that the country’s terrible rate of vehicular deaths plummeted. And alcohol sales were banned, “so you weren’t having people fighting, murdering each other,” Pillay said. “Unfortunately, our whole business thrives on people dying.” As the lockdown eased step by step and people were “not being disciplined” and going around without masks, the number of virus deaths increased. Now, a sense of normalcy is returning. But COVID-19 changed everything. The price of basic materials shot up as “every Tom, Dick and Harry became an essential provider,” Pillay said. Suddenly, a box of gloves was changing hands five times, with everyone taking a cut. What once cost $4.70 became $11.70 or $13. World & Nation An international effort to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest is facing potential shortages of money, planes and the vaccines. Pillay scrambled to keep his workshop open and safe as orders rolled in. “The unfortunate part is, you’ve got so many workers and machines and can only do so much a day,” he said. The workshop bustles with people carrying raw wood, sanding it and attaching polished handles. And the entire nature of mourning in South Africa changed. The government said COVID-19 burials should happen right away instead of waiting for the usual weekend funerals. “You had undertakers who now needed boxes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” Pillay said. A body now had to fit into three body bags, then the coffin, and “go straight into the grave.” With the number of people limited at funerals and graveyards, “people went for the cheapest boxes,” Pillay said. In normal times, even the poorest of the poor in South Africa “want to do the best, a kind of show-off thing, a bragging right for them” with quality coffins for their loved ones. Now, there is little time to appreciate it, and few people to impress. Sometimes, mourners could only park on the side of the road and watch the vehicle carrying the body drive by. Pillay believes that the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, along with South Africans’ relative youth and the perceived resilience of immune systems, will help his countrymen survive the next wave of infections that health experts are expecting. Again, it’s when, not if. Pillay already is watching cases rise again in Britain, in Spain. “Yes, it’s imminent,” he said. “Definitely.”

Minnesota congressmen criticized for taking Delta flight after flying with Trump

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-03/minnesota-congressmen-flew-delta-after-flying-with-trump

Three Minnesota congressmen are facing backlash over taking a commercial flight home from Washington, D.C., on Friday night just two days after they shared Air Force One with President Trump. U.S. Reps. Pete Stauber, Tom Emmer and Jim Hagedorn all were on the same Delta Air Lines flight despite the airline’s restrictions on passengers recently exposed to COVID-19. Trump announced early Friday he had tested positive for the virus. Delta’s policy says customers who know they were exposed to the virus in the last 14 days cannot travel on the company’s aircraft. The airline defines exposure as face-to-face contact with someone carrying the virus, or sustained contact for more than 15 minutes less than six feet apart. Ken Martin, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said the three Republican congressmen put the health and safety of other passengers at serious risk. Hagedorn pushed back in a post on his campaign Facebook page Saturday morning, saying the three men had tested negative and had not been exposed to someone carrying the virus longer than 15 minutes and closer than six feet. He said the men also informed the airline and the flight’s captain of their situation, and the airline “made the decision to fly based upon the facts.” Politics A new timeline from President Trump’s doctors, if accurate, would mean Trump held events while knowing he was sick, potentially exposing supporters, employees and others. The White House quickly tried to walk back some of the comments. Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the flight was less than 40% full and that no one left the plane before it took off to protest the men’s presence. Another Delta spokesman, Anthony Black, told the Associated Press on Saturday that he did not know what other passengers on the flight were told about the situation. Black confirmed the airplane was held for about an hour until the airline’s operations center in Atlanta cleared it to fly. He said Delta was reviewing the matter to see whether proper procedures were followed. A top Minnesota Republican who greeted Trump at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday said he tested negative for the coronavirus. State House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said in a statement that he got tested Friday morning and obtained the results Saturday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Gamma drenches coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-03/tropical-storm-gamma-drenches-coast-of-mexicos-yucatan-peninsula

Tropical Storm Gamma hit the resort-dotted coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula at near-hurricane force on Saturday, flooding streets, knocking down trees and stranding people trying to return from outlying islands. The storm came ashore near Tulum with maximum sustained winds of nearly 70 mph — 4 mph short of hurricane force, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. By midafternoon, winds had dipped to 65 mph, and it was centered about 35 miles north-northwest of Tulum, moving to the northwest at 8 mph. Forecasters said the biggest threat to the area, which recently reopened to tourism after a pandemic shutdown, was likely the torrential rain and possible flooding, with as much as 10 to 15 inches possible over the northeastern part of the peninsula. The state’s tourism department reported Friday on Twitter that more than 41,000 tourists were present in Quintana Roo, with hotels in Cancun and Cozumel already at more than 30% occupancy. Social media accounts of Quintana Roo’s state government showed police removing people from vulnerable shacks and removing downed trees. The storm forced suspension of sea ferry services between Cancun and Playa del Carmen with the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. The storm was projected to emerge from the northern edge of the Yucatan on Sunday and then curve toward the west-southwest into the lower Gulf of Mexico, flinging heavy rain across a large part of southern Mexico and Central America. Meanwhile, powerful Hurricane Marie began to weaken Saturday over the open Pacific. Marie was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph Friday evening, according to the Hurricane Center, but winds dipped to Category 3 status, 125 mph, by Saturday. It was centered about 1,150 miles west of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula and was headed to the northwest at 9 mph. Forecasters said it shouldn’t pose a threat to land.

Hundreds of alumni from Amy Coney Barrett's undergrad school declare opposition

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-03/alumni-at-barretts-undergrad-school-sign-letter-of-concern

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett graduated in 1994 with honors from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. But more than 1,500 alumni of the small liberal arts school have made it known they are not proud of their ties to the conservative lawyer and judge. Barrett graduated magna cum laude with an undergraduate degree in English. She was a member of the Honor Council and named to the Student Hall of Fame. After her next stop at the University of Notre Dame’s law school, Barrett built a career of “professional distinction and achievement,” Rhodes President Marjorie Hass said in a statement issued after President Trump nominated Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For the record: 7:16 a.m. Oct. 3, 2020The headline on a previous version of this article misspelled Amy Coney Barrett’s middle name as Cone. The statement was dated Sept. 22. Soon after, Rhodes alumni Rob Marus and Katherine Morgan Breslin wrote a letter criticizing Barrett’s stances on abortion law, the LGBTQ community and the Affordable Care Act. Signed by 1,513 alumni and posted online, the letter says the alumni are “firmly and passionately opposed to her nomination,” declaring Barrett fails to represent their views and values. “We are likewise firmly and passionately opposed to Rhodes administrators’ attempts to embrace Amy Coney Barrett as an alumna of our beloved alma mater,” the letter said. “We oppose this embrace because we believe both her record and the process that has produced her nomination are diametrically opposed to the values of truth, loyalty, and service that we learned at Rhodes.” Barrett’s nomination to replace Ginsburg, a supporter of abortion rights and liberal icon who died Sept. 18, swiftly elicited praise from Republicans and conservatives — and dismay from liberals and Democrats. Opposing sides rained down statements for and against appointing Barrett, currently a federal appeals court judge in Chicago. Politics With at least three Republican senators already confirmed to have the coronavirus, the confirmation process could get derailed. Rhodes College, with a stately campus and a total enrollment of about 2,000 students, already had a Supreme Court connection before Barrett’s time. Abe Fortas, class of 1930, became a justice, and Rhodes graduates have clerked for justices and serve as federal judges, Hass said. Rhodes also has hosted on-campus talks by sitting Justice Stephen G. Breyer and the late Justice Antonin Scalia. “Judge Coney Barrett participates in this tradition of academic excellence,” Hass’ statement said. Barrett’s abortion views are a particular point of contention. Barrett voted at least twice on abortion issues as an appellate judge, both times joining dissenting opinions to decisions that favored abortion rights. The Rhodes alumni letter was signed by students who graduated as far back as 1959, and some knew Barrett and were in her graduating class. It expresses concerns that she might vote to overturn or “seriously curtail” Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that declared abortion a constitutional right. The letter accuses her of sidestepping questions about how she would rule if the abortion case were challenged before the Supreme Court. And it claims she has deflected questions about her stance toward the LGBTQ community and her alleged association with an anti-LGBTQ group. “Amy Coney Barrett has repeatedly shaded the truth about her own views and past associations,” the letter said. It added that Barrett “has demonstrated a judicial philosophy and record that fails to serve and protect the vulnerable in our society, including immigrants, those in the criminal justice system, and individuals reliant on the Affordable Care Act.” In a statement in response to the alumni letter, Hass encouraged “all members of the Rhodes community to rise to this moment with courage and to speak, act, and vote in the service of justice.” “I hope that your letter — as well as the support, dissent, and attention it has generated — serves as a spur for robust engagement with the political process,” Hass wrote. She stood by her previous letter and public remarks praising Barrett’s “exceptional record of academic achievement” at Rhodes. Politics Democrats could win the election and lose the Supreme Court for a generation “The college will continue to speak of her with respect and friendship,” Hass wrote. Later, she added, she was “happy to reaffirm my own commitment and the commitment of the college to stand against bigotry and for the rights of minority and marginalized students and alumni.” Barrett had no public comments on the letter. Trump said during Tuesday’s debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden that he doesn’t know Barrett’s views on Roe vs. Wade and didn’t discuss them with her when they met at the White House three days after Ginsburg’s death. Marus, co-author of the alumni letter, told the Associated Press that its signees were upset and concerned that the college’s reputation could be diminished in the eyes of potential and current students who disagree with Barrett and Trump. He called her views “antediluvian,” adding that some alumni are terrified of any lifetime appointment for Barrett to the court. “We thought it was time to speak out,” Marus said. “We never thought we’d change how the Senate voted on her. What we wanted to affect was public perception of Rhodes, the education we received there.”

Unnerved by coronavirus denial, Bosnians mourn their dead

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-03/bosnia-unnerved-by-virus-denial-survivors-mourn-their-dead

Denis Zekic was on his daily video call with his parents in Bosnia in early August when his father said he might be coming down with a fever. Less than a month later, both of Zekic’s parents were dead, joining the people who would be counted as the coronavirus outbreak’s global toll climbed toward 1 million. Zekic says his mother, Sefketa, and father, Muharem, both were comparatively healthy before they died at age 68. They were rule followers who practiced social distancing in the city of Zenica. Before his father was hospitalized, his mother wore gloves and a face mask while caring for him, but she ended up as a COVID-19 patient in the same intensive care wing, Zekic said. “I saw her walk into the hospital on her own feet. From a distance. With protective masks covering our faces,” he said. “Honestly, I believed that she would pull through.” Yet Zekic and his sister soon discovered that some neighbors and acquaintances had little sympathy for their sudden double loss, but plenty of opinions and, at times, cruel disdain. One time, a random man taunted the siblings in a store, alleging that authorities had paid them to say the coronavirus killed their parents. “How to respond to that?” Zekic said. California While most people only experience mild or no symptoms at all from coronavirus infection, it can take roughly a week or so before severe illness strikes for those who do end up experiencing life-threatening symptoms. Bosnia’s coronavirus deniers have grown increasingly vocal, and hostile, in recent months as the number of confirmed virus cases rose in the small, impoverished Balkan nation of 3.5 million. Social media and the comment sections of news websites have become platforms for vicious arguments that occasionally have spilled over into invasive confrontations. Several recent studies of coronavirus-related media content in Bosnia conducted by the independent organization Mediacentar Sarajevo concluded that pandemic-related comments on news sites are dominated by “offensive and disparaging” remarks. “We are now paying the price for years of neglect of our education system, our political system, for our media illiteracy,” said Elvira Jukic Mujkic, editor-in-chief of its online magazine, Media.ba. A conference in Bosnia sponsored by the European Union this week brought together fact-checkers, science journalists and experts from the Balkans and the European Union, to discuss disinformation during the pandemic. One of the conclusions from the event stated: “The damage inflicted by fringe ‘scientists’ is pervasive and grave. The scientific community in the [Balkan] region does not currently feel empowered to respond to this.” While other countries around the world also have outspoken contingents of coronavirus conspiracy theorists, the voices of the virus deniers have the potential to echo further in Bosnia, which bears economic, political and social scars from the fratricidal ethnic war fought there during 1992-95. The pandemic has amplified the country’s many problems, including an extreme shortage of doctors and nurses, and rampant public corruption. A number of prominent public and government officials are under investigation on suspicion of malfeasance in the procurement of desperately needed medical equipment. “After years of declining trust in government and public institutions, public response to the perceived incompetence of our authorities in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic was to put in doubt everything they say,” psychologist Tanja Tankosic-Girt said. The allegations further undermine the public trust on which government efforts to curb the spread of the infection in Bosnia depend. The country has a low number of confirmed virus cases compared with countries with a lot more people, but nearly 60% of its nearly 28,000 confirmed cases were reported since the end of July. World & Nation More than 1 million have died from COVID-19 worldwide, with the numbers continuing to climb. More people around the country nevertheless are bending or ignoring social distancing rules, gathering in uncomfortably close quarters and ditching face masks. At the same time, public discourse around the coronavirus, like around many other issues in the country, is growing increasingly divisive, Tankosic-Girt said. “Black-and-white thinking is becoming so prevalent that we are reaching the point of a complete loss of empathy,” she said. The death in early August of 37-year-old philanthropist Belma Soljanin, the director of a maternal and child health organization in the capital, Sarajevo, triggered days of heated online discussions that unraveled quite a few long friendships. Just hours after news of Soljanin’s death broke, people were sifting through her mother’s personal Facebook account and sharing a post in which she alleged her daughter, who had been hospitalized in a COVID-19 isolation ward while in late pregnancy, died because of doctors’ negligence. The post became fodder for virus deniers, who quickly took over the conversation. “Coronavirus is a hoax. Even her mother says she wasn’t infected, but you just go on wearing your face masks and believing the lies they serve you,” one person wrote. “While you hide from the inexistent virus, they are ripping you off, remove face masks and be free.” The head of the Institute of Emergency Medical Care in Sarajevo, Dr. Adem Zalihic, said he is certain that “virus deniers are contributing to the spread of the infection and the number of deaths” by convincing people they should not wear face masks and maintain social distance. “The virus is among us. It infects and kills people, I do not understand how they can deny it despite all the evidence. How can they sleep at night?” Zalihic said. Pulmonologist Besim Prnjavorac, the director of the COVID-19 hospital in the central city of Tesanj, said people tend to dismiss COVID-19 as “something that happens to others” or is “nonexistent” until it is too late. “It is only when their loved ones get sick or even die that they realize the coronavirus is real and very, very dangerous,” Prnjavorac said. Emira Telic, 38, who is currently recovering from a severe case of COVID-19 in the Tesanj hospital, has all the proof she needs to refute the deniers: the breaths she struggles to take. “I was the first to think COVID[-19] was a lie, but look at me now,” Telic said. “Now, I am sure that it is not a lie.”

Pressured by theme parks, Newsom wavers on California reopening rules

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-02/california-wavers-on-theme-park-opening-rules-amid-pressure

Facing mounting pressure to let theme parks such as Disneyland reopen amid the pandemic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delayed issuing new operating rules after industry leaders pushed back against his administration’s initial plans. Newsom’s administration had planned to release the guidance Friday, a spokesman for the governor’s office, Nathan Click, told the Sacramento Bee. But, following industry criticism of draft rules, state health officials said that no announcement was immediately expected and that conversations with the industry were ongoing. “Given the size and operational complexities of these unique sectors, we are seeking additional input from health, workforce and business stakeholders to finalize this important framework,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s top public health official, said in a statement. California has faced growing pressure to reopen theme parks from the industry and local officials worried about the pandemic’s economic effects on their communities. The state has a color-coded tier system that lets businesses including restaurants, retail shops and movie theaters reopen based on coronavirus case levels and infection rates, but it does not currently address theme parks. Disney officials this week announced the layoff of 28,000 workers, largely at its theme parks in Florida, which have reopened, and California, which are awaiting the state’s guidance to be able to do so. Also this week, Walt Disney Co. Chairman Bob Iger quit Newsom’s economic recovery task force. Amusement park leaders saw an initial draft of the proposed rules Thursday and urged state officials to further consult with the industry before finalizing them, said Erin Guerrero, executive director of the California Attractions and Parks Assn. “While we are aligned on many of the protocols and health and safety requirements, there are many others that need to be modified if they are to lead to a responsible and reasonable amusement park reopening plan,” she said in a statement. No further details of the draft guidance were released. A message was sent to Disneyland seeking comment on the proposed California guidance. The theme park in Anaheim has been closed since March 14 due to the pandemic. Workers United Local 50, which represents Disneyland’s food service workers, said on social media that more than a third of its nearly 7,800 members would be affected by layoffs, including about 400 full-time workers. Several Orange County officials have pressed Newsom to issue guidance for theme parks to reopen, noting that parks have reopened elsewhere in the country with health and safety measures and that many park activities are outdoors, where viral transmission is considered less risky. “We need these parks to open not just for our children or tourists but for our businesses and the communities that rely on them,” Michelle Steel, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, said this week.

Steelers-Titans game moved to Week 7 following coronavirus outbreak

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-10-02/nfl-reschedules-steelers-titans-ravens-bye-now-week-7

The Tennessee Titans now know when they will play the Pittsburgh Steelers after this weekend’s game was postponed amid a coronavirus outbreak. Getting back into their own building depends on the results of continued testing. The Titans’ outbreak expanded Friday when two more players tested positive, pushing the team’s total to 14 within the past week. The outbreak forced the NFL to postpone Tennessee’s game from Sunday to Oct. 25 in Week 7, originally the Titans’ bye week. Pittsburgh now will play Baltimore on Nov. 1 with the Ravens’ bye now pushed to Week 7 instead of Week 8, which had been the bye for both the Steelers and Ravens. Officials from the NFL and the players union were in Nashville on Friday, meeting with the Titans and reviewing how the team was handling the matter. The league and union agreed to continue daily testing, including bye weeks, for the foreseeable future in a decision shared with teams Friday. Sports A years-long NFL Films project built a massive database of crowd sounds from every stadium, not knowing that audio library would be so valuable in an age of empty venues and artificial noise. Oct. 1, 2020 Coach Mike Vrabel has said he is very confident that the Titans have followed league protocols precisely and that nobody was to blame for this outbreak during a pandemic. “We continue to follow protocol from the NFL that was set forth, and that continues to change and adapt and adjust,” Vrabel said Thursday. “Whatever the NFL tells us that we’re required to do and we’re supposed to do as positive tests come in, that’s what we’ll do.” The NFL postponed the Steelers-Titans game early in the week, at first saying it hoped they could play Monday or Tuesday. But another positive test result Thursday led to the postponement and Friday’s rescheduling. Sports NFL tells teams they could be stripped of draft picks if coaches flout mask rules. Sept. 30, 2020 Then two additional positive test results were received Friday, a person told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. Neither the NFL nor the Titans had announced the latest results. Each new positive test requires the team’s infectious control officer to track down everyone in contact with those people. The Minnesota Vikings (0-3) again had no positive test results Friday, leaving them on target to visit Houston (0-3) on Sunday as scheduled after losing 31-30 to the Titans last week. The Viking returned to work and practice at their facility on Thursday.

Hiring slows and economic worries mount, as hope fades for more federal pandemic aid

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-10-02/us-hiring-slows-for-3rd-month-but-jobless-rate-falls-to-7-9

The last monthly jobs report before election day showed the third straight month of a weakening recovery in employment as the nation added just 661,000 positions in September, down sharply from the 1.5 million gained in August. And though the unemployment rate fell to 7.9% from 8.4% in August, that wasn’t good news given the reason: About 700,000 workers dropped out of the labor force, suggesting many are striking out in the job market. The federal government’s report Friday came hours after President Trump confirmed that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus, giving a double jolt to his reelection campaign promising a speedy “V-shaped” recovery and an end to the pandemic. The employment report, which covered both new jobs and those filled by calling back laid-off workers, seemed to confirm many analysts’ pessimism over the nation’s economic outlook, even as some other measures pointed toward a brighter future. (California’s jobs data for September will be released Oct. 16.) Retail sales, housing activity and business capital spending have been stronger than expected recently, thanks in part to federal pandemic-aid programs that are now largely expired, as well as robust monetary support from the Federal Reserve. The latest measures of consumer confidence showed gains, an especially encouraging sign when consumer spending accounts for some 70% of total economic activity. The contrast between such positive indicators and the darker signs in both the jobs report and the views of most mainstream analysts largely reflects the unique quality of the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike in past downturns, when the economic damage usually has been spread more broadly, today there are essentially two economies: Millions of Americans, especially lower-wage workers, have been rocked by layoffs and lost incomes, while millions of others have remained largely untouched, mostly in higher-income, white-collar jobs that can be done remotely. Business Many industries have taken a severe hit, but the state’s housing market should enjoy a quick recovery, a UCLA forecast predicts. Sept. 30, 2020 What makes the dramatic fall-off in job gains last month worrisome is that it suggests the economic destruction of the pandemic has begun to spread upward into the previously stronger segments of the workforce. That is happening amid indications Thursday that negotiations for up to $2 trillion in further federal relief have all but collapsed between Congress and the White House. “It is clear that the economic rebound is entering a new, weaker phase,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at the research firm Capital Economics. The darkening economic outlook was unwelcome news at the White House and Trump reelection headquarters, despite administration officials’ efforts to put a positive spin on the data. “Heading into today’s number, the unemployment rate was already looking likely to show the worst economy of any president running for reelection in modern economic history,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist for MUFG Bank in New York. “This is the highest unemployment and worst economy for any president facing reelection in history,” he said, noting that when President Carter lost his bid for reelection, the unemployment rate before the election was 7.5% in September 1980. When President George H.W. Bush unsuccessfully sought a second term in 1992, the jobless rate was 7.6% in September. Other evidence has hopes for a quick rebound fading, including recent announcements of large layoffs by major corporations as varied as Raytheon, Allstate and Marathon Petroleum. Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. said this week that it’s cutting 28,000 jobs, most of them at its theme parks and resorts in Florida and California. “The easy part of the labor market recovery is largely behind us now,” said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings. “The sobering statistic here is that 36% of unemployed are now classed as permanent job losers, up from 14% in May.” In California, so-called early-warning layoff notices that employers filed with the state in September were on pace to exceed levels in the last two months. Through Sept. 23, officials received 299 notifications affecting more than 28,000 workers. A little more than half were for permanent job losses, a notably higher percentage than in prior months. “As we enter October, the California economy is stalled, with no significant uptick in hiring,” said Michael Bernick, former director of the state’s Employment Development Department. “As the economic lockdowns slowly lift, employers are bringing back some of the workers laid off earlier in the pandemic. But they are not hiring additional workers.” Separate data from Opportunity Insights, a nonpartisan group at Harvard and other institutions tracking the recovery, show that as of Sept. 20, the number of small businesses in California was down 29.4% from January. For the nation, that figure was down 24.2%. And now, a rise in coronavirus cases in much of the country raises the specter of new business shutdowns and a pullback from the gains made in consumer traveling, shopping and dining out. Sophia Koropeckyj, labor economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote to clients that the recovery of 661,000 jobs can’t be dismissed. The gains were spread in both manufacturing and construction as well as services, she said, led by the hard-hit restaurant and hospitality sectors continuing to claw back gains. But the economy has regained only about half of the 22 million jobs lost to the pandemic. Last month, she noted, the pace of hiring was down especially at retail stores. Job growth tapered off at professional and business services, and there was a sizable drop in local government jobs as many schools have turned to remote learning. “There is a good chance that economic activity will stall in the fourth quarter,” Koropeckyj said, “as long as the pandemic persists and Congress is unable to agree on the sorely needed fourth fiscal stimulus package.” Republicans and Democrats rushed to approve roughly $3 trillion in emergency aid this year when the pandemic first struck, but most of those aid programs for individuals and businesses have ended. In May, when the Democratic-controlled House passed another $3-trillion stimulus measure, the Republicans opposed spending that much, and the two parties have not been able to compromise since. By the end of July, the existence of the two economies — an improved one for higher-income workers, and harder times for everyone else — was becoming apparent. That probably lessened Washington’s incentive to provide more aid, given that lower-income Americans are less likely to vote. The employment rate of high-income workers (those making more than $60,000) was down just 1.6% from January, according to Opportunity Insights. In contrast, employment for low-income workers who earn less than $27,000 was off 16%. Overall, employment was down about 7%, a figure consistent with the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report showed that of the 10.7 million payroll jobs that have not come back, more than half were in lower-wage sectors such as restaurants and hotels, retail sales, nursing care and social assistance services. The jobless rate for workers 25 and older with a college degree fell to 4.8% in September — about half the unemployment rate of workers with only a high school education. The gap between white and Black unemployment is even bigger. At the peak of the downturn in employment, in April, the two groups’ jobless rates were unusually close, 14.2% for white people and 16.7% for Black people. That partly reflected disproportionate share of Black workers and other people of color in jobs considered essential, many of which are low-paying. Since then, the gap between white and Black workers’ employment levels has widened again. September unemployment was 7% for white people and 12.1% for Black people. (The Latino jobless rate was 10.3% last month, and it was 8.9% for Asian Americans.) Voter turnout is highly correlated with income. In 2016, more than two-thirds of Americans with at least some college education voted, whereas just under half of those with only high school education did, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by Michael P. McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida. By race, turnout rates were highest for white voters at 64.7% versus 59.9% for Black voters and 44.9% for Latinos. “We know that people at the bottom rungs of society are disproportionately bearing the burden of the crisis,” McDonald said. “From a cold, political calculation, there might not be as much political imperative to provide additional aid.” This week, the Democratic majority in the House passed a slimmed-down aid package, but the GOP-controlled Senate remained opposed. McDonald and other analysts said the stalemate could be risky, especially for Republicans. “We are seeing a big tilt of college-educated voters toward the Democrats this cycle, and of course they’re the ones who are doing the best in this particular economic moment,” said Patrick Egan, a political scientist at New York University. “Given that the Republicans have been relying more and more on whites without a college education for their voting base, this could come around and shoot them in the foot.”

U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 837,000 seek jobless aid

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/us-layoffs-remain-elevated-as-837-000-seek-jobless-aid

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. The Labor Department’s report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly numbers have become less reliable as states have increased their efforts to root out fraudulent claims and process earlier applications that have piled up. California, for example, which accounts for more than one-quarter of the nation’s aid applications, this week simply provided the same figure it did the previous week. That’s because the state has stopped accepting new jobless claims for two weeks so it can implement anti-fraud technology and address a backlog of 600,000 applications that are more than three weeks old. Overall jobless aid has shrunk in recent weeks even as roughly 25 million people rely upon it. The loss of that income is likely to weaken spending and the economy in the coming months. A $600-a-week federal check that Congress provided in last spring’s economic aid package was available to the unemployed in addition to each state’s jobless benefit. But the $600 benefit expired at the end of July. A $300 weekly benefit that President Trump offered through an executive order lasted only through mid-September, although some states are still working to send out checks for that period. A result is that Americans’ incomes and spending are declining or slowing. Total paid unemployment benefits plunged by more than half in August, according to the Commerce Department. Consumer spending did rise 1% that month, down from 1.5% in July. But that increase relied in part on consumers drawing upon their savings. Business Many industries have taken a severe hit, but the state’s housing market should enjoy a quick recovery, a UCLA forecast predicts. Sept. 30, 2020 “Unless employment growth picks up, or additional [government] aid is extended, consumer spending is at risk of slowing dramatically during the second phase of the recovery,” said Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics. Other measures of the U.S. economy have been sending mixed signals. Consumer confidence jumped in September, fueled by optimism among higher-income households, though it remains below pre-pandemic levels. And a measure of pending home sales rose in August to a record high, lifted by ultra-low mortgage rates. Yet some real-time measures indicate that growth has lost momentum with the viral pandemic still squeezing many employers, especially small retailers, hotels, restaurants and airlines, nearly seven months after it paralyzed the economy. An economic index compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York grew in September at a weaker pace than during the summer months. In its report on jobless claims Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of people who are continuing to receive benefits fell to 11.8 million, extending a steady decline since spring. That suggests that many of the unemployed are being recalled to their old jobs. Another 12 million people are receiving aid under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which has made the self-employed and gig workers eligible for benefits for the first time. But the decline in the number of those receiving aid also reflects the fact that tens of thousands of jobless Americans have exhausted their regular state unemployment benefits. Most of them are transitioning to an extended jobless aid program that provides benefits for an additional three months. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits are typically watched as a proxy for layoffs, although the data has become muddied in recent months. The flood of laid-off workers during the pandemic recession overwhelmed state agencies. The states’ efforts to clear backlogs and uncover fraud in the new program have made it harder to interpret the government’s report on unemployment benefits. Many economists no longer consider it a clear sign of the pace of layoffs. Initial jobless claims are stuck above the highest levels reached in the 2008-2009 Great Recession. But last week, economists at Goldman Sachs noted that according to other government data, layoffs have fallen below the peaks of a decade ago. Still, many large companies are announcing further layoffs. The Walt Disney Co. said this week that it’s cutting 28,000 jobs in California and Florida, a consequence of the damage it’s suffered from the viral outbreak and the shutdowns and attendance limits that were imposed in response. Allstate said it would shed 3,800 jobs — 7.5% of its workforce. And tens of thousands of airline workers will lose their jobs this month as federal aid to the airlines expires. The airlines were barred from cutting jobs as long as they were receiving the government assistance. Late Wednesday, two of them — American and United — announced that they would begin to furlough 32,000 employees after lawmakers and the White House failed to agree on a pandemic relief package that would extend the aid to airlines. On Friday, the government will issue the jobs report for September, the final such report before election day, Nov. 3. Analysts have forecast that it will show a gain of 850,000, which would mark the third straight monthly slowdown in job growth. It would mean that the economy has regained just over half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic. The unemployment rate is expected to decline from 8.4% to 8.2%, according to data provider FactSet.

Pfizer CEO, despite Trump's claims, assures employees he won't rush COVID-19 vaccine

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/pfizer-ceo-pushes-back-against-trump-claim-on-vaccine-timing

The head of Pfizer, one of the drugmakers racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, told employees he was disappointed that its work was politicized during this week’s presidential debate and tried to reassure U.S. staff that the company won’t bend to pressure to move more quickly. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, told the employees Thursday that the company is “moving at the speed of science,” rather than under any political timing, according to a staff letter obtained by The Associated Press. “The only pressure we feel — and it weighs heavy — are the billions of people, millions of businesses and hundreds of government officials that are depending on us,” Bourla wrote. Despite top U.S. federal health officials repeatedly stating that a vaccine is unlikely to be available widely until 2021, President Trump has insisted that a vaccine will be ready before election day. Business A pause in a major vaccine trial shows why Trump can’t rush science. Sept. 9, 2020 During Tuesday’s debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump said he had talked with the companies whose experimental vaccines are furthest along in testing. “I’ve spoken to Pfizer, I’ve spoken to all of the people that you have to speak to, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and others. They can go faster than that by a lot,” Trump claimed. “It’s become very political.” Pfizer has said that it expects to have data from its ongoing late-stage test by October that could show whether the vaccine is safe and effective. In his letter to employees, Bourla wrote that the company hopes to have “a hundred million doses delivered by the end of the year.” Those doses could not be distributed until the Food and Drug Administration reviews Pfizer’s data and decides whether to issue what’s called an emergency use authorization. That would allow distribution of the vaccine on a limited basis, with initial shots expected to go to medical and other frontline workers, nursing homes and people most at risk of catching or becoming seriously ill from the virus. Science & Medicine Underfunded health departments say they lack the staff, money and tools to distribute, administer and track doses of COVID-19 vaccine for millions of people. Sept. 2, 2020 Moderna’s chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, told the U.K.’s Financial Times on Wednesday that Moderna would not be ready to seek emergency use authorization from the FDA for its vaccine candidate before Nov. 25 at the earliest. Johnson & Johnson just started the late-stage and final patient study of its vaccine last week. And AstraZeneca, which has a candidate in late-stage trials around the world, has placed its U.S. study on hold while the FDA reviews a possible safety problem. Bourla and top executives of eight other companies developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments pledged in early September not to seek even emergency use authorization, let alone a full approval of their products, until they were proven safe and effective.

Belarus activist and U.S. civil rights lawyer among winners of ‘Alternative Nobel’

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/belarus-activist-shares-alternative-nobel-with-3-others

A prominent Belarus opposition figure and an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer on Thursday were awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel,” together with activists from Nicaragua and the United States. Ole von Uexkull, the head of the Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation behind the prize, said that it “highlights the increasing threats to democracy globally. It is high time that all of us supporting democracy around the world stand up and support each other.” The foundation cited 58-year-old human rights activist Ales Bialiatski and the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Center Viasna which he heads, “for their resolute struggle for the realization of democracy and human rights in Belarus.” In 2014, Bialiatski was released nearly three years into his prison sentence, ahead of schedule. He was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 4½ years in prison in November 2011. Western governments criticized the trial as politically vindictive. Bialiatski was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and received an array of international awards while imprisoned. His group has provided legal assistance to thousands of Belarusians arrested or imprisoned for challenging President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule. U.S. civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, 60, was given the award “for his inspiring endeavor to reform the U.S. criminal justice system and advance racial reconciliation in the face of historic trauma.” The foundation also gave its 2020 award to Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has defended activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, “for her fearless activism, at great personal risk, to promote political freedoms and human rights in Iran.” Earlier this month, Sotoudeh was transferred from a prison cell to a hospital north of Tehran following a hunger strike for better prison conditions and the release of political prisoners amid the pandemic. She has since ended her hunger strike that began in mid-August. The 57-year-old Sotoudeh was arrested in 2018 on charges of collusion and propaganda against Iran’s rulers and eventually was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. The fourth winner was 61-year-old rights and environmental activist Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua “for her ceaseless dedication to the protection of indigenous lands and communities from exploitation and plunder.” Created in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Award honors efforts that the prize founder, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt were being ignored by the Nobel prizes. “Defying unjust legal systems and dictatorial political regimes, they successfully strengthen human rights, empower civil societies and denounce institutional abuses,” said von Uexkull, the foundation’s executive director and nephew of the founder. The winners will each receive prize money of $110,100 and will be honored during a virtual award ceremony on Dec. 3. Earlier recipients of the Right Livelihood Award include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Russia's Alexei Navalny accuses Putin of being behind poisoning

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/russias-navalny-accuses-putin-of-being-behind-poisoning

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is recovering in Germany after being poisoned in Russia by a nerve agent, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the attack in comments released Thursday. Navalny’s supporters have frequently maintained that such an attack could have only been ordered at the top levels, though the Kremlin has steadfastly denied any involvement in it. Navalny, a politician and corruption investigator who is Putin’s fiercest critic, was flown to Germany two days after falling ill on Aug. 20 on a domestic flight in Russia. He spent 32 days in the hospital, 24 of them in intensive care, before doctors deemed his condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged. He has posted frequent comments online as his recovery has progressed, but in his first interview since the attack, he told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine that in his mind, “Putin was behind the attack,” in a German translation of his comments. World & Nation The attack on Alexei Navalny — at least the sixth such attempt against a Russian dissident in the last five years — has provoked international condemnation on a scale not seen since the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal. “I don’t have any other versions of how the crime was committed,” he said in a brief excerpt of the interview conducted in Berlin on Wednesday and to be released in full online later Thursday. Navalny spent those two days in a coma in a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Russian doctors said they found no trace of any poisoning, before being transported to Berlin for treatment. German chemical weapons experts determined that he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok — a finding corroborated by labs in France and Sweden. The nerve agent used in the attack was the same class of poison that Britain said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, in 2018. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the poisoning an attempted murder, and she and other world leaders have demanded that Russia fully investigate the case. Russia has bristled at the demands for an investigation, saying that Germany needs to share medical data in the case or compare notes with Russian doctors. Germany has noted that Russian doctors have their own samples from Navalny since he was in their care for 48 hours. Germany has also enlisted the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for technical assistance. The agency has collected independent samples from Navalny for testing, but results haven’t yet been announced. German doctors have said Navalny could make a full recovery, though haven’t ruled out the possibility of long-term damage from the nerve agent. Spiegel said Navalny was joking and alert in the interview with them, though his hands shook so much it was difficult for him to drink from a bottle of water. He also reiterated what his team has previously said — that he planned on returning to Russia when he was able. “My job now is to remain the guy who isn’t scared,” he was quoted as saying. “And I’m not scared.”

In Appalachia, coronavirus and race issues seem part of another America

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/appalachia-people-coronavirus-race-election

The ice-cold water spills relentlessly into a concrete trough from three pipes driven into a hillside near the edge of town. People have been coming to the trough for at least a century, since horses were watered here and coal miners stopped by to wash off the grime. People still come — because they think the water is healthier, or makes better coffee, or because their utilities were turned off when they couldn’t pay the bills. Or maybe just because it’s what they’ve always done. As Tarah Nogrady collects water in plastic jugs to lug back home, she doesn’t wear a mask, like so many around here. Nogrady doubts that the coronavirus is a real threat — it’s “maybe a flu-type deal,” she says. It’s a common view in the little towns that speckle the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, where the COVID-19 pandemic has barely been felt. Coronavirus deaths and protests for racial justice — events that have defined 2020 nationwide — are mostly just images on TV from a distant America. For many here, it’s an increasingly foreign America that they explain with suspicion, anger and occasionally conspiracy theories. The result: At a time when the country is bitterly torn and crises are piling up faster than ever, the feeling of isolation in this corner of Ohio is more profound than ever. It’s easy to dismiss COVID-19 in these sparsely populated rural counties, some of which can still count their deaths from the disease on one hand. Local politicians hint that even the small death tolls might be inflated. World & Nation Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. reach 200,000 as authorities across the country continue to struggle to curb its spread. Sept. 22, 2020 Many of Nogrady’s neighbors think the pandemic is being used by Democrats to weaken President Trump ahead of the election. Some share darker theories: Face mask rules are paving the way for population control, they say, and a vaccine could be used as a tool of government control. “I think they want to take our freedoms,” Nogrady says, a baseball hat turned backward on her head. “I believe the government wants to get us all microchipped.” Southeast Ohio is where President Lyndon Johnson decades ago first mentioned the Great Society, perhaps the most audacious federal push to remake America since World War II. When Johnson gave his speech in 1964 at Ohio University, the hills of Appalachian Ohio were some of the most fiercely Democratic places in America. “We must abolish human poverty,” Johnson declared, foreshadowing a torrent of federal programs that would eventually include Medicare, Head Start preschool, environmental laws and a push for equal justice. These hills were then a patchwork of closed coal mines, undernourished children and houses without indoor plumbing. But applause surged through the thousands of people in the audience. They believed. World & Nation Former President Lyndon B. April 27, 2019 Not anymore. Now, except for the county of Athens, where Ohio University nurtures a more liberal electorate, the region is fiercely Republican. People who a generation ago believed in the president’s promises to change their region forever now have a deep distrust of Washington — and a defiant sense that they are on their own. The idea that Washington can solve America’s problems is risible. “It’s impossible!” said Phil Stevens, a deeply conservative Republican who speaks in exclamation points, then apologizes for doing so. “Ridiculous!” Stevens, 56, runs a small auto-repair business and used-car lot in a narrow valley where his family has lived for generations. He talks about the anger and suspicion that thread through the hills, about a deep distrust of the government, about friends stocking up on weapons and ammunition. A former Democrat, he now derides the party as a rabble of left-wing extremists who won’t even stand up for police officers during riots. “I fear our country’s not far from collapse,” he said. “We’ve taken it and taken it. And there’s going to be a lot of people that just ain’t taking it no more.” The political ground of southeast Ohio began to shift decades ago. But in 2016, counties where Democrats once had sizable minorities swung hard to the right — part of a broader national wave of working-class regions that helped Donald Trump take the White House. Trump was unlike any candidate they’d seen before. He was the perfect candidate for a region that not only expects little from the government, but also mistrusts it deeply. In many counties around here, Trump took more than twice as many votes as Hillary Clinton. Politics Despite Trump’s mostly failed promises to bring back coal, he’s still popular among many miners. Feb. 20, 2020 Rural Appalachians have long bristled at the way outsiders have portrayed them, replacing their complicated reality with stereotypes about poor and ignorant mountain people. Chris Chmiel, a small farmer and Democratic commissioner for Athens County, believes deeply in the benefits of Appalachian life: the fierce tenacity of its people, the beauty of the hills, the ties to hometowns and families in ways that are increasingly rare in America. “We have a lot of things that other people don’t have,” Chmiel said recently at a weekly farmers market. “That is priceless in my opinion.” Yet it’s impossible to paint a picture of this swath of Appalachia without describing its deep and pervasive poverty. It’s visible in the houses near collapse, the trailer homes fixed with duct tape, the buildings consumed by vines. These not-quite ghost towns, once thriving coal communities, are now slowly dying, leaving behind streams that still run a putrid orange from the drainage of old mines. Although coronavirus deaths here are still relatively rare, its economic impact is widely felt. Unemployment skyrocketed to highs of nearly 18% amid early lockdowns, doubling in some counties from March to April. While those rates have come down since, nearly every county in the region is still worse off than at the start of the year. Six months into the pandemic, businesses from used-car lots to barbershops to organic farmers are battered. Stevens has seen business plunge by 30% or more. “We’ll tough it out,” he said. “We don’t make a lot of money here. But we learned to live on just a little.” Business Many industries have taken a severe hit, but the state’s housing market should enjoy a quick recovery, a UCLA forecast predicts. Sept. 30, 2020 Like COVID-19, the other great story of today’s America — racial tensions and protests — is notable in this region for its absence. Black life is something most people simply don’t see in southeastern Ohio, where the 2010 census showed a Black population of less than 1% in many counties. Around here, talk of protests against police brutality and Confederate statues immediately shifts to criticism of the violence at some protests. While there have been a handful of protests in the area, and most people will concede that America has racial problems, many also believe they are wildly exaggerated. But things look very different in that small Black community. Geoffrey West, 34, who runs a barbershop in Athens, still believes there’s plenty of racial misunderstanding, among both Black and white people, and he joined one of the handful of protests in the region against police violence over the past few months. He’s frustrated by white people who don’t see the reasons behind the protests. “We need the police,” he said. But white people “don’t have a fear of walking out your front door and getting killed.”

Senate approves bill to avert shutdown, sending it to Trump

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-30/senate-approves-bill-to-avoid-shutdown-sending-it-to-trump

By a sweeping bipartisan vote Wednesday, the Senate sent President Trump a bill to fund the government through Dec. 11, averting the possibility of a government shutdown when the new fiscal year starts Thursday. Trump is expected to sign the measure before Wednesday’s midnight deadline. The temporary extension will set the stage for a lame-duck session of Congress later this year, where the agenda will be largely determined by the outcome of the presidential election. The measure would keep the government running through Dec. 11 and passed by a 84-10 vote. The House passed the bill last week. The stopgap spending bill is required because the GOP-controlled Senate has not acted on any of the 12 annual spending bills that fund the 30% of the government’s budget that is passed by Congress each year. If Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the White House in November, it’s likely that another stopgap measure would fund the government into next year and that the next administration and Congress would deal with the leftover business. The measure is the bare-minimum accomplishment for Capitol Hill’s powerful Appropriations committees, which pride themselves on their deal-making abilities despite gridlock in other corners of Congress. Politics Republican senators confront former FBI Director James Comey about his oversight of the Trump-Russia investigation. Sept. 30, 2020 The legislation — called a continuing resolution, or CR, in Washington-speak — would keep every federal agency running at current funding levels through Dec. 11, which will keep the government afloat past an election that could reshuffle Washington’s balance of power. The measure also extends many programs whose funding or authorizations lapse on Sept. 30, including the federal flood insurance program, highway and transit programs, and a long set of extensions of various health programs, such as a provision to prevent Medicaid cuts to hospitals that serve many poor people. It also finances the possible transition to a new administration if Biden wins the White House and would stave off an unwelcome COVID-caused increase in Medicare Part B premiums for outpatient doctor visits. Farm interests won language that would permit Trump’s farm bailout to continue without fear of interruption. In exchange, House Democrats won $8 billion in food aid for the poor. Politics Trump has tried for a year to find an attack that would throw Biden off stride. So far, none has done the job. At the debate, he just repeated them. Sept. 30, 2020

Trump signs temporary government funding bill

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-01/trump-signs-temporary-government-funding-bill

President Trump has signed a bill to fund the government through Dec. 11, averting the possibility of a government shutdown when the new fiscal year starts Thursday. Trump signed the bill, which was approved by sweeping bipartisan agreement Wednesday, into law early Thursday morning shortly after returning from campaigning in Minnesota. The temporary extension will set the stage for a lame-duck session of Congress later this year, where the agenda will be largely determined by the outcome of the presidential election. The measure would keep the government running through Dec. 11 and passed by a 84-10 vote. The House passed the bill last week. The stopgap spending bill is required because the GOP-controlled Senate has not acted on any of the 12 annual spending bills that fund the 30% of the government’s budget that is passed by Congress each year. If Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the White House in November, it’s likely that another stopgap measure would fund the government into next year and that the next administration and Congress would deal with the leftover business. The measure is the bare minimum accomplishment for Capitol Hill’s powerful Appropriations committees, who pride themselves on their deal-making abilities despite gridlock in other corners of Congress. The legislation — called a continuing resolution, or CR, in Washington-speak — would keep every federal agency running at current funding levels through Dec. 11, which will keep the government afloat past an election that could reshuffle Washington’s balance of power. The measure also extends many programs whose funding or authorizations lapse on Sept. 30, including the federal flood insurance program, highway and transit programs, and a long set of extensions of various health programs, such as a provision to prevent Medicaid cuts to hospitals that serve many poor people. It also finances the possible transition to a new administration if Biden wins the White House and would stave off an unwelcome COVID-caused increase in Medicare Part B premiums for outpatient doctor visits. Farm interests won language that would permit Trump’s farm bailout to continue without fear of interruption. In exchange, House Democrats won $8 billion in food aid for the poor.

‘I Am Woman’ singer Helen Reddy, ’70s hitmaker, dies at 78

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-09-29/i-am-woman-singer-helen-reddy-dies-at-78-in-los-angeles

Helen Reddy, who shot to stardom in the 1970s with her feminist anthem “I Am Woman” and recorded a string of other hits, has died. She was 78. Reddy’s children, Traci Donat and Jordan Sommers, announced that the actress-singer died Tuesday in Los Angeles. “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman,” they said in a statement. “Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.” The Australian-born singer enjoyed a prolific career, appearing in “Airport 1975” as a singing nun and scoring several hits, including “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady,” “Delta Dawn,” “Angie Baby” and “You and Me Against the World.” Reddy’s version of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” in 1971 launched a decade-long string of Top 40 hits, three of which reached No. 1. Two years later, she won the best female vocal pop performance Grammy Award for “I Am Woman,” quickly thanking her then-husband and others in her acceptance speech. “I only have 10 seconds so I would like to thank everyone from Sony Capitol Records, I would like to thank Jeff Wald because he makes my success possible, and I would like to thank God because she makes everything possible,” Reddy said, hoisting her Grammy in the air and leaving the stage to loud applause. “I Am Woman” would become her biggest hit, used in films and television series. In a 2012 interview with the Associated Press, Reddy cited the gigantic success of “I Am Woman” as one of the reasons she stepped out of public life. “That was one of the reasons that I stopped singing, was when I was shown a modern American history high-school textbook, and a whole chapter on feminism and my name and my lyrics [were] in the book,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Well, I’m part of history now. And how do I top that? I can’t top that.′ So, it was an easy withdrawal.” Reddy’s death comes less than three weeks after the release of a biopic about her life called “I Am Woman.” A performer since childhood, Reddy was part of a show-business family in Melbourne. She won a contest that brought her to the United States and launched her recording career, although she first had to overcome ideas about her sound. “In my earlier days in Australia, I was considered to be more of a jazz singer. When I won the contest that brought me to this country, one person said, ‘The judges didn’t feel you could have a recording career because you don’t have a commercial sound.’” Reddy retired from performing in the 1990s and returned to Australia, where she earned a degree in clinical hypnotherapy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to aid low-income immigrants

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-29/california-governor-vetoes-bill-to-aid-low-income-immigrants

Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have authorized California to give low-income immigrants $600 to buy groceries. The bill was aimed at helping people, including those living in the country illegally, who have been impacted by the coronavirus but are not eligible for other state and federal assistance programs. It’s unclear how much the program would have cost, with estimates ranging from the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. But while the bill would have authorized the program, it would not have paid for it. The bill said the program can only happen if the Legislature funds it or if the governor pays for it by using some of the emergency funding he has access to. California lawmakers had to plug an estimated $54.3 billion shortfall in this year’s operating budget brought on by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the budget lawmakers approved in June includes $2.6 billion in a special fund Newsom has access to for emergencies. It’s possible he could have used some of that money to pay for the program. But in a veto message, Newsom said he could not sign the bill because of its “significant General Fund impact. “It has been my firm commitment that my administration would support all Californians during the COVID-19 crisis,” Newsom wrote. “To that end, my administration has advanced efforts to provide relief that is both inclusive of and directed to undocumented Californians.” Earlier this year, Newsom established the Disaster Relief for Immigrants Project. It gave up to $500 to low-income people living in the country illegally. Newsom put $75 million into the program, and all of it has been spent. The program Newsom vetoed would have given low-income immigrants $600, one time, loaded onto a debit card. The card could have only been used at retailers that sell groceries. Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) authored the bill because he said “kids and families are starving during this pandemic.”

California sues U.S. regulator in bid to deter 'ghost guns'

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-29/california-sues-bid-deter-ghost-guns

Backed by the fathers of two slain children, California’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday in an effort to crack down on so-called “ghost guns” that can be built from parts with little ability to track or regulate the owners. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives doesn’t consider that the unfinished do-it-yourself kits qualify as firearms. So buyers don’t have to undergo the usual gun purchase background checks, and in most states the guns are not required to have serial numbers. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s lawsuit asks a federal judge in San Francisco to order the federal agency to change its policy — arguing that it violates the common definition of a firearm under federal law and that the agency’s decision in 2006 to stop considering the parts as firearms was arbitrary and capricious. Agency spokeswoman April Langwell said the ATF did not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit was called frivolous and “another outrageous example of Attorney General Becerra attacking law-abiding gun owners” by Brandon Combs, president of the Sacramento-based Firearms Policy Coalition, which promotes gun owners’ rights. Lawsuit plaintiff Bryan Muehlberger said he had never heard of ghost guns until November, when his 15-year-old daughter, Gracie Anne Muehlberger, was one of two students killed by a shooter using a ghost gun at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita. Student Nathaniel Berhow, 16, also wounded three other people before killing himself. Frank Blackwell, the father of 14-year-old Dominic Blackwell, the second slain student, also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Anyone, and I mean anyone, can buy these totally unregulated kits with just an internet connection and a credit card,” Muehlberger said, “and that’s how my daughter’s killer got his murder weapon.” As a test earlier this year, he used his slain underage daughter’s name and his own credit card to order a ghost gun kit in about two minutes from an online dealer. Becerra said ghost guns were similarly used in mass shootings that each killed five people in Santa Monica in 2013 and Tehama County in 2017. Another was used by Steven Carrillo, an Air Force sergeant charged with killing a federal security officer outside an Oakland courthouse and ambushing a sheriff’s deputy in late May and early June. It’s a growing problem, the lawsuit says. Ghost gun seizures by the state Department of Justice jumped 512% between 2018 and 2019. The number of such weapons recovered in Los Angeles increased 144% from 2015 to 2019. None were recovered in San Francisco in 2015, but recoveries soared 1,517% from 2016 to 2019. Law enforcement agencies reported a 940% jump in San Diego and a 51% increase in San Jose from 2017 to 2018, the suit says, without providing actual numbers of weapons seized. They now make up 30% of guns recovered in California, said Hannah Shearer, litigation director at the Giffords Law Center, which also is a party in the lawsuit. California is now home to 18 of the 80 known online ghost gun retailers, double the number from six years ago and the most of any state, according to the lawsuit. “The only logical intended result of a ghost gun kit is that it will become a firearm,” Becerra said. “They are fast becoming the weapons of choice for illegal gun traffickers, for organized criminal gangs, and unfortunately for mass murderers as well.” At issue are so-called “80% receivers and frames” that Becerra said can be sold by unlicensed dealers and made into untraceable firearms at home. ATF policy holds that the kits have not yet been reached the stage where they can be considered firearms subject to the usual federal firearms statutes and regulations that include a ban on sales to minors or those who have criminal convictions, a history of domestic violence, serious mental illness or drug addiction. Combs, of the firearms organization, said the agency’s policy was “both legally sound and common sense. Under Becerra’s utterly absurd interpretation of law, flat pieces of metal at Home Depot would be treated as firearms and chunks of aluminum would be so-called ‘ghost guns.’” The Everytown for Gun Safety group and a coalition of cities filed a similar lawsuit last month in federal court in New York. If the federal government changes its interpretation now, “all that does is turn a bunch of people into accidental criminals,” said Chuck Michel, an attorney representing the California Rifle and Pistol Assn., which lobbies for gun owners’ rights. California requires the owners of such homemade weapons to apply to Becerra’s Department of Justice for serial numbers. Most states do not have that requirement. “If you can assemble Ikea furniture, you can definitely build a ghost gun,” said Shearer of the Giffords Law Center. “This has opened the biggest loophole you can imagine in our federal and state gun laws.”

See what they paid: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris release 2019 tax returns

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-29/the-latest-biden-releases-2019-tax-returns-ahead-of-debate

Democratic nominee Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris released their latest tax returns ahead of Tuesday night’s presidential debate, showing that the Democratic candidates and their spouses paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to the federal government in 2019. The disclosures come as President Trump, whose family owns hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, faces criticism for reportedly only paying $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and again in 2017, according to tax records obtained by the New York Times. Trump has broken with longtime presidential tradition and has refused to release his returns. Both of the Democrats had released their previous years’ tax returns during the primary contests. The records show that both Biden and Harris have risen to levels of affluence that most Americans will never attain, but neither Democrat has financial interests that remotely compare to the size, complexity or the controversiality of the president’s extensive business holdings. Politics News of Trump’s tax evasion plays to Biden’s ‘Scranton-vs.-Park Ave.’ campaign. It won’t upend the race, but it’s another hurdle for Trump. Sept. 28, 2020 Former Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, reported paying nearly $300,000 in federal taxes last year on adjusted gross income of $985,233, according to the newly released income tax returns. The Bidens paid an additional $94,349 in state and local income taxes and $17,368 in property taxes. Their income last year included $135,116 from the University of Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden was Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practices professor until April 2019, and $73,286 from Jill Biden’s work as a community college professor. The couple’s income also included $195,199 in pensions and annuities and $52,595 in Social Security benefits. Joe Biden is 77 years old, and Jill Biden is 69. The couple received $53,384 last year from CelticCapri Corp. and $175,319 from Giacoppa Corp. Both are personal corporations owned by the Bidens. In a separate federal candidate disclosure filing, the former vice president reported receiving honoraria through CelticCapri for speeches he gave in both 2018 and 2019. They included $181,000 from Eminent Series Group LLC for a November 2018 speech in Phoenix and $134,933 from the Performing Arts Center Authority for a January 2019 speech in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Politics Trump hopes Tuesday night’s debate will revive his flagging campaign, but new revelations about his taxes and voter discontent over the virus will make it tough. Sept. 29, 2020 Jill Biden reported $108,363 in speaking fees paid through Giacoppa Corp., including $45,948 from SAP North America for a November 2018 speech in Newtown Square, Pa. The Bidens reported $14,700 in charitable donations. They also reported $15,976 in mortgage interest payments. California Sen. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, jointly reported $3,095,590 in gross adjusted income from 2019, with a federal income tax bill of $1,054,847. Most of the couple’s financial firepower — and their tax bill — is due to Emhoff, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer who reported $2.8 million in total income, primarily for his work for DLA Piper, a Century City firm that Emhoff joined as partner in 2017. Emhoff also reported partnership income of $115,258 from his previous firm, Venable LLP. Apart from her salary as U.S. senator, Harris reported $464,500 in income and $199,675 in expenses for her work as a writer. As the 2020 presidential primary picked up speed, Harris published a book called “The Truths We Hold.” Harris and Emhoff reported donating $35,390 to charity in 2019.

Trump administration: 2020 census to end Oct. 5, despite court order

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-28/us-official-2020-census-to-end-oct-5-despite-court-order

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross says the 2020 census will end Oct. 5, despite a federal judge’s ruling last week allowing the head count of every U.S. resident to continue through the end of October, according to a tweet Monday from the Census Bureau. The tweet said the ability for people to self-respond to the census questionnaire, as well as the door-knocking phase, in which census takers go to homes that haven’t responded, is targeted to end Oct. 5. The Secretary of Commerce has announced a target date of October 5, 2020 to conclude 2020 Census self-response and field data collection operations. The announcement came as a virtual hearing was being held in San Jose as a follow-up to U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s preliminary injunction. The injunction last week suspended the Census Bureau’s deadline for ending the count Sept. 30; this automatically reverted the deadline back to an older Census Bureau plan, in which the date for ending field operations was Oct. 31. The new Oct. 5 deadline doesn’t necessarily violate the judge’s order, because the injunction suspended the Sept. 30 deadline only for field operations. Additionally, Koh suspended a Dec. 31 deadline the Census Bureau has for turning in figures used for determining how many congressional seats each state gets, a process known as apportionment. The census also is used to determine how to distribute $1.5 trillion in federal spending annually. At Monday’s hearing, Koh asked federal government attorneys to provide documents on how the decision to end the head count Oct. 5 was made. When a federal government lawyer suggested that the decision-making was a moving target without records, the judge asked, “A one-sentence tweet? Are you saying that is enough reason to establish decision-making? A one-sentence tweet?” Given the judge’s preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order she had previously issued prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down 2020 census operations, the decision was made that the Sept. 30 deadline was no longer viable, said August Flentje, special counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general. “It’s day-to-day adjustments and assessments,” Flentje said. Koh said in her ruling last Thursday that the shortened schedule ordered by President Trump’s administration likely would produce inaccurate results that would last a decade. She sided with civil rights groups and local governments that had sued the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the statistical agency, arguing that minorities and others in hard-to-count communities would be missed if the counting ends this month. Attorneys for the federal government said they were appealing the decision. During hearings, federal government attorneys argued that the head count needed to end Sept. 30 in order to meet a Dec. 31 deadline for handing in figures used for apportionment. The decision by the Commerce Department came as census takers across the U.S. told the Associated Press that they were being pressured to meet the Sept. 30 deadline, even after Koh issued her injunction. In upstate New York, a census supervisor told her census takers Friday that the Buffalo office was operating with Sept. 30 as the end date, according to a text obtained by the AP. “5 days left (no matter what the court status),” the text said. In northern California, a manager on Sunday told supervisors working under him, “We’re in the home stretch with only 3 days left,” according to an email obtained by the AP. In the same region, a different manager told supervisors Monday that they needed to complete 99% of households in the the Santa Rosa area by Wednesday, including 12,000 households yet to be counted in Mendocino County. In the conference call, area manager Nicole Terrazas pleaded with her supervisors to ask their census takers to head to Mendocino County, even though that part of California is under threat of wildfires. “We need as much help as we can get. We only have three days to do it,” said Terrazas on a call heard by an AP reporter. When a census supervisor asked why they were being pressured with the Sept. 30 deadline when Koh’s preliminary injunction prohibits the count from ending at the end of this month, Terrazas called the judge’s order “something completely different.” Other census takers and supervisors, including one from Texas, have sent emails to Koh’s court saying field operations in their areas are slated to shut down Sept. 30. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census Bureau last April pushed back the deadline for ending the 2020 census from the end of July to the end of October. The bureau also asked Congress to let it turn in numbers used for apportionment from the end of December to the end of April. The deadline extension passed the Democratic-controlled House but stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate after Trump issued a memorandum seeking to exclude people who are in the country illegally from being used in the apportionment count. A panel of three judges in New York said earlier this month that the memorandum was unlawful.

GOP takes Pennsylvania court's ballot deadline to U.S. Supreme Court

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-28/gop-takes-pennsylvania-courts-ballot-deadline-to-high-court

Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to put a hold on a ruling in the presidential battleground state that extended the deadline in November’s election to receive and count mailed-in ballots. Republicans, including President Trump’s campaign, have opposed such an extension, arguing that it violates federal law that sets election day as the first Tuesday in November and that such a decision constitutionally belongs to lawmakers, not the court. Republicans also object to a portion of the state court’s ruling that orders counties to count ballots that arrive during the three-day extension period even if they lack a postmark or legible postmark, unless there is proof they were mailed after polls closed. “This is an open invitation to voters to cast their ballots after Election Day, thereby injecting chaos and the potential for gamesmanship into what was an orderly and secure schedule of clear, bright-line deadlines,” lawyers for the Senate’s two top Republicans wrote. The state Democratic Party and its allies had sought an extension of Pennsylvania’s election day deadline to count mailed ballots as their voters were requesting mail-in ballots at a nearly 3-to-1 ratio over Republicans. In its Sept. 17 ruling, the divided state Supreme Court said ballots must be postmarked by the time polls closed and be received by county election boards at 5 p.m. on Nov. 6. The court cited warnings about Postal Service delays in making huge numbers of ballots late and surging demand for mailed ballots during the coronavirus pandemic to invoke the power, used previously by the state’s courts, to extend election deadlines during a disaster emergency. Politics These states will probably decide if Joe Biden or President Trump wins the election. And their absentee ballot laws could determine when we find out. Oct. 28, 2020 In another battleground state won narrowly by Trump in 2016, a federal appeals court on Sunday halted a lower court’s order to extend counting mailed-in ballots in Wisconsin by six days after election day. The halt is a victory for Republicans and Trump over Democrats and their allies seeking more time as a way to help deal with an expected historic high number of absentee ballots. The filing with the nation’s highest court comes as Pennsylvania counties have begun sending out ballots to registered voters who asked to vote by mail. It also came less than two days after Trump, who is behind in national polls, claimed the only way he could lose Pennsylvania was if Democrats cheated — part of his long-running effort to discredit voting by mail. “They’re going to try to steal the election,” he said at a Saturday rally at Harrisburg International Airport. “The only they way to win Pennsylvania frankly is to cheat on the ballots.” Politics COVID-19 has led to a push for vote by mail, but advocates face logistical and legal hurdles — and “rigged election” claims from President Trump. June 22, 2020 Trump seized on an election error in northeastern Pennsylvania, where, according to a county official there, a temporary election worker mistakenly threw away nine mailed-in military ballots. There were no accusations of election fraud from authorities investigating it. Federal investigators announced seven of the ballots were cast for Trump, raising questions about the Justice Department’s actions. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said Monday that his administration was still trying to find out how and why they ended up in the trash. He also pointed out that voting by mail had been going on in Pennsylvania for a long time — although a year-old law greatly expanded it — and he suggested that Trump was calling it fraudulent because he was losing. “I certainly understand the idea of the side that appears to be losing would call foul on the process,” Wolf said. “But the commonwealth is doing everything we can do make sure the elections are fair and every ballot is counted, just as we did back in the primary with this new system.”

Trump ex-campaign boss hospitalized amid threat to harm self

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/trump-ex-campaign-boss-hospitalized-amid-threat-to-harm-self

President Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale was hospitalized Sunday after he threatened to harm himself, according to Florida police and campaign officials. Police officers talked Parscale out of his Fort Lauderdale home after his wife called police to say that he had multiple firearms and was threatening to hurt himself. Police Sgt. DeAnna Greenlaw said Parscale was hospitalized under the state’s Baker Act, which allows anyone deemed to be a threat to themselves or others to be detained for 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation. “Brad Parscale is a member of our family, and we love him,” said Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. “We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible.” Parscale was demoted from the campaign manager’s post in July but remained part of the campaign, helping run its digital operation. Standing 6’8” and with a distinctive beard, Parscale had become a celebrity to Trump supporters and would frequently pose for photos and sign autographs ahead of campaign rallies. But Trump had begun to sour on him earlier this year as Parscale attracted a wave of media attention that included focus on his seemingly glitzy lifestyle on the Florida coast that kept him far from campaign headquarters in Virginia. Over the summer, he hyped 1 million ticket requests for the president’s comeback rally in Tulsa, Okla., that ended up drawing just 6,000 people. A furious Trump was left staring at a sea of empty seats and, weeks later, promoted Bill Stepien to campaign manager. Parscale was originally hired to run the Trump 2016 campaign’s digital operations by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. While the Republican National Committee owns most of the campaign’s data, voter modeling and outreach tools, Parscale ran most of the microtargeted online advertising that Trump aides believe was key to his victory four years ago. Under the state’s Red Flag Law, officials could ask a judge to bar Parscale from possessing any weapons for up to a year.___ If you or someone you know is exhibiting warning signs of suicide, seek help from a professional and call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). It provides free, 24/7 support and resources for loved ones.

100,000 march in Belarus capital on 50th day of protests

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/100-000-march-in-belarus-capital-on-50th-day-of-protests

About 100,000 demonstrators marched in the Belarusian capital calling for the authoritarian president’s ouster, some wearing cardboard crowns to ridicule him, on Sunday as the protests that have rocked the country marked their 50th consecutive day. Protests also took place in nine other cities, underlining the wide extent of dismay and anger with President Alexander Lukashenko, who has stifled opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power. The protest wave began after the Aug. 9 presidential election that officials said gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office with a crushing 80% of the vote. The opposition and some poll workers say the results were manipulated. Lukashenko has defied calls for him to step down and many prominent members of a council formed with the aim of arranging a transfer of power have been arrested or have fled the country. The protests have persisted despite the daily detentions of demonstrators. The Interior Ministry said about 200 demonstrators were arrested throughout the country Sunday. Police and troops blocked off the center of the city with armored vehicles and water cannons. Lukashenko stepped up his defiance last week by unexpectedly taking the oath of office for a new term in an unannounced ceremony, leading many to mock him as harboring royal-like pretensions. Some of the estimated 100,000 people who braved rain and strong winds to march in a column over a mile long wore crowns made of cardboard and bore placards calling him “the naked king.” Lukashenko’s main election opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, praised protesters’ determination and urged them not to let their energies flag. “Today is the 50th day of our protest and the Belarusian people have again come out on the streets,” she said in a statement from Lithuania, where she went into exile after the election. “We have come to stop this regime and we will do this peacefully.” “Democracy is the power of the people. The entire people are stronger than one man,” she said. Western countries have widely denounced the dubious election and the crackdown on protesters. The European Union and the United States are considering sanctions against Belarusian officials. Lukashenko slapped back sharply at Emmanuel Macron on Sunday after the French president said in a newspaper interview that Lukashenko must leave power. “I want to say that the president of France himself, following his own logic, should have resigned two years ago — when yellow vests had first begun going out in the streets of Paris,” Lukashenko said, referring to the French protest movement. Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei on Saturday told the U.N. General Assembly that these expressions of concern are “nothing but attempts to bring chaos and anarchy to our country.”

Swiss reject nationalist plan to limit jobs for EU citizens

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/swiss-reject-nationalist-plan-to-limit-jobs-for-eu-citizens

Voters in Switzerland on Sunday strongly defeated a nationalist party’s proposal to limit the number of European Union citizens allowed to live and work in their country. Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported that the measure was rejected by 61.7% of voters, with 38.3% in favor. All but four of the country’s 26 cantons, or states, likewise opposed the plan — proposed by the Swiss People’s Party — to give preferential access to jobs, social protection and benefits to people from Switzerland over those from the 27-nation bloc that surrounds it. The government had warned that the measure could further strain the rich Alpine’s country’s deep and lucrative ties to the EU. It could also have triggered reciprocal disadvantages for millions of Swiss citizens who want to live or work in the EU. “Especially at this time, during the difficult economic situation caused by the corona crisis, good relations with our neighbors and with the EU are important,” Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said, welcoming the outcome of the vote. She said Switzerland would continue to pursue a “bilateral path” with the EU, eschewing membership of the bloc while seeking close economic ties with it. World & Nation Britain’s decision to leave the European Union might not mark the beginning of the end for continental unity, but that possibility was in the air Friday as Europe’s leaders struggled to put the best face on their new reality after the “Brexit” vote. June 24, 2016 In a nod to the misgivings many Swiss have about the country’s big neighbor, Keller-Sutter acknowledged that “freedom of movement doesn’t just have benefits.” “The Federal Council only wants as much immigration as necessary,” she said. “That continues to be our goal.” Roughly 1.4 million EU citizens live in the country of about 8.6 million, while around 500,000 Swiss live in EU countries. Some are dual citizens and wouldn’t have been affected by any restrictions. In a similar referendum in 2014, the Swiss narrowly voted in favor of limiting EU citizens’ freedom to live and work in Switzerland. Lawmakers, however, refused to fully implement that referendum fearing a sizable effect on Swiss society and businesses, prompting the People’s Party to get the issue back on the ballot again this year. Since the last vote, Switzerland has witnessed the turmoil that Britain’s 2016 referendum to leave the European Union has caused, especially for EU citizens in the U.K. and Britons living on the continent. Britain left the EU in January but is in a transition period until the end of the year with prospects for a deal on future relations between London and Brussels still uncertain. Voter Yann Grote in Geneva said he didn’t approve of further limiting freedom of movement. “I’m not at all in favor, and even more now, because it’s not a time to isolate Switzerland,” he said. Fellow voter Elisabeth Lopes agreed. “I’m a daughter of immigrants, so it is a matter that touches me,” she said. “If Switzerland had to withdraw or reduce these agreements [with the EU], I think we would be the real losers.” In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the result of the referendum, calling it “a positive signal to continue to consolidate and deepen our relationship.” She also urged Switzerland to approve a series of agreements negotiated between the country and the EU in 2018 but not yet ratified. The freedom-of-movement measure was being considered alongside nationwide votes on several other issues. SRF reported that a majority of voters backed plans for paid paternity leave and for the purchase of up to 6 billion francs (about $6.5 billion) worth of new fighter planes by 2030. Voters rejected measures on the right to hunt wolves to keep their population down and on increasing tax breaks for childcare. Turnout was higher than in most recent referendums, with almost 60% of voters going to the polls or casting their ballots by mail.

Former Indian minister Jaswant Singh dies at age 82

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/former-indian-minister-jaswant-singh-dies-at-age-82

Jaswant Singh, a veteran Indian politician who served as defense minister, finance minister and external affairs minister during his career, died Sunday. He was 82. A statement by an Indian army-run hospital said Singh was admitted to the hospital June 25 for multiple ailments and died of cardiac arrest early Sunday. Singh initially served as an officer in the Indian army but resigned in the 1960s to pursue a career in politics. He was among the founding members of the current Hindu nationalist ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. He was a lawmaker in India’s Parliament nine times and served as minister for defense, finance and external affairs when BJP came to power in 1998 through 2004. In 2009, Singh was expelled from the party for praising Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of India’s archrival Pakistan, in his book “Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.” Singh was later let back in, but he distanced himself from the party in 2014 and unsuccessfully stood for election as an independent candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences over Singh’s death in a series of tweets and said he “will be remembered for his unique perspective on matters of politics and society.” Singh “served our nation diligently, first as a soldier and later during his long association with politics,” Modi said. “He handled crucial portfolios and left a strong mark in the worlds of finance, defence and external affairs. Saddened by his demise.”

Carbon monoxide kills 16 in coal mine in southwest China

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/carbon-monoxide-kills-16-in-coal-mine-in-southwest-china

Sixteen people died Sunday in a coal mine in southwestern China because of excessively high levels of carbon monoxide, authorities and state media said. A total of 17 people were trapped in the mine, the Chongqing municipal government said on its social media account. One person was taken to a hospital, and the others showed no signs of life, the post said. The official Xinhua News Agency said that burning belts had caused the high level of carbon monoxide. It did not explain what the belts were. The mine in Qijiang district belongs to a local energy company, Xinhua said, citing the district government. An investigation was underway.

Social media takes COVID-19 shaming to new levels

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/social-media-and-covid-shaming-fighting-a-toxic-combination

In the spring, Rick Rose drew the wrath of strangers after he practically shouted on Facebook that he wasn’t buying a face mask. Two months later, he contracted COVID-19 — and, he posted, was struggling to breathe. Days later, on July 4, he was dead. That post, among the 37-year-old Ohio man’s final public words on Facebook, prompted more than 3,100 “laughing” emoji and a torrent of criticism from strangers. “If they would have known him, they would have loved him like everybody else did,” said Tina Heschel, Rose’s mother, who said she’s “tired of all the hate.” “I just want him to rest,” she said. People were shaming those who got sick or flouted rules during public health crises long before the novel coronavirus appeared, researchers say. But the warp speed and reach of social media in this pandemic era have given the practice an aggressive new dimension. “It’s like someone just turned up the volume on stigmas that were already there,” said University of Pennsylvania professor David S. Barnes, who has studied pandemics and stigmatization. The Times conducted an informal survey to see how many people were following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to wear a mask in crowded outdoor spaces. People shame or stigmatize when they feel threatened, he said. They need an explanation, and they find a scapegoat. It helps them reaffirm their thinking and make sense of what’s happening — an important notion during a pandemic, which can feel vague and invisible. “There’s never been a society that hasn’t moralized disease, ever,” Barnes said. Social media platforms take this practice and scale it to mass proportions, making it effectively limitless. “It’s changed the expectation of being able to speak up,” said Pamela Rutledge, a psychologist who studies the impact of social media as director of the Media Psychology Research Center. “Everyone has a voice now.” And those voices are used. When a Florida sheriff said in August that his deputies wouldn’t be allowed to wear masks except in limited circumstances, Twitter users swiftly branded him a “#COVIDIOT.” When doctors diagnosed Ecuador’s first coronavirus case earlier this year, pictures circulated within hours on social media showing the retired school teacher unconscious and intubated in her hospital bed. Rose’s death was reported by national media, and visitors from around the country have stopped at his Facebook page to post messages or memes shaming him. Many also left messages wishing him well or scolding those who criticized. Shaming can help people feel reassured that they have done things correctly and that the other person must have made a mistake, said Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor who studies social media. She called this “magical protection and fantasy.” “It’s a way of putting a wall between ourselves and the people who are getting sick,” she said. Science & Medicine To healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, encountering people who indignantly refuse face coverings can feel like a slap in the face. July 8, 2020 Social media also give people who are isolated during a pandemic a quick way to join communities that share their beliefs. “You behave in ways that you would not behave individually,” Rutledge said. People may not even realize that they are piling on as they click an emoji or leave a comment while scrolling through their feeds. Social media, Turkle said, can make shaming quite addictive. “They’re not even addicted to the particular content anymore. They’re just sort of addicted to the process of participating,” she said. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter give users a way to quickly pass judgment — one that can create “legal, economic and all kinds of ramifications that never would have happened before,” Rutledge said. Julian Siegel said business dropped about 20% this spring at his Fort Lauderdale, Fla., restaurant after someone posted a picture on the Nextdoor app of people waiting in his parking lot for food. The person said the customers weren’t following social distancing guidelines at the Riverside Market and Cafe; Siegel insists that they were. “It was crazy,” Siegel said. “People who have never been here were bashing us, saying how we were spreading COVID.” After that, he started seeing people drive slowly by his restaurant, apparently taking pictures or video with their phones. “We call them social media warriors. There’s nothing you could do,” he said. “We would wave.” California Some recovered COVID-19 patients feel like social outcasts as misconceptions about the virus persist. July 20, 2020 Siegel saw three or four posts on Nextdoor and Facebook that he said would lead to arguments about whether patrons were being safe. In the end, he figures, more people defended the restaurant than criticized it. Christy Broce used social media to fight stigmatization instead of fuel it. The Pocahontas County, W.Va., resident spent nearly a month in quarantine this summer after she and her two sons contracted COVID-19. She said they kept to themselves, and family members brought them groceries. But they still felt scorned, especially after someone falsely reported to the local health department that she was shopping at a grocery store a couple of days after she tested positive. That prompted her to make a public plea for compassion on Facebook. Hundreds of people liked or loved that post, and several sent cards or messages of support. “People have reached out and been a little more caring,” Broce said. The response doesn’t surprise Rutledge. She said sharing empathy or support on social media makes both the giver and the recipient feel better. Like shaming or criticism, it can help reaffirm a person’s views or beliefs. And there’s this benefit, too, she said: “It’s also a way to sort of make the world seem like a kinder, gentler place.”

26 killed in Ukrainian military plane crash, with 1 survivor

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-26/ukraine-plane-crash-death-toll-rises-to-26-with-1-survivor

Searchers combing the area where a Ukrainian military aircraft crashed found two more bodies on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26. One person survived. The plane, a twin-turboprop Antonov-26 belonging to the Ukrainian air force, was carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets of a military aviation school when it crashed and burst into flames Friday night while coming in for a landing at the airport in Chuhuiv, about 250 miles east of the capital Kyiv. Two people initially survived the crash, but one later died in a hospital. No cause for the crash has been determined. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Saturday to be a day of mourning for the crash victims and ordered that flights of An-26 planes be halted pending investigation of the crash cause. Zelensky, who visited the crash area Saturday, called for a full assessment of the condition of the country’s military equipment and said he wanted an official report on the crash by Oct. 25. The An-26 is a transport plane used by both military and civilian operators. Nearly 1,400 of the planes were manufactured from 1969 to 1986, according to the company’s website. The age of the plane that crashed Friday was not immediately reported. An An-26 chartered by a contractor for the World Food Program crashed Aug. 22 while taking off from Juba in South Sudan, killing seven people.

Louisiana trooper quietly buried amid scrutiny over Black man's death

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-26/trooper-quietly-buried-amid-scrutiny-over-black-mans-death

A Louisiana state trooper who died in a single-car crash just hours after he was told he would be fired for his role in the death of a Black man was buried with honors Friday at a ceremony that authorities sought to keep secret out of concerns it would attract a mass protest. State Police officials and family members mourned Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth under tight security at services that marked the latest turn in the long-simmering in-custody death case of Ronald Greene, which has prompted a federal civil-rights probe and increasing calls for authorities to release body-camera video. Hollingsworth, who was white, was the only one of six troopers placed on leave earlier this month in the May 2019 death of Greene following a high-speed chase. Police initially told Greene’s family he died from injuries in a crash but later acknowledged troopers “struggled” with him during the arrest. Greene’s family has filed a federal wrongful-death suit alleging troopers “brutalized” him, shocked him three times with a stun gun and left him “beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest.” Hollingsworth died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a single-car highway crash in Monroe that came just hours after he received a letter informing him that State Police intended to fire him over his role in Greene’s death. State Police have refused to release that letter or any details of how the highway crash occurred. And despite mounting pressure, the agency has repeatedly refused to release body-camera video from Greene’s arrest, citing the ongoing state and federal investigations. On Friday, mourners, many in dress-blue trooper uniforms, packed the New Chapel Hill Baptist Church where Hollingsworth had been a member, filling its parking lots to capacity on a misty and overcast day. The services were closed to the public despite a major police presence that included contingency plans for snipers, drones and a SWAT team to respond to any large disturbance, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the plans who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The plans underscored the growing tension in communities around the country where demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice and the killing of Black people by police. Although no protests materialized at the funeral, several dozen people gathered later in the day outside the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge to denounce “violence or death at the hands of law enforcement officers.” “For too long, the State Police has tolerated behavior that is unacceptable,” said Jamal Taylor, an organizer of the event from Lafayette, La. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, was not in attendance at Friday’s funeral, which included a State Police honor guard and escort for Hollingsworth, who served nearly three decades in law enforcement. Unlike other trooper deaths, Hollingsworth’s was not announced internally by the agency’s superintendent, Col. Kevin Reeves. “The Hollingsworth family has elected to have a private ceremony for family and friends and asks for privacy at this time,” said Lt. Nick Manale, a State Police spokesman. “Retired departmental personnel and active duty troopers who pass away in a non-line-of-duty death are afforded Honor Guard representation based on the requests of the family.” An online fundraiser for the trooper’s family said Hollingsworth would be remembered for his “quick, contagious smile and his dedication” to his schoolteacher wife of 21 years and their teenage son.

Giant rat wins British animal hero award for sniffing out landmines

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-26/giant-rat-wins-animal-hero-award-for-sniffing-out-landmines

A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia. Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance in the past seven years, according to the charity. First known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA started as a free veterinary clinic in 1917 and has honored heroic animals since 1943. Magawa was trained by a Belgian organization that has taught rats to find landmines for more than 20 years. The group, APOPO, works with programs in Cambodia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts. Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields. APOPO Chief Executive Christophe Cox described Magawa’s medal as a huge honor “for our animal trainers.’’ “But also it is big for the people in Cambodia, and all the people around the world who are suffering from landmines,’’ Cox said. “The PDSA Gold Medal award brings the problem of landmines to global attention.” More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by landmines and unexploded ordnance, according to APOPO. In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says. While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that giant African pouched rats were best suited to landmine clearance because of their African origins and lifespan of up to eight years. Their size allows the rats to walk across mine fields without triggering the explosives — and do it much more quickly than people. The PDSA’s Gold Medal has been awarded since 2002 to recognize bravery and acts of exceptional devotion by animals in civilian service. It is considered the animal equivalent of the George Cross, a decoration for heroism. Before Magawa, all the recipients were dogs. PDSA also awards the Dickin Medal for military service. The medal has been awarded to 34 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat since it was created in 1943.

China pushes emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine despite concerns

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/china-pushes-emergency-use-of-covid-vaccine-despite-concerns

After the first shot, he had no reaction. But Kan Chai felt woozy after getting the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in China. “When I was driving on the road, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy, as if I was driving drunk,” the popular writer and columnist recounted on a webinar earlier this month. “So I specially found a place to stop the car, rest a bit, and then I felt better.” His is a rare account from the hundreds of thousands of people who have been given Chinese vaccines before they received final regulatory approval for general use. It’s an unusual move that raises ethical and safety questions as companies and governments worldwide race to develop a vaccine that will stop the spread of the coronavirus. Chinese companies earlier drew attention for giving the vaccine to their top executives and leading researchers before human trials to test their safety and efficacy had even begun. In recent months, they have injected a far larger number under an emergency-use designation approved in June, and that number appears poised to rise. A Chinese health official said Friday that China, which has largely brought the disease under control, needs to take steps to prevent it from coming back. But one outside expert questioned the need for emergency use when the virus is no longer spreading in the country where it was first detected. Science & Medicine Johnson & Johnson is beginning a huge final-stage study to try to prove if a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect recipients from the coronavirus. It’s unclear exactly who and how many people have been injected, but Chinese vaccine makers have offered some clues. State-owned Sinopharm subsidiary CNBG has given the vaccine to 350,000 people outside its clinical trials, which have about 40,000 people enrolled, a top CNBG executive said recently. Another company, SinoVac, has injected 90% of its employees and family members, or about 3,000 people, most under the emergency-use provision, Chief Executive Yin Weidong said. It has also provided tens of thousands of doses of its CoronaVac to the Beijing city government. Another candidate being jointly developed by the military and Cansino, a biopharmaceutical company, has been approved for emergency use in military personnel. “The first people to have priority in emergency use are the vaccine researchers and the vaccine manufacturers because when the pandemic comes, if these people are infected then there’s no way to produce the vaccine,” Yin said. Now, large Chinese firms including telecom giant Huawei and broadcaster Phoenix TV have announced they’re working with Sinopharm to get the vaccine for their employees. Several people who say they work in frontline organizations have said on social media that their workplaces have offered vaccinations for about $150. They declined to comment further, saying they would need permission from their organization. In an established but limited practice, experimental medications have been approved historically for use when they are still in the third and last phase of human trials. Chinese companies have four vaccines in phase 3 trials — two from Sinopharm and one each from SinoVac and Cansino. The Chinese government referenced the World Health Organization’s emergency-use principles to create its own through a strict process, National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei said at a news conference Friday. World & Nation China races against the U.S. and others to make the COVID-19 vaccine first, promoting itself as a benevolent vaccinator for the developing world. He said there have been no serious side effects in the clinical trials. “We’ve made it very clear that the COVID-19 vaccine we put into emergency use are safe,” Zheng said. “Their safety can be ensured but their efficacy is yet to be determined.” Under the emergency rule, high-risk personnel such as medical and customs workers and those who have to work overseas are given priority access, he said. He declined to provide exact numbers. “In China’s case, the pressure in preventing imported infections and domestic resurgence is still huge,” Zheng said. But Diego Silva, a lecturer in bioethics at the University of Sydney in Australia, said that giving vaccines to hundreds of thousands of people outside of clinical trials doesn’t have “scientific merit” in China, where there are currently very few locally transmitted cases, and incoming arrivals are quarantined centrally. “If it’s in the U.S. where the virus is still raging that’s a bit different, but in a country like China it doesn’t seem to make sense to me,” he said. “Because there’s not enough of the virus in China locally to deduce anything, you’re introducing a whole host of others factors” by injecting people outside of trials. Zheng said that all those injected under emergency use are being closely tracked for any adverse health effects. Opinion If getting Americans to wear a mask is hard, vaccine skepticism could mean getting them to take a COVID-19 vaccine will be even harder. Kan Chai, the columnist, wrote in an article posted online in September that despite initial hesitation, he decided to sign up after he heard a state-owned company was looking for volunteers. He didn’t say whether his was an emergency-use case, but the timing of his vaccination suggests it was. He took the first dose in late July, when the emergency inoculations were getting started and the trials were all but over. “I’m willing to be a little white mouse, and the biggest reason is because I have trust in our country’s vaccination technology,” he said. He described taking the vaccine in a public webinar hosted by 8am HealthInsight, a popular health media outlet. It’s unclear why he qualified to receive it. Scant information is publicly available about the program’s scope, size, and scientific merit. CNBG and parent Sinopharm declined to comment. Zheng, the National Health Commission official, did not know about the Kan Chai case. While emergency use may be the right path, Chinese companies are not being transparent about issues such as informed consent, said Joy Zhang, a professor who researches the ethical governance of emerging science at University of Kent in the U.K. Zhang said that she could not find any relevant information on the Sinopharm website, besides general policies. Aside from reports published in international medical journals, there is little else made public. She said relatively more information is publicly available about other trials such as one run by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The trial was halted after a participant developed severe neurological side effects, and only resumed after clinical data was submitted to an independent review board. China has a troubled past with vaccines, with various scandals over the past two decades. The most recent case was in 2018, when Changsheng Biotechnology Co. came under investigation for falsifying records and making ineffective rabies vaccines for children. In 2017, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., a CNBG subsidiary behind one of the vaccines in phase 3 trials, was found to have made defective diphtheria vaccines that were ineffective. Public anger over the case prompted an overhaul of a vaccine punishment law in 2019. The country tightened supervision over the vaccine development and distribution process, and increased penalties for fabricating data. Those concerns seem to be of the past. Guizhen Wu, the chief biosafety expert for China’s Center for Disease Control, said a vaccine could be ready for the general public in China as early as November. She said she took an experimental vaccine back in April. An overseas employee at a Chinese state-owned company, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she isn’t authorized to speak with media, said she decided to sign up last week. She said she isn’t worried because a vaccine is a government priority, so authorities will keep a close-watch on the process.

Portland braces for large right-wing rally hosted by Proud Boys

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/portland-oregon-braces-itself-for-large-right-wing-rally

At least several thousand people are expected in Portland, Ore., on Saturday for a right-wing rally in support of President Trump and his “law and order” reelection campaign as tensions boil over nationwide following the decision not to charge officers in Louisville, Ky., for killing Breonna Taylor. The Proud Boys, a group that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, described it as a free speech event to support Trump and the police, restore law and order, and condemn anti-fascists, “domestic terrorism” and “violent gangs of rioting felons” in the streets. Local and state elected officials forcefully condemned the event and rushed to shore up law enforcement ranks as left-wing groups organized several rallies to oppose the Proud Boys’ message. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday said she was sending state troopers to help the Portland police and was creating a unified command structure among city, regional and state law enforcement — a tactic that essentially circumvents a city ban on the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure. The state police said a “massive influx” of troopers would be in Portland by Saturday morning. “This is a critical moment. We have seen what happens when armed vigilantes take matters into their own hands. We’ve seen it in Charlottesville, we’ve seen it in Kenosha, and, unfortunately, we have seen it in Portland,” she said, referencing deaths in Virginia, Wisconsin and Oregon during clashes between those on the right and left of the political spectrum. “The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer groups have come time and time again looking for a fight, and the results are always tragic. Let me be perfectly clear, we will not tolerate any type of violence this weekend,” said Brown, a Democrat. “Left, right or center, violence is never a path towards meaningful change.” World & Nation Federal officials researched filing criminal or civil charges, underscoring the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on protest violence. The Proud Boys are self-described “Western chauvinists” and they have held events in Portland since Trump’s election alongside other right-wing groups such as Patriot Prayer that often end in violent clashes with left-wing counter-demonstrators. Last month, a Trump supporter and Patriot Prayer follower was shot and killed after some vehicles in a pro-Trump car caravan diverted into downtown Portland and crossed paths with left-wing activists. Right- and left-wing demonstrators fought in the streets, and some members of the caravan fired paintballs and bear spray at counter demonstrators. The suspect in the shooting. a self-described anti-fascist, was killed the following week by law enforcement as they tried to arrest him in Washington state. Similar clashes in 2017, 2018 and 2019 have resulted in violence and unrest and a massive deployment of law enforcement. The Proud Boys mentioned the death of Trump supporter Aaron “Jay” Danielson in their permit application, as well as Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the shooting deaths of two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wis. Rittenhouse’s attorneys have said he was acting in self-defense. The Proud Boys raised the specter of a vigilante response to the actions of a “mob” in a permit application filed with the city this week. “The lawlessness has culminated with the assassination of our friend and Trump supporter Jay Danielson in Portland,” the Proud Boys wrote in their application. “Portland leadership is unwilling to stop the violence. They have been blinded by their hatred of our President and will not allow outside help stopping the violence.” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the city and its police force did not need or want help from “paramilitaries or vigilante groups.” World & Nation The Justice Department has identified New York, Portland and Seattle as three cities that could have federal funding slashed for permitting ‘anarchy.’ “For the past three years, our community has repeatedly had to deal with rallies of this kind, in which participants travel to our city threatening ‘takeovers,’ touting their ‘combat unit’ capacity, and openly bragging about the waste of city resources that they can provoke,” he said. “We are unified and strong, and we will use every available power and resource of our city government to protect free speech and our community from violence.” Police have canceled all scheduled days off for officers Saturday and will primarily be focused on keeping dueling groups of protesters separated. Deputy Chief Chris Davis acknowledged that Oregon is an open-carry state for firearms. But he reminded those attending the rally and counter-demonstrations that under Portland law, it’s illegal to carry a loaded firearm in public without an Oregon concealed handgun permit. Officers will patrol for weapons and check for permits as needed, he said. “We ask that you come peacefully and engage in your free speech peacefully,” Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. “It’s OK for us to disagree about things. But at the end of the day, doing so peacefully, letting people exercise their rights safely is very important. So that’s my ask the folks who are attending.” The rally comes as Portland approaches its fifth month of almost nightly protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Demonstrators want the city to take millions from the police budget and reallocate it to support the Black community. Some also are angry with the mayor — who is also the police commissioner — for allowing police to use tear gas until recently and for what they call overly aggressive police tactics. Wheeler has also refused to cede control of the police bureau to a Black city councilwoman with a decades-long resume of activism around police reform. World & Nation Breonna Taylor’s mother says her daughter was failed by a lack of adequate investigation into the fatal shooting by Louisville police officers. Groups of between 100 and 300 demonstrators frequently set small fires, smash windows and hurl fireworks and rocks at police officers in the early morning hours and have targeted police precincts and other city and county government buildings. Some also point lasers into officers’ eyes. This week, protesters hurled three firebombs at police officers as tensions escalated in the wake of a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge officers with killing Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot in her home by officers conducting a drug investigation. The continuous unrest has drawn the attention of Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Wheeler for not stopping the violence. For a two-week period in July, thousands of protesters squared off with federal agents sent by Trump from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to protect a federal courthouse in downtown Portland that was a focus of the demonstrations.

Palestinian leader calls for new peace process in United Nations speech

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/palestinian-leader-calls-for-new-peace-process-in-un-speech

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday called for an international conference early next year to launch a “genuine peace process” while criticizing the recent decision of two Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel. Abbas seemed to acknowledge the growing international weariness with the decades-old conflict as he delivered the latest in a long series of addresses to the U.N. General Assembly. “I wondered while preparing this statement what more could I tell you, after all that I have said in previous statements,” he said in the video address from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinians have rejected President Trump’s proposal to end the conflict, which overwhelmingly favors Israel, and have officially cut off contacts with both the U.S. and Israel. Arguing that Washington is no longer an honest broker, they have called for a multilateral peace process based on U.N. resolutions and past agreements. They have also rejected the decision of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize ties with Israel, viewing it as a betrayal of the long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only come in exchange for territorial concessions. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, responded with a video statement calling Abbas’ speech a collection of “lies and incitement against Israel” and arguing that the Palestinian leader was “desperate” because of the agreements Israel reached with Bahrain and the UAE. “All Abbas showed was continued Palestinian rejectionism,” Erdan said. In his speech, Abbas said the agreements, signed at the White House earlier this month, are a “violation” of the “principles of a just and lasting solution under international law.” For more than three decades, the Palestinians have sought an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but imposed a crippling blockade when the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized power from Abbas’ forces in 2007. There have been no substantive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was first elected more than a decade ago, and the two sides are fiercely divided over the core issues of the conflict. Instead, Netanyahu has focused on building ties with Arab, African and Asian countries that have long supported the Palestinian cause. In Israel, the agreement with the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich country with considerable regional influence, is seen as a historic breakthrough that could transform the Middle East. Israel put on hold its plans to annex up to a third of the occupied West Bank following the deal with the UAE, while saying it still plans to eventually go through with them. The UAE said the agreement removed an immediate threat to the two-state solution and gave the region a window of opportunity. The Palestinians insist that the core Middle East conflict will not be resolved until they realize their aspirations for independence. “We will not kneel or surrender, and we will not deviate from our fundamental positions, and we shall overcome,” Abbas said, speaking behind a plaque that read “State of Palestine.” “There will be no peace, no security, no stability and no coexistence in our region while this occupation continues.”

Virus cases rise in U.S. heartland, home to anti-mask feelings

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-27/virus-cases-rise-in-us-heartland-home-to-anti-mask-feelings

It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. Elsewhere around the country, Florida’s Republican governor lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses Friday and all but set aside local mask ordinances in the political battleground state, in a move attacked by Democrats as hasty. Meanwhile, confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. have surpassed another milestone — 7 million — according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number of infections is believed to be much higher. The spike across the Midwest as well as parts of the West has set off alarms at hospitals, schools and colleges. World & Nation 21 photos look at what’s being called the new normal as people around the world deal with the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. March 25, 2020 Wisconsin averaged more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 three weeks earlier. Hospitalizations in the state are at their highest level since the outbreak took hold in the U.S. in March. Utah has seen its average daily case count more than double from three weeks earlier. Oklahoma and Missouri are regularly recording 1,000 new cases a day, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch opponent of mask rules, tested positive this week. Kansas and Iowa are also witnessing a spike in cases. And South Dakota and Idaho are seeing sky-high rates of tests coming back positive. “What we’re seeing is the newer hot spots rise over the course of the last several weeks, predominantly in the Upper Midwest,” said Thomas Tsai, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The U.S. is averaging more than 40,000 new confirmed cases a day. Although that number is dramatically lower than the peak of nearly 70,000 over the summer, the numbers are worrisome nonetheless. The nation’s death toll eclipsed 200,000 last week, the highest in the world. In the Midwest, the virus is now landing squarely in places where there is strong resistance to masks and governors have been reluctant to require face coverings. In Springfield, Mo., hospitals are starting to fill up with COVID-19 patients, and the city has seen a big spike in deaths over the past month. Amelia Montgomery, a nurse working in the COVID-19 unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, describes a maddening routine where family members of sick patients call up medical staff on the phone on a daily basis and question whether their loved ones truly have the virus and the veracity of positive test results. “We know what COVID looks like now after six months of dealing with it,” Montgomery said. “It is like beating your head against a brick wall when you are constantly having patients, family members of these patients and the community argue so intensely that it is not real or we are treating it in the wrong way.” The skepticism about the virus coincides with deep frustration over mask requirements in the Midwestern cities that actually have them. Mike Cooper, a 59-year-old sign-shop owner from the Branson, Mo., area, is among those who have grown weary of virus restrictions that he sees as out-of-control government overreach. He has no doubts about the seriousness of the virus but says the financial toll of business and school shutdowns creates its own set of health problems, such as alcoholism, suicide and depression. “Financial ruin kills people too,” he said. “To me, flatten the curve means extend the plague. Flatten the curve means you are just going to kill the same number of people over a longer period of time, so they are going to extend the plague,” Cooper said. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a major ally of President Trump, gave businesses the OK to reopen, declaring, “We’re not closing anything going forward.” The governor, who has resisted making mask-wearing mandatory statewide, also said he would stop cities and counties from collecting fines from people who didn’t cover their faces, virtually nullifying local mask ordinances. Florida was a major hot spot over the summer, and the death toll there stands at nearly 14,000. Deaths are running at over 100 a day, and newly confirmed infections at about 2,700 a day. Like Trump, DeSantis has questioned the effectiveness of closing down businesses, arguing that states that more aggressively shut down, including California, have fared no better. “The state of Florida is probably the most open big state in the country,” he boasted Friday. Florida Democrats have bemoaned the governor’s push to reopen. “No one is advocating for a full-scale lockdown in Florida. But we have been and continue to ask for common-sense prevention measures such as face masks, which are essential to preventing further spread,” state Sen. Audrey Gibson said Thursday. Mask and social distancing rules are starting to cause fatigue in some areas of the Midwest and West. In Joplin, Mo., a mask ordinance was allowed to expire in mid-August as virus fatigue grew. Since then, the number of positive cases there and in surrounding Jasper County — a deeply conservative county that Trump won by more than 50 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — has risen about 80%. “I am getting sick and tired of telling people to wear their masks, and I know they are sick and tired of me saying it,” said Tony Moehr, chief of the Jasper County Health Department. “And it just seems like people have heard it so many times, I’m not sure if they really even hear it anymore when we say it.” At the home of the University of Oklahoma, the Norman City Council voted 5-3 last week to require that masks be worn indoors at house parties if more than 25 people were present. The ordinance passed over objections from members of the public. “You can make any law that you want to. You come into my house telling me that I got to wear this stupid thing and you’re going to have a firefight on your hands,” said Josh Danforth, holding a mask, who identified himself as an Iraq war veteran.

Gov. Newsom signs law to expand mental health coverage in California

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/california-governor-signs-law-to-grow-mental-health-coverage

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday that for the first time in California defines the term “medical necessity” in a move aimed at requiring private health insurance plans to pay for more mental health and drug addiction treatments. State and federal laws already require health insurance companies to handle mental health treatments the same as physical health treatments. The California Health Benefits Review Program says 99.8% of people enrolled in private health insurance plans have coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders on par with other medical conditions. But those laws don’t define what is “medically necessary” to determine which treatments get covered. Because of that, advocates say private insurers often deny coverage for some mental health and drug abuse treatments based on their own restrictive definitions. The law requires all private insurers to cover medically necessary mental health and drug addiction treatments. The law requires insurance companies, when deciding whether a treatment is medically necessary, to follow the most recent criteria and guidelines developed by nonprofit professional associations, like the American Society of Addiction Medicine. California California would be the first U.S. state to mandate 100% zero-emission vehicles, though 15 countries have committed to phasing out gas-powered cars. Sept. 23, 2020 State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), the author of the bill, said many insurance companies refuse mental health or drug addiction treatment for people “by saying it’s not serious enough.” He said that’s like telling a State 1 cancer patient they can’t get treated until they are at Stage 4. “We would never tolerate that with physical health. Yet we tolerate it with addiction,” he said. The California Assn. of Health Plans called it a “misconception” that private insurers wait until people are in crisis before they cover their treatment for mental health or drug addiction. They had asked Newsom to veto the bill, arguing it “recklessly defines medical necessity in a way that will undermine the ability of providers to determine what is clinically appropriate for their patients.” Newsom acknowledged that pressure during a bill-signing ceremony that was streamed online Friday, saying “not everybody is happy with us.” “I got a lot of folks that wanted to pull the plug on this Zoom call today, but we’re doing it because we’re zooming into the future,” Newsom said. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, and it comes as Californians are dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, a reckoning over racial injustice and massive wildfires that have destroyed homes and businesses while turning the air toxic. Arthur Evans, chief executive of the American Psychological Assn., says the group’s annual “Stress in America” survey has shown the highest stress levels since the survey began in 2007. “All of that really emphasizes the need to have access to not only adequate care but to really have access to excellent care just because we know the need is significant right now,” he said. California Newsom again blamed payment delays on the crush of claims filed during the pandemic, an influx that overwhelmed the system’s 30-year-old technology. Sept. 21, 2020 Joe Parks, medical director for the National Council on Behavioral Health, called the law the first comprehensive reform in the country. He said he hoped it would “encourage other states to fill the gaps that they have with this legislation.” The bill was one of more than a dozen health-related measures Newsom signed on Friday. The others included one authored by Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) that sets standards for peer support specialists — people who have suffered from mental health or drug addiction and want to counsel others experiencing the same problems. The bill also authorizes the state’s Medicaid program to seek permission from the federal government to cover peer support specialists. Similar bills have been vetoed twice before by previous governors. It’s one of the final bills authored by Beall to become law as the senator is leaving office this year because of term limits. “The pandemic has really changed the public’s view on this. We now have a pandemic of despair going on,” Beall said, adding that the bill “adds proven mental health resources when we need it most.”

New measurements show the moon has hazardous radiation levels

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/new-measurements-show-moon-has-hazardous-radiation-levels

Future moon explorers will be bombarded with two to three times more radiation than astronauts aboard the International Space Station, a health hazard that will require thick-walled shelters for protection, scientists reported Friday. China’s lander on the far side of the moon is providing the first full measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface, vital information for NASA and others aiming to send astronauts to the moon, the study noted. A Chinese-German team reported on the radiation data collected by the lander — named Chang’e 4 for the Chinese moon goddess — in the U.S. journal Science Advances. “This is an immense achievement in the sense that now we have a data set which we can use to benchmark our radiation” and better understand the potential risk to people on the moon, said Thomas Berger, a physicist with the German Space Agency’s medicine institute and co-author of the study. Astronauts would get 200 to 1,000 times more radiation on the moon than what we experience on Earth — or five to 10 times more than passengers on a trans-Atlantic airline flight, noted Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber of Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, who also worked on the study. Science & Medicine Nearly 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. A woman could follow in his footsteps in 2024. Here’s what we know about her. July 18, 2019 “The difference is, however, that we’re not on such a flight for as long as astronauts would be when they’re exploring the moon,” Wimmer-Schweingruber said in an email. Cancer is the primary risk. “Humans are not really made for these radiation levels and should protect themselves when on the moon,” he added. Radiation levels should be pretty much the same all over the moon, except for near the walls of deep craters, Wimmer-Schweingruber said. “Basically, the less you see of the sky, the better. That’s the primary source of the radiation,” he said. Wimmer-Schweingruber said the moon’s radiation levels are close to what models had predicted. The levels measured by Chang’e 4, in fact, “agree nearly exactly” with measurements by a detector on a NASA orbiter that has been circling the moon for more than a decade, said Kerry Lee, a space radiation expert at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “It is nice to see confirmation of what we think and our understanding of how radiation interacts with the moon is as expected,” said Lee, who was not involved in the Chinese-led study. In a detailed outline released this week, NASA said the first pair of astronauts to land on the moon under the new Artemis program would spend about a week on the lunar surface, more than twice as long as Apollo crews did a half-century ago. Expeditions would last one to two months once a base camp is established. NASA is looking to put astronauts back on the moon by the end of 2024, an accelerated pace ordered by the White House, and on Mars sometime in the 2030s. World & Nation See pictures and conceptual images of the new Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle for the future of human exploration beyond Earth orbit. March 18, 2014 The space agency said it would have radiation detectors and a safe shelter aboard all Orion crew capsules flying to the moon. As for the actual landers, three corporate teams are developing their own craft with NASA oversight. For the first Artemis moon landing, at least, the astronauts will live in the ascent portion of their lander. The German researchers suggest shelters built of moon dirt — readily available material — for stays of more than a few days. The walls should be about 2½ feet thick, they said. Any thicker and the dirt will emit its own secondary radiation, created when galactic cosmic rays interact with the lunar soil. “So in this sense — I think the walls of European castles would be too thick!” Berger wrote in an email.

Britain's Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank expecting first child

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/princess-eugenie-jack-brooksbank-expecting-first-child

Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are expecting a child next year, Buckingham Palace said Friday. In a tweet from the royal family’s account, the palace said it is “very pleased’’ to announce that the couple is expecting a baby in early 2021. The tweet says “The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr. and Mrs. George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news.” 👶 Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in early 2021..The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news. pic.twitter.com/nLrzkwHMGC Eugenie married Brooksbank two years ago in a star-studded royal wedding at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Eugenie, 30, the queen’s granddaughter, is 10th in line to the throne.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un offers apology for killing of South Korean

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/n-koreas-kim-apologizes-over-shooting-death-of-s-korean

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologized Friday over the killing of a South Korea official near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary, saying he was “very sorry” about the incident he called unexpected and unfortunate, South Korean officials said. It’s extremely unusual for a North Korean leader to apologize to South Korea on any issue. Kim’s move could de-escalate tensions between the Koreas, as it’s expected to ease anti-North sentiments in South Korea over the man’s death as well as mounting criticism of its liberal President Moon Jae-in. “Comrade Kim Jong Un, the State Affairs Commission chairman, feels very sorry to give big disappointment to President Moon Jae-in and South Korean citizens because an unexpected, unfortunate incident happened” at a time when South Korea grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, Moon advisor Suh Hoon cited the North Korean message as saying. On Thursday, South Korea accused North Korea of fatally shooting one of its public servants who was likely trying to defect and burning his body after finding him on a floating object in North Korean waters on Tuesday. South Korean officials condemned North Korea for what they called an “atrocious act” and pressed it to punish those responsible. According to the North Korean message, North Korean troops first fired blanks after the man found in the North’s waters refused to answer their questions other than saying he was from South Korea. Then, as he made moves to flee, the North Korean troops fired 10 rounds. When they came near the floating object, they found blood but no sign of him. Politics Trump threatened ‘fire and fury,’ then met three times with North Korea’s ruler in an ambitious bid to seek nuclear disarmament. It failed. The troops determined he was dead and burned the floating object, in line with anti-coronavirus rules, according to the North Korean message read by Suh. Senior South Korean military officer Ahn Young Ho told a parliamentary committee meeting Wednesday that North Korea killed the man probably because of elevated anti-coronavirus measures that involve “indiscriminate shooting” at anyone approaching its borders illegally. Defense Minister Suh Wook said at the same meeting that the official was believed to have tried to defect, in part because he left his shoes on the ship, put on a life jacket and boarded the floating object. Some experts say there wasn’t enough proof to conclude he tried to cross over to North Korea. The North Korean message was sent from the United Front Department of the ruling Workers’ Party, a top North Korean body in charge of relations with South Korea. The message said North Korea “cannot help expressing big regrets” over the fact South Korea had used “blasphemous and confrontational words like ‘atrocious act’” to condemn the North without asking it to explain details of the incident. But it said North Korea was still sorry about such an incident happening on its territory and would take steps to prevent trust between the countries from collapsing. South Korea’s coast guard said earlier Friday that its ships were searching waters near the boundary in case the official’s body drifted back. The western sea boundary is where several bloody inter-Korean naval skirmishes and deadly attacks blamed on North Korea occurred in past years. Coast guard officials said they were also checking the man’s cellphone records, bank accounts and insurance programs to find more about his disappearance. They said the 47-year-old father of two had some debts but gave no further details.

Vietnamese factory accused of recycling about 320,000 used condoms

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-25/vietnamese-police-to-investigate-condom-recycling-factory

Vietnamese police said they will investigate a factory that was found recycling about 320,000 used condoms for resale, local media reported Thursday. Following a tip from a local resident, Binh Duong provincial market inspectors over the weekend raided a factory near Ho Chi Minh City where they found used condoms being repacked for sale at the market, the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. A market inspector said the owner of the factory, a 34-year-old woman, confessed that they bought the used condoms from a man in the province. The condoms were washed, reshaped and packed into plastic packages, the newspaper said. It said police announced they will investigate and track down others involved in the operation. A call to police for comment was not answered Thursday. The newspaper quoted a health official as saying the recycled condoms posed an extreme health risk to users.

Feds put first Black inmate to death since restart of executions

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-24/feds-put-first-black-inmate-to-death-since-execution-restart

A man who killed a religious couple visiting Texas from Iowa was executed Thursday, the first Black inmate put to death as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause. Christopher Vialva, 40, was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m. EDT after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. In a last statement, Vialva asked God to comfort the families of the couple he had killed in 1999, saying, “Father … heal their hearts with grace and love.” After robbing and locking Todd and Stacie Bagley in the trunk of their car, the then-19-year-old Viavla shot them in the head and burned their bodies in the car. Vialva’s final words were: “I’m ready, Father.” Vialva turned toward his mother behind a glass window in a witness room as the lethal injections began. “He was looking at me when he died,” his mother, Lisa Brown, told the Associated Press in a text message, confirming she attended the execution. The execution comes during demonstrations, disappointment, violence and sadness in Louisville, Ky., after a grand jury did not charge the officers who shot Breonna Taylor with her death, rather filing lower-level felonies for shooting into neighboring homes. Questions about racial bias in the criminal justice system have been front and center since May — following the death of George Floyd after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on the handcuffed Black man’s neck for several minutes. A report this month by the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center said Black people remain overrepresented on death rows and that Black people who kill white people are far more likely to be sentenced to death than white people who kill Black people. Of the 56 inmates currently on federal death row, 26 — or nearly 50% — are Black, according to center data updated Wednesday; 22, or nearly 40%, are white and seven, around 12%, were Latino. There is one Asian on federal death row. Black people make up only about 13% of the population. Wearing black glasses with especially thick lenses, Vialva opened his eyes wide as officials started administering the fatal dose of pentobarbital. He scanned the ceiling lights in the pale green room, furrowed his brows, yawned and then turned his head toward a witness room where his mother was. Within minutes, he no longer moved at all, his head fixed in a tilt toward the witness room, his mouth agape. White blotches emerged on Vialva’s hands, as his arms, lips and nose turned a purple hue then whitened. After 20 minutes, an official walked into the chamber, listened to Vialva’s chest with a stethoscope and walked out. Seconds later, a voice over an intercom declared Vialva dead at “6:42 p.m.” Later, officials corrected the time to 6:46 p.m. No explanation was given. Vialva’s lawyer, Susan Otto, has said race played a role in landing her client on death row for killing the white couple. Vialva was the seventh federal execution since July and the second this week. Five of the first six were white, a move critics argue was a political calculation to avoid uproar. The sixth was Navajo. Seconds before Vialva shot the Bagleys, Stacie Bagley said to him: “Jesus loves you,” according to court filings. “I believe when someone deliberately takes the life of another, they suffer the consequences for their actions,” Todd Bagley’s mother, Georgia, wrote in a statement released after the execution. “Christopher’s mother had the opportunity to visit him for the past 21 years,” she wrote. “We have had to wait for 21 years for justice and closure. We cannot be with our children for visits or to see them on holidays,” Bagley’s mother wrote. In a video statement released by his lawyers earlier, Vialva expressed regret for what he’d done. “I committed a grave wrong when I was a lost kid and took two precious lives from this world,” he said. “Every day, I wish I could right this wrong.” Vialva’s mother also spoke at an anti-death penalty rally Thursday morning across from the prison where her son was later put to death. “This is the first venue I’ve had in which I could say to Todd and Stacie’s family, ‘I am so sorry for your loss,’” she said. She also said her son converted to what she described as Messianic Judaism while behind bars. His spiritual advisor was inside the death chamber during the execution. Federal authorities executed just three prisoners in the previous 56 years. Death penalty foes accuse President Trump of restarting them to help stake a claim as the law-and-order candidate. Otto said one Black juror and 11 white jurors recommended the death sentence in 2000 after prosecutors told them Vialva led a Black gang faction in Killeen, Texas, and killed to boost his gang status. That claim, Otto said, was false and only served to conjure up menacing stereotypes. “It played right into the narrative that he was a dangerous Black thug who killed these lovely white people. And they were lovely,” Otto said in a recent phone interview. According to court filings, the Bagleys were on their way home from a Sunday worship service during a visit to Texas when Vialva and his teenage accomplices asked them for a lift after they stopped at a convenience store — planning all along to rob the couple. After the Bagleys agreed and began driving away, Vialva pulled out a gun and told the couple: “Plans have changed.” After stealing their money, jewelry and ATM card, the teens locked the Bagleys in the trunk of their car as they drove around for hours trying to withdraw money from ATMs and seeking to pawn Stacie Bagley’s wedding ring. The Bagleys, who worked as youth ministers, pleaded for their lives from the trunk and urged their kidnappers to accept Jesus. The teens eventually pulled to the side of the road and poured lighter fluid inside the car. As they did, the Bagleys sang “Jesus loves us” in the trunk. Vialva, the oldest of the group, donned a ski mask, opened the trunk and shot the Bagleys in the head. Stacie Bagley, prosecutors said at trial, was still alive as flames engulfed the car. Otto said Vialva’s lawyers during the trial, the sentencing phase and in an initial appeal didn’t appear to raise objections about the racial composition of the jury or the characterization of Vialva as a Black gang leader. That effectively barred subsequent lawyers from raising the issue of racial bias in higher court appeals.

Powerful Vatican Cardinal Becciu resigns amid scandal

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-24/powerful-vatican-cardinal-becciu-resigns-amid-scandal

The powerful head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, resigned suddenly Thursday from the post and renounced his rights as a cardinal amid a financial scandal that has reportedly implicated him indirectly. In a statement late Thursday, the Vatican provided no details on why Pope Francis accepted Becciu’s resignation. In the one-sentence announcement, the Holy See said only that Francis had accepted Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints “and his rights connected to the cardinalate.” Becciu, the former No. 2 in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, has been reportedly implicated in a financial scandal involving the Vatican’s investment in a London real estate deal that has lost the Holy See millions of euros in fees paid to middlemen. The Vatican prosecutor has placed several Vatican officials — but not Becciu — under investigation, as well as the middlemen. Becciu has defended the soundness of the original investment and denied any wrongdoing, and it’s unclear whether the scandal was behind his resignation or possibly sparked a separate line of inquiry. But the late-breaking news of his resignation, the severity of his apparent sanction, along with the Vatican’s tight-lipped release and the unexpected downfall of one of the most powerful Vatican officials, all suggested a shocking new chapter in the scandal, which has convulsed the Vatican for the last year. The last time a cardinal’s rights were removed was when American Theodore McCarrick renounced his rights and privileges as a cardinal in July 2018 amid a sexual abuse investigation. He was subsequently defrocked by Francis last year for sexually abusing adults as well as minors. Before him, the late Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien in 2015 relinquished the rights and privileges of being a cardinal after unidentified priests alleged sexual misconduct. O’Brien was, however, allowed to retain the cardinal’s title and he died a member of the College of Cardinals, the elite group of churchmen whose main job is to elect a pope. In the Vatican statement, the Holy See identified Becciu as “His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Becciu,” making clear he remained a cardinal but without any rights. At 72, Becciu would have been able to participate in a possible future conclave to elect Francis’ successor. Cardinals over age 80 can’t vote. But by renouncing his rights as a cardinal, Becciu has relinquished his rights to take part. Becciu was the “substitute,” or top deputy in the secretariat of state from 2011 to 2018, when Francis made him a cardinal and moved him into the Vatican’s saint-making office. He straddled two pontificates, having been named by Pope Benedict XVI and entrusted with essentially running the Curia, or Vatican bureaucracy, a position that gave him enormous influence and power. The financial problems date from 2014, when the Vatican entered into a real estate venture by investing more than $200 million in a fund run by an Italian businessman. The deal gave the Holy See 45% of the luxury building at 60 Sloane Ave. in London’s Chelsea neighborhood. The money came from the secretariat of state’s asset portfolio, which is funded in large part by the Peter’s Pence donations of Catholics around the world for the pope to use for charity and Vatican expenses. The Holy See decided in November 2018, after Becciu had left the secretariat of state, to exit the fund, end its relationship with the businessman and buy out the remainder of the building. It did so after Becciu’s successor determined that the mortgage was too onerous and that the businessman was losing money for the Vatican in some of the fund’s other investments. The buyout deal, however, cost the Holy See tens of millions of euros more and sparked the Vatican investigation that has so far implicated half a dozen Vatican employees. Becciu has insisted he wasn’t in power during the 2018 buyout deal and always acted in the sole interests of the Holy See. In the Vatican prosecutor’s initial warrant, Becciu is not named, and it remains unclear if his role in managing the secretariat of state’s vast asset portfolio was connected with the resignation. His former boss, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, has said the whole matter was “opaque” and needed to be clarified. Francis, for his part, has vowed to get to the bottom of what he has said was evidence of corruption in the Holy See. Francis would meet regularly with Becciu in the Italian’s role as prefect of the saint-making office, since every month or two he would present lists of candidates for possible beatification or canonization for the pope to approve. In addition, since the beginning of his pontificate, Francis had had an annual luncheon date at Becciu’s apartment along with 10 priests on the Thursday of Holy Week leading up to Easter. The Vatican always reported the get-togethers were a chance for the pope to chat informally with Becciu and priests of his diocese on the day the church celebrates the institution of the priesthood. The luncheon didn’t happen this year amid the Vatican’s coronavirus lockdown.

Jobless claims at 870,000 as fraud and backlogs cloud data

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-09-24/jobless-claims-at-870-000-as-fraud-and-backlogs-cloud-data

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid rose slightly last week to 870,000, a historically high figure that shows that the viral pandemic is still squeezing restaurants, airlines, hotels and many other businesses six months after it first erupted. The figure coincides with evidence that some newly laid-off Americans are facing delays in receiving unemployment benefits as state agencies intensify efforts to combat fraudulent applications and clear their pipelines of a backlog of jobless claims. California has said it will stop processing new applications for two weeks as it seeks to reduce backlogs and prevent fraudulent claims. Pennsylvania has found that as many as 10,000 inmates are improperly receiving aid. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment benefits declined to 12.6 million. The steady decline in that figure over the last several months reflects that some of the unemployed are being rehired. Yet it also indicates that others have exhausted their regular jobless aid, which lasts six months in most states. In addition to those receiving aid on state programs, about 105,000 others were added to an extended jobless benefit program that provides 13 additional weeks of aid. This program, established in the economic relief package that Congress passed this year, is now paying benefits to 1.6 million people. Applications for jobless aid soared in the spring after the viral outbreak suddenly shut down businesses across the country, slashed tens of millions of jobs and triggered a deep recession. Since then, as states have slowly reopened their economies, about half the jobs that were initially lost have been recovered. Business California gained 101,900 jobs in August, mostly due to the temporary hiring of federal census takers. Sept. 18, 2020 Yet job growth has been slowing. In most sectors of the economy, employers appear reluctant to hire new workers in the face of deep uncertainty about the course of the virus. The growing concerns about fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits have focused mainly on a new program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. This program made self-employed people, gig workers and contractors eligible for jobless aid for the first time. Though roughly 14 million people are classified as receiving aid under that program, economists increasingly regard that figure as unreliable and probably inflated by both fraudulent applications and inaccurate counts. The number of people receiving benefits under the PUA program is probably overstated by several million, economists say. Thursday’s report from the government comes against the backdrop of an economy that has been recovering fitfully from a catastrophic recession. Some economic barometers — such as housing, retail purchases and auto sales — have managed to produce solid gains. But with unemployment elevated at 8.4% and a key federal jobless benefit having expired, the economy’s gains are believed to be slowing. Most economists say it will be hard for the job market or the economy to sustain any recovery unless Congress enacts another rescue aid package for struggling individuals, businesses and states. Ultimately, an effective vaccine will probably be needed for the economy to fully regain its health. In the meantime, California and other states are trying to manage their beleaguered jobless benefits programs. Sharon Hilliard, director of California’s Employment Development Department, said her agency would stop accepting applications for aid for two weeks while it adopts reforms recommended by a state task force. The department will try to clear a backlog of nearly 600,000 first-time applications and review about 1 million people who have received unemployment benefits but whose cases have come under scrutiny. These people include gig workers and contractors who have more difficulty verifying their income than do traditional employees whose tax forms are on file with the state.

Q&A: Why was no one charged in Breonna Taylor's shooting?

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-24/q-a-what-were-the-results-of-breonna-taylor-investigation

Six months after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police in her Kentucky apartment, a grand jury delivered a long-awaited answer about whether the officers would be punished. The jury on Wednesday did charge one of the officers, Brett Hankison, with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that went into another home with people inside. But jurors didn’t indict any of the officers on charges directly related to Taylor’s death. The jury relied on evidence presented to it by Kentucky Atty. Gen. Daniel Cameron. Cameron said the other two officers were justified in firing their weapons because Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had fired one shot at them. Along with the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, Taylor’s case became a major touchstone for the nationwide protests that have gripped the nation since May, drawing attention to entrenched racism and demanding police reform. Some questions and answers about the Breonna Taylor case: Taylor was a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who lived with her sister in an apartment in Louisville. She and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had settled in to watch a movie in her bedroom on the night of March 13 when police came to her door with a narcotics warrant that was one of five issued that night in a wide-ranging sting. Minutes later, Taylor was fatally shot. Her death sparked months of protests in Louisville, and celebrities including LeBron James, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey have called on authorities to criminally charge the police officers who were involved in the raid. Cameron said that Taylor was shot six times on the night of her death, but only one of the gunshots was fatal. Sgt. John Mattingly had entered the home after the door was broken down, and he was shot once in the leg by Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend. Walker has said he didn’t know the police were at the door, and he fired a “warning shot,” thinking it was an intruder. After Walker fired, Mattingly, Hankison and a third officer, Myles Cosgrove, returned fire, for a total of 32 gunshots fired by police. World & Nation The gunfire that killed a black woman and wounded a police detective who crashed through her door has fueled debate over so-called no-knock warrants. June 1, 2020 Cameron said the fatal bullet was fired by Cosgrove, but added that Cosgrove and Mattingly were justified in the use of force because they were shot at first. Cameron said state law “bars us from seeking charges in Breonna Taylor’s death.” Cameron also said there was no conclusive evidence that any of Hankison’s 10 gunshots hit Taylor inside her home. But Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that went into another home with people inside. Hankison, who was fired from the Louisville department in June, was the only officer charged by the grand jury. The first-degree wanton endangerment charges are Class D, the lowest level felonies in Kentucky, with a sentencing range of one to five years in prison upon conviction. When Hankison was fired, interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said that Hankison showed “extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he fired “blindly” into Taylor’s home.Will there be any other charges?Cameron said it is unlikely there will be any further criminal charges coming from his investigation from the night of the shooting. Lawyers for Taylor’s family had called for a minimum of manslaughter charges. Cameron said his team “walked the grand jury through every homicide offense, and then the grand jury was the one that made the ultimate decision.” Federal officials are continuing to investigate whether the officers committed any civil rights violations, and that probe is also investigating a fourth officer, Joshua Jaynes, who sought the warrant for Taylor’s home. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer also said Louisville police are conducting a professional standards investigation to look into if any officers involved in the raid that night need further training or discipline.

Tiny Rubik's Cube goes on sale in Japan to mark 40th anniversary

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-24/tiny-rubiks-cube-goes-on-sale-in-japan-for-anniversary

A tiny but playable Rubik’s Cube, so little it fits on your fingertip, has gone on sale in Japan for about $1,900 and will be available for delivery in December. Billed as a “super-small” Rubik’s Cube, it was created to mark the 40th anniversary of when the original 3-D puzzle went on sale in Japan. The cube measures just 0.39 inches by 0.39 inches and weighs less than one-10th of an ounce. It’s made of “ultra-precision metal” and comes with a box for its display, according to MegaHouse Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based toymaker Bandai Co. Orders began Wednesday, only by credit card. Rubik’s Cube was invented by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik in the 1970s. A U.S. company turned it into a hit product in the 1980s. More than 100 million Rubik’s Cubes were sold worldwide in the first two years. It was an instant hit in Japan, where more than 4 million were sold in the first eight months after it went on sale in July 1980. The new tiny cube was shown this week at an exhibit in Tokyo organized by the Hungarian Embassy, which also includes an artwork made with Rubik’s Cubes. The exhibit runs through Nov. 9. Norbert Palanovics, the Hungarian Ambassador to Japan, said the Rubik’s Cube embodies the small, simple but smart qualities of his country that he is so proud of. “The Rubik’s Cube is part of our everyday life, here in Japan, too, and inspires everyone,” he said.

Executive leaves Pebble Mine project amid recorded comment fallout

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-23/executive-leaves-mine-project-amid-recorded-comment-fallout

The man helping lead efforts to develop a copper and gold mine near the headwaters of a major salmon fishery in Alaska has resigned following the release of recorded comments in which he “embellished” relationships with elected and regulatory officials, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. said Wednesday. Tom Collier served as CEO for the Pebble Limited Partnership, which is owned by Canada-based Northern Dynasty and is seeking a key federal permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. Collier’s resignation is effective immediately, Pebble spokesperson Mike Heatwole said by email. The resignation letter was not released. Heatwole called it “a private matter between employer and employee.” John Shively, a former Pebble partnership CEO, will act as interim CEO, Northern Dynasty said. Efforts to reach Collier weren’t immediately successful Wednesday. Collier and Ron Thiessen, Northern Dynasty’s president and CEO, were shown in recorded conversations released this week by a Washington-based group called the Environmental Investigation Agency. The recordings were made by individuals the group called “investigators” who had “expressed interest in investment opportunities related to the Pebble project.” Thiessen, in a release Wednesday, slammed the group’s tactics as unethical. But he said it doesn’t excuse the comments that were made. He apologized “to all those who were hurt or offended, and all Alaskans.” World & Nation Pebble Mine, one of the most controversial development proposals in Alaska history, failed to pass scrutiny by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and qualify for a permit under the Clean Water Act. The critics included Donald Trump Jr. Aug. 24, 2020 Heatwole did not respond to questions about whether there were any calls within Northern Dynasty for Thiessen to resign. Collier in the tapes suggested support from the state for the project and described himself and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy as “pretty good friends.” He also suggested Alaska’s two U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Daniel Sullivan, were “embarrassed” by statements they made raising concerns about the project and were now “in a corner being quiet.” Murkowski, in a statement, said she did not misunderstand an announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in August that said discharges at the mine site would cause “unavoidable adverse impacts to aquatic resources” and laid out levels of mitigation that would be required. Murkowski and Sullivan, both Republicans, released statements the day of the August announcement that said the corps had determined the project could not be permitted as currently proposed and they agreed with that position. “I am dead set on a high bar for large-scale resource development in the Bristol Bay watershed,” Murkowski said in a statement Wednesday. “The reality of this situation is the Pebble project has not met that bar and a permit cannot be issued to it.” Sullivan said he “unequivocally” stands behind his August comments. “Any suggestion otherwise is either wishful thinking, a blatant mischaracterization, or a desperate attempt to secure funding for a mine that cannot move forward,” he said in a statement. As for Dunleavy, also a Republican, his office said statements made in the released videos “misrepresent the Dunleavy administration’s role and stance on the Pebble Project.” His office said that resource development projects undergo “a rigorous environmental and permitting process” by federal agencies and that if a plan is submitted by Pebble to the state “it will also undergo a vigorous review process.” The corps also took issue with what a spokesperson characterized as misrepresentations or inaccuracies in the recorded comments. The corps has yet to make a final permitting decision on the project, which has been a source of intense debate in Alaska for years.

Gale Sayers, Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears, dies at 77

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-23/gale-sayers-bears-hall-of-fame-running-back-dies-at-77

Gale Sayers, whose brief but brilliant football career was immortalized both in grainy NFL footage and on the silver screen, has died. He was 77. Sayers died Wednesday, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which inducted him even though he played only seven seasons with the Chicago Bears before a devastating knee injury led to his retirement. He suffered from dementia in his later years. “Gale was one of the finest men in NFL history and one of the game’s most exciting players,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “Gale was an electrifying and elusive runner who thrilled fans every time he touched the ball. He earned his place as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.” Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet,” Sayers was a central character in the 1971 movie “Brian’s Song,” and was played by Billy Dee Williams. The tearjerker told the story of the brotherly bond between Sayers and fellow Bears running back Brian Piccolo, played by James Caan. Their friendship transcended race. Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer in 1969, and Sayers stayed by his side in the late stages of the disease. Days before Piccolo died at age 26, Sayers received the George S. Halas Award for courage and dedicated it to his friend, saying, “You flatter me by giving me this award, but I can tell you here and now that I accept it for Brian Piccolo. I love Brian Piccolo, and I’d like all of you to love him too. Tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him.” On Wednesday, actor Williams tweeted: “My heart is broken over the loss of my dear friend, Gale Sayers. Portraying Gale in Brian’s Song was a true honor… He was an extraordinary human being with the kindest heart.” My heart is broken over the loss of my dear friend, Gale Sayers.Portraying Gale in Brian’s Song was a true honor and one of the nightlights of my career. He was an extraordinary human being with the the kindest heart.My sincerest condolences to his family 💔#RIPGaleSayers pic.twitter.com/OyQRlwuznU In a 2010 Sports Illustrated story, Sayers said more people approached him about the movie than about his football career. “That’s fine,” he told the magazine. “I’ll never, ever forget Brian. That part of my life will be with me forever.” A two-time All-American at Kansas, Sayers was the fourth pick of the 1965 draft by the Bears. He was chosen one selection after Chicago took future Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus at No. 3. “We were both No. 1s, so they’re going to make it hard on us and show us the ropes and everything else,” Butkus said, according to the Associated Press. “But Gale just ran circles around everybody. Quickly, they adopted him.” He set a league record in his first season with 22 touchdowns, earning offensive rookie of the year honors. Six of those touchdowns came in a single game against the San Francisco 49ers at Wrigley Field. It was against the 49ers in his fourth season that Sayers suffered multiple torn ligaments in his right knee, an injury that ended his 1968 season with five games to go. On the play in question, Sayers took a pitch, ran to his left, and was hit low by San Francisco’s Kermit Alexander, who took his legs out with a shoulder to the knee. Sayers lay on the muddy turf, curled in pain. “Not to say Kermit was intentionally doing that, but because of the way that Kermit Alexander struck Sayers inside out on his right knee, I made sure I never struck anyone in tackling on the knee joint,” Willie Lanier, Hall of Fame linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, told The Times on Wednesday. “Because I don’t know whether you have your foot planted. If your foot’s planted, and I take you out at the knee, it can tear everything in the joint.” Playing on a rebuilt knee, Sayers ran for 1,032 yards in the 14-game 1969 season. But an injury to his left knee in 1970 curtailed his final two seasons, when he played in two games each year. In 1977, at 34, Sayers became the youngest player enshrined in the Hall of Fame. After his playing career, Sayers went on to become a stockbroker, sports administrator, businessman and philanthropist. “I held him in the highest esteem,” said Marv Levy, a Chicago native who didn’t coach Sayers but is a Hall of Fame coach who led the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. “Not just as a fantastic football player, but as a great family guy, great citizen, somebody who conducted himself like he should. He was a running back with whom few have ever compared.”

GOP-led Senate committees issue report on Bidens and Ukraine

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-23/gop-led-senate-committees-issue-report-on-bidens-ukraine

Two Republican-led Senate committees issued a politically charged report Wednesday on the work Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son did in Ukraine. Biden’s campaign immediately panned the report, released six weeks before the election, as an effort by an ally of President Trump to damage his election opponent. Trump has repeatedly drawn attention to the issue even as his own administration has warned of a concerted Russian effort to denigrate Biden and asserted that a Ukrainian lawmaker who is involved in spreading anti-Biden claims is an “active Russian agent.” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, whose Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is one of the two panels that released the 87-page report, had acknowledged in interviews his goal of making the document public before the election because he expected it would paint an unflattering portrait of Biden. The investigation produced stark political divisions, with Democrats accusing Johnson of a politically motivated initiative at a time when they said the Homeland Security Committee should be focused on the COVID-19 pandemic response and other, less partisan issues. Even before the report was released, the Biden campaign issued a detailed statement aiming to rebut point-by-point allegations that it said had already long been debunked by media organizations as well as by U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The Senate report examines Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine, where he held a paid seat on the board of gas company Burisma, and alleges that that work posed a conflict of interest at a time when Biden was vice president in the Obama administration and engaged in Ukraine policy. The allegations were central to the impeachment case against Trump after the president asked Ukraine’s president in a telephone call last year to investigate the Bidens. One of the claims referenced in the report is that Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, as a way to stymie an investigation into the owner of Burisma. But the Biden campaign pointed to news reports and public statements showing there was no active investigation into Burisma at the time of Shokin’s ouster in 2016, and that the firing of Shokin was broadly sought by U.S. and European officials and reflected the official Obama administration policy. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, and Hunter Biden has denied using his influence with his father to aid Burisma. But Republicans who came to Trump’s defense in this year’s impeachment trial encouraged further investigations of his activities. Johnson, a close ally of Trump, took the lead. “As the coronavirus death toll climbs and Wisconsinites struggle with joblessness, Ron Johnson has wasted months diverting the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee away from any oversight of the catastrophically botched federal response to the pandemic, a threat Sen. Johnson has dismissed by saying that ‘death is an unavoidable part of life,’” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

Cindy McCain endorses Biden for president in rebuke of Trump

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-09-22/cindy-mccain-endorses-biden-for-president-in-rebuke-of-trump

Democrat Joe Biden said Tuesday that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president, a stunning rebuke of President Trump by the widow of the GOP’s 2008 nominee. Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain’s family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign. But the McCains have stopped short of endorsing Trump’s rivals. Cindy McCain’s backing could help Biden appeal to Republicans disaffected with the GOP president and give the former vice president a boost in Arizona, a crucial swing state that John McCain represented in Congress for 35 years. He’s remained a revered figure since his 2018 death from complications of a brain tumor, particularly with the independent voters whom Biden is courting. Biden told donors Tuesday evening that McCain’s endorsement was coming “because of what (Trump) talks about how my son and John and others who are heroes, who served their country. You know, he said they’re ‘losers, suckers.’” Biden was referring to comments Trump reportedly made mocking the American war dead. Trump has denied making the remarks, first reported through anonymous sources by the Atlantic, but many of the comments were later confirmed by the Associated Press. Cindy McCain had not initially been expected to offer an explicit endorsement of Biden, but she had already gone to bat for his presidential run. She lent her voice to a video that aired during the Democratic National Convention and was focused on Biden’s close friendship with her late husband. Politics Two states give electoral votes by congressional district, not winner-take-all statewide. That brings Biden’s campaign to Omaha, Trump’s to Maine. Sept. 22, 2020 John McCain was assigned to be a military aide for Biden, then a senator, during an overseas trip, and their families formed an enduring friendship. They later shared a grim bond over glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that killed Biden’s son Beau three years before McCain succumbed to the same disease. John McCain said in 2016 that he couldn’t support Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, citing Trump’s demeaning comments about women. “It’s not pleasant for me to renounce the nominee of my party,” McCain said during a debate as he sought his sixth term in the Senate. “He won the nomination fair and square.” A Navy pilot, John McCain was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967. He was captured, beaten and held prisoner for more than five years, refusing to be released ahead of other American service members. During his 2016 campaign, Trump said of McCain, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” McCain later angered Trump with his dramatic thumbs-down vote against repealing Obama’s healthcare law. Politics A look at where President Trump and Joe Biden stand on key issues in the 2020 election, including healthcare, immigration, police reform and climate. Sept. 14, 2020 The McCains’ daughter Meghan McCain has been outspoken about the pain she feels when the president disparages her father. Biden consoled Meghan McCain on an appearance on “The View” after her father was diagnosed with cancer. She has said Biden often reaches out to her to offer support, after losing his son Beau to cancer in 2015. Trump wasn’t invited to John McCain’s funeral.

Warming shrinks Arctic Ocean ice to second-lowest level on record

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-21/warming-shrinks-arctic-ocean-ice-to-2nd-lowest-on-record

Ice in the Arctic Ocean melted to its second-lowest level on record this summer, triggered by global warming along with natural forces, U.S. scientists reported Monday. The extent of ice-covered ocean at the North Pole and extending farther south to Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia reached its summertime low of 1.4 million square miles last week before starting to grow again. Arctic sea ice reaches its low point in September and its high in March, after the winter. This year’s melt is second only to 2012, when the ice shrank to 1.3 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has been keeping satellite records since 1979. In the 1980s, the ice cover was about 1 million square miles larger than current summer levels. Science & Medicine Climate change may sometimes seem so big and abstract that it can be difficult to grasp the scope of the problem. Nov. 3, 2016 Data center director Mark Serreze said a Siberian heat wave last spring and a natural Arctic climate phenomenon were at play as well as the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Temperatures for much of the year were 14 to 18 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the Siberian Arctic. “Absolutely we’re seeing climate change at work because the warm summers become warmer and the cold winters aren’t as cold as they were,” he said. Scientists have observed a downward trend over the last decade, with slight jumps up and down due to natural forces, he added. Climate & Environment The amount of sea ice circling Antarctica has suddenly plunged from a record high in 2014 to record lows in 2017. Scientists are stumped by the turnaround. July 1, 2019 Studies show that the warming of the Arctic and the melting of sea ice change weather farther south, by altering the jet stream and other waves that move weather systems. It’s been connected to increased winter storminess in the Eastern United States, said climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Woods Hole, Mass. “What happens in the Arctic, as we say, doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann. “We see the impact of Arctic warming in the form of unprecedented heat waves, floods, droughts, wildfire that we are now contending with here in the U.S. and around the rest of the world.”

AP sources: Woman accused of sending ricin letter addressed to White House arrested

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-20/ap-sources-woman-accused-of-sending-ricin-letter-arrested

A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin, which was addressed to the White House, has been arrested at the New York-Canada border, three law enforcement officials told the Associated Press on Sunday. The letter had been intercepted before it reached the White House. The woman was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo and is expected to face federal charges, the officials said. Her name was not immediately released. The letter addressed to the White House appeared to have originated in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said. It was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and President Trump, and a preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, according to the officials. The officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. There have been several prior instances in which U.S. officials have been targeted with ricin sent through the mail. A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. The letters were intercepted, and no one was hurt. In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending letters dusted with ricin to President Obama and other officials.

Born to prevent war, U.N. at 75 faces a deeply polarized world

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-20/born-to-prevent-war-un-at-75-faces-deeply-polarized-world

Born out of World War II’s devastation to save succeeding generations from the scourge of conflict, the United Nations officially marks its 75th anniversary Monday at an inflection point in history, navigating a polarized world as it faces a pandemic, regional conflicts, a shrinking economy and growing inequality. Criticized for spewing out billions of words and achieving scant results in its primary mission of ensuring global peace, the U.N. nonetheless remains the one place that its 193 member nations can meet to talk. And as frustrating as its lack of progress often is, especially when it comes to preventing and ending crises, there is also strong support for its power to bring not only nations but also people of all ages from all walks of life, ethnicities and religions together to discuss critical issues like climate change. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, looking back on the U.N.’s history in an AP interview in June, said its biggest accomplishment so far was the long period during which the most powerful nations didn’t go to war and nuclear conflict was avoided. Its biggest failing, he said: its inability to prevent medium and small conflicts. World & Nation A year after he derided North Korea’s dictator as “Rocket Man,” President Trump expressed lavish praise for Kim Jong Un on Monday as the president prepared to use his second United Nations address to denounce what an aide called Iran’s “global torrent of destructive activity.” Sept. 24, 2018 The United Nations marked its actual 75th anniversary — the signing of the U.N. Charter in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, by delegates from about 50 countries — on that date this year at an event scaled down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Guterres said people are continuing to lose trust in government and political establishments. He had warned about the rise of populism triggering increasing threats to multilateralism and called for multilateralism to be given “teeth.” He has often denounced what he calls a “groundswell of xenophobia, racism and intolerance.” He also urged the inclusion of civil society, cities, the private sector and young people at top tables, saying they are “essential voices in shaping the world we want.” Monday’s mainly virtual official commemoration will not be a celebration. It will include a declaration on the U.N.’s 75th anniversary, approved by diplomats from all U.N. member states after sometimes heated negotiations. Representatives from over 180 countries are then expected to deliver pre-recorded speeches lasting three minutes. The declaration recalls the U.N.’s successes and failures over more than seven decades and vows to build a post-pandemic world that is more equal, works together, and protects the planet. “The urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfill the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater,” it says, while praising the United Nations as the only global organization that “gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want.” Even at times of great tension, it says, the U.N. promoted decolonization, freedom, development, human rights and equality for women and men, “and worked to eradicate disease.” And it “helped mitigate dozens of conflicts, saved hundreds of thousands of lives through humanitarian action and provided millions of children with the education that every child deserves.” As for disappointments, the declaration says the world “is plagued by growing inequality, poverty, hunger, armed conflicts, terrorism, insecurity, climate change and pandemics.” It says the poorest and least developed countries are falling behind, decolonization is not complete, and people are forced to make dangerous journeys in search of refuge. “It’s very unfortunate that it’s going to be a pretty gloomy celebration for the U.N,” said Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. He said the declaration was weakened by U.S. opposition to strong language on climate change, and negotiations were delayed because the United Kingdom and others objected to China trying to insert language into the document, a reference to Beijing’s now hallmark phrase “win-win,” which was not included. “Although it was pretty minor, that captures the real question that has emerged over the U.N. in 2020, exacerbated by COVID, which is how is this organization going to navigate an era of U.S.-China tension,” Gowan said. “There is a real sense that China has taken advantage of the Trump administration’s relative disengagement from the U.N. to increase its influence here,” he told a media briefing. A year ago, Guterres warned global leaders attending the General Assembly’s high-level meeting of the looming risk of the world splitting in two, with the United States and China creating rival internets, currency, trade, financial rules “and their own zero-sum geopolitical and military strategies.” Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton, a longtime U.N. critic who previously served as an ambassador here, said the United Nations did not meet expectations at the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s “that with Cold War gridlock removed, it would once again be effective.” Bolton said President Trump wasn’t going to tackle the U.N. reforms that he would like to see if he were to win a second term. “I think he doesn’t fully understand it, doesn’t care about it, like much of the world of foreign policy,” Bolton said. If Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins, “they’ll want to do more through the U.N., but I don’t think they’ve thought it through either,” Bolton said. “So I think you’re at a period of uncertainty that’s going to last for some time.” To mark its 75th anniversary, the United Nations in January launched “a global conversation” using surveys, polls, and online and in-person gatherings to find out what all kinds of people were thinking about the future. The results, which the secretary-general called “striking,” are slated for release Monday. “People are thinking big — about transforming the global economy, accelerating the transition to zero carbon, ensuring universal health coverage, ending racial injustice and ensuring that decision-making is more open and inclusive,” the U.N. chief said. “And people are also expressing an intense yearning for international cooperation and global solidarity — and rejecting go-it-alone nationalist approaches and divisive populist appeals.” Guterres said the 75th anniversary was an ideal time to realize such aims. “We face our own 1945 moment,” he said. “We must meet that moment. We must show unity like never before to overcome today’s emergency, get the world moving and working and prospering again.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says 'no' to filling court seat before election

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-09-20/lisa-murkowski-supreme-court-nomination

A second Republican senator came out in opposition to filling a vacant Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election while Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted without details that the Democratic-led House had “options” for stalling or preventing President Trump from quickly installing a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a statement that “for weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up” a potential nomination as the presidential election neared. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.” Murkowski joins Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who said replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the election winner — Trump or Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pledged to move forward but hasn’t set a timetable. Focus is growing on Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has broken with Trump before. There is another potential wrinkle: Because the Arizona Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as Nov. 30, which would narrow the window for McConnell if Democrat Mark Kelly were to win. The House has no formal say in presidential nominations, a role the Constitution assigns to the Senate, and Pelosi (D-Calif.) refused in a television interview to detail the “arrows in our quiver,” even when asked about trying to impeach Trump for a second time. Politics Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote on President Trump’s pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, even though it’s an election year. Sept. 18, 2020 Ginsburg’s death Friday at age 87 has injected new ferocity into the election-year battle for the presidency and control of Congress in a nation already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, economic collapse and racial tension. The talk on the Sunday news shows gave a glimpse of the power tug over the timing of any vote to fill Ginsberg’s seat 44 days from the election. Trump says he is obligated to act as soon as possible and has at least two women in mind for the seat. Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed, and one named a practical reason: The nine-seat member, argued Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election. Democrats urged the GOP Senate majority to heed its own advice against filling the court’s lifetime slots so close to elections. “The people pick the president. The president picks the justice,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Pelosi was asked whether she would be open to the House undertaking impeachment proceedings against Trump or Atty. Gen. William Barr as a way of trying to stall the confirmation process. She did not rule out doing so. “We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now,” she said. Pelosi had stopped by the court in the quiet of early Sunday morning to pay tribute to Ginsburg. The site has been filled since Friday with people, many leaving bouquets of flowers. The next justice, Pelosi said, would help determine the survival of the Affordable Care Act. The court is scheduled to hear a lawsuit involving Obamacare on Nov. 10 that could affect the law’s protection of people with preexisting conditions. “Those are the people the president wants to crush when he says he wants to replace the justice in this short period of time,” Pelosi said. Politics Democrats have historically struggled to make the courts a mobilizing issue, unlike Republicans. The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may change that. Sept. 20, 2020 Nonetheless, the process was moving ahead. On a call with McConnell late Saturday, Trump mentioned two federal appeals court judges: Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, according to a person familiar with the private conversation who was not authorized to publicly discuss the call and spoke on condition of anonymity. Some Democrats have suggested Barr should be impeached for what they say is the politicization of the Justice Department under his watch. After the election, new impeachment proceedings could be less risky to the Democrats than was their impeachment of Trump last year. The Senate acquitted him. But the House’s options are few to bog down Trump. Impeachment is time-consuming, expensive and reserved for the most egregious wrongdoing. To the chants of “Fill that seat,” Trump told supporters at an event Saturday night in North Carolina that he would nominate a woman as soon as this week. McConnell quickly committed to holding a vote on a nominee, but has not said when. “We win an election and those are the consequences,” said Trump, who then seemed to signal that he’d be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during the lame-duck period after the election. “We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We’re talking about January 20th” — when the next president is inaugurated. Cruz said all nine seats needed to be filled by the election. “An equally divided court, four-four, can’t decide anything,” Cruz said. “We need a full court on election day, given the very high likelihood that we’re going to see litigation that goes to the court. We need a Supreme Court that can find a definitive answer for the country.” Democrats have denounced McConnell’s move to push ahead as hypocritical, pointing out that he refused to call hearings for President Obama’s nominee of Merrick Garland 237 days before the 2016 election. Politics President Trump and Senate GOP leaders plan to push to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election. Can they? Can Democrats stop them? Sept. 18, 2020 The next pick could shape important decisions beyond abortion rights, including the fate of Obama’s healthcare law and legal challenges that may stem from the 2020 election. In the interim, if the court were to take cases with eight justices, 4-4 ties would revert the decision to a lower court; for instance, the Affordable Care Act could then be struck down by a lower Texas court. Pelosi and Cruz spoke on ABC’s “This Week” and Klobuchar was on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Amazon land grabbers assail ecotourism paradise in Brazil

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-20/amazon-land-grabbers-assail-ecotourism-paradise-in-brazil

Brazil’s Alter do Chao, a sleepy village that blends rainforest and beaches, bet on tourism and scored big. Visitors flocked here to eat Amazonian river fish while gazing out over the water, and to take day trips offering the chance to meet Indigenous people and see pink dolphins. But this once pristine place is discovering that the perils of becoming a can’t-miss destination extend beyond hordes of weekend warriors sapping its unspoiled charm. Problems rife throughout the Amazon region — land grabbing, illegal deforestation and unsanctioned construction — are plaguing this ecotourism hot spot. By 2018, land grabbing had grown so pervasive that one of Brazil’s environmental protection agencies said Alter do Chao needed “urgent interventions against the rise of invaders” so it could preserve 67% of its protected areas. One month later, President Jair Bolsonaro, who has pledged to promote development of the Amazon, was inaugurated. World & Nation Over the past four years, Brazilians witnessed the impeachment of one president (Dilma Rousseff), the jailing of another (Luiz “Lula” Inacio da Silva) and multiple corruption hearings of yet another (Michel Temer) — all leading to the election of a president who has praised the country’s former military dictatorship and said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son (Jair Bolsonaro). Feb. 19, 2019 Alter do Chao’s struggle with land grabbers has only worsened since, residents and activists say, with lawbreakers more brazen about occupying land, then slashing and burning forest to make way for houses and fields. Meanwhile, dozens of projects in this riverside village known as the “Amazon Caribbean” have advanced despite being built within protected areas or lacking proper permits. Most newcomers say they want to buy land legally and cheaply, said Ederson Santos, a motorboat driver. Failing that, however, many are happy to fence off any unoccupied area and claim it as their own. Santos brought the Associated Press to a recent development near the so-called Enchanted Forest, where a massive pier now links to an expansive home beside a stream. Land grabbers like this have seized many of the 17 nearby waterways, he said. “The family that lives there never asked permission for any of this. The house, the construction, nothing. Everyone knows,” said Santos, 47. “Now they are putting wooden stakes in the water. Soon there will be a net so no one else can come here.” The residents weren’t home the day the AP visited, and Santos said he didn’t know the owner’s name. Land grabbing consists of invading public areas and getting documents, forged or not, to certify their possession. Brazil doesn’t have a registry consolidating all municipal, state and federal records for landowners, making it easier for criminals. Historically, Brazil has done little to stop land grabbing in the vast Amazon. But Alter do Chao should be easier to monitor; it has a total protected area of only 66 square miles and has several nonprofit organizations dedicated to its defense. City Hall in the municipality of Santarem, which runs the village, said in a statement that its agents were constantly conducting preemptive raids to stop land grabbing, but provided no details. Residents said local environment enforcement agents were hardworking but few. Rilson Maduro, owner of a restaurant dishing up Amazon cuisine like the tucunare fish, says development is also erasing the area’s origins. Ceramics and bones from his ancestors, of the Borari Indigenous group, have been found there over the years. “Some land grabbers went there because they like the view, others because it is good for agriculture,” he said. “We want to keep it intact because of our history.” A seven-story tower under construction near the waterfront will be Alter’s tallest building when it is completed; projects like it will house a growing population of tourists and residents. The village of some 7,000 people attracts about 100,000 tourists during high season. A picture-perfect spit of sand jutting across the water in front of its central plaza — known as Love Island — is the biggest draw for selfie-snapping visitors. And it’s easily accessible, just 20 miles from Santarem’s airport. These days, Alter do Chao more closely resembles the idyll of the pre-tourist boom era, when it still felt untapped. The coronavirus has dried up much of its tourism, though its central square still features stalls serving regional dishes like tacaca, a shrimp soup. It’s easy to socially distance while sipping caipirinhas, a traditional Brazilian cocktail, made from Amazonian fruit. João Romano moved here in 2017 from Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest metropolis, in search of a slower-paced life. He and his wife watched monkeys swing past their wooden home, and their daughters picked fruit dangling from trees. He became a volunteer firefighter for an environmental group and believed he’d found peace. But fighting fires put him in developers’ cross-hairs. His world was turned upside down late last year when local police accused him and three fellow firefighters of setting a protected forest area ablaze. Intense media coverage followed: They were jailed for three days and, upon release, threatened by those who accused them of being radical environmentalists who set the fire to sully Bolsonaro’s reputation and undermine his plans to develop the Amazon. “There is a big pressure here for what they believe development is. They don’t see potential for sustainable growth,” said Romano, 28. Bolsonaro trumpeted the police allegations, claiming that scheming nonprofits — not farmers, loggers or land grabbers — were responsible for deploying arsonist firefighters, funded by actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Nonprofits working to protect the Amazon are a “cancer,” he asserted in a recent Facebook live broadcast. But a recording of Santarem Mayor Nelio Aguiar revealed that he told Para state Gov. Helder Barbalho that in fact local police were behind the fire. “This is about people setting fires so they can later split the land, sell it,” the mayor said in the recording. Local police denied the allegation and continued to blame the firefighters for the fire. The area that was devastated now features several houses visible from the water, with even more hidden from view. Last month, federal police exonerated the firefighters of any possible involvement. The findings of their investigation were sent to the Para state prosecutors’ office, which has yet to announce whether it will drop the case. The federal prosecutors’ office confirmed to the AP that the fire was started in an area where a major land grabber had previously operated. Silas da Silva Soares was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison in 2018 for seizing land in protected areas, but remains at large. Caetano Scannavino, coordinator of the nonprofit Health and Happiness, where the firefighters worked, said the episode had only emboldened the region’s land grabbers. “The economic pressure is growing, and if nothing is done now ... it might be too late for Alter to keep its natural beauty. It is that beauty that brings people here,” Scannavino said. “Economically there will be short-term benefits, but a lot of the value will be lost in the long run.” In June, federal prosecutors sent a recommendation to Santarem City Hall urging that it not grant permits for any construction in protected areas. They highlighted at least 40 “irregular” projects underway, among them the seven-story tower near the waterfront. “The Alter I once knew is changed and I don’t like many of those changes,” said 71-year-old fisherman Alfredo José Branco, as he slowly moved from a hammock to a plastic armchair in his tiny backyard. His family is among the last of a group that has lived for decades near the beach. “I will stay, but I wonder if my children and grandchildren will be able to,” he said. “Everywhere I go has invaders now.”

CNN to show 'RBG,' other media outlets celebrate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-19/media-celebrates-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-life-legacy

Across television and streaming services, the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were already front and center Saturday, a day after her death at 87. A look at coverage and plans in her honor: This CNN Films documentary will be broadcast on CNN Saturday night at 7 and 11 p.m. Pacific Time, with an encore Sunday at 7 p.m. PT. Looking back on the film that spotlighted Ginsburg worldwide — and offered intimate insight for younger viewers — one of the CNN executives who shepherded the 2018 release pointed to the justice’s cultural relevance. “We greenlit the film because of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s extraordinary legacy in equal rights and her stature within our national culture,” Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, told the Associated Press in an email Saturday. “We never expected the film to generate the reaction that it did. Many people were unfamiliar with her prejudicial career as a lawyer for the ACLU and how she played such an essential role in securing equal rights, particularly for women, which meant all Americans benefited,” Entellis wrote. “The stories of her personal struggle to become an attorney makes her singular contributions to the law that much more poignant. And her enduring marriage to Martin Ginsburg touched and moved audiences of all genders and generations.” The film will also be available via CNN on demand with cable and satellite subscriptions beginning Sunday, and for streaming via CNNgo platforms, also beginning Sunday until Sept. 26. The documentary is also available for streaming on Hulu, Apple TV and for rent on Amazon Prime Video and in the iTunes store. Time magazine will feature Ginsburg on one of multiple special covers for an October double issue presenting the 2020 Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people. It will include a special tribute to the justice, who was featured on the list in 2015. The issues will be available at U.S. newsstands beginning Friday. The 2018 bio-drama focusing on Ginsburg’s law school years and early legal career is available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video and in the iTunes store. Felicity Jones, who portrayed the young law student and fighter for justice, told the AP in an email Saturday that Ginsburg was a beacon. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave us hope, a public figure who stood for integrity and justice — a responsibility she did not wear lightly,” she wrote. “She will be missed not only as a beacon of light in these difficult times but for her razor sharp wit and extraordinary humanity. She taught us all so much. I will miss her deeply.” Other distribution plans for the movie were pending Saturday. Tributes and rebroadcasts are trending on streaming services and the apps of major networks, with more to come. Plans for “CBS Sunday Morning,” beginning at 6 a.m. Pacific, include journalist Erin Moriarty looking back on the life and times of the judge. Rita Braver, who covered Ginsburg, will offer an appreciation. John Dickerson of “60 Minutes” will report on the political implications of her death, and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker will have a tribute at the end of the Sunday night broadcast. News divisions at NBC and its networks are already out with special reports. On MSNBC, a past profile, “Justice Ginsburg,” was rebroadcast after her death was revealed, with plans to show it again Saturday night. The NBC streaming service Peacock has available a 2020 National Constitution Center event honoring Ginbsurg. Throughout Saturday, Fox News shows “Fox & Friends,” “Cavuto Live” and “America’s News HQ” planned to discuss the legacy and historic career of Ginsburg. Joining the live coverage will be Chris Scalia, a son of Ginsburg’s close friend and colleague, late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. I'm very sad to hear about the passing of my parents' good friend, and my father's wonderful colleague, Justice Ginsburg. May her memory be a blessing. I'd like to share a couple of passages that convey what she meant to my dad.../3

Minneapolis to rename street where George Floyd died in his honor

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-19/minneapolis-to-name-stretch-of-street-for-george-floyd

A stretch of a Minneapolis street that includes the place where George Floyd was killed will soon be renamed in his honor. Although the street will still be called Chicago Avenue, the city will refer to the blocks between 37th and 39th streets as George Perry Floyd Jr. Place, the Star Tribune reported. The City Council approved the renaming Friday, and Mayor Jacob Frey’s office said he would likely sign off on it as well. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck even as Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death was captured in widely seen bystander video that set off protests around the world. Months after Floyd’s death, the intersection remains barricaded and now holds a memorial. A group of demonstrators has occupied the area and has said it will not leave until the city meets its demands, including funding for antiracism training and a temporary property tax freeze for people within that zone. The city had announced plans to reopen 38th Street this summer but backed off, avoiding a confrontation with activists who want it to remain blocked off as a memorial. The city continues to work on a long-term plan for the intersection.

2 dead, 14 wounded at party in Rochester, N.Y., police say

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-19/police-2-dead-14-wounded-at-party-in-rochester-new-york

Two people died and 14 others were wounded at a backyard party in Rochester, N.Y., early Saturday, police said. The deaths included a man and a woman, both between the ages of 18 and 22, Interim Police Chief Mark Simmons told reporters. The 14 wounded people were taken to two different hospitals. Simmons said none of them was believed to have life-threatening injuries. “This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions,” Simmons said near the crime scene, which appeared to stretch at least a block. The shooting comes as the city’s police department has been rocked by the suffocation death of Daniel Prude. Video taken in March and made public by Prude’s family Sept. 4 shows Prude handcuffed and naked with a spit hood over his head as an officer pushes his face against the street while another officer presses a knee to his back. The officers held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. He was taken off life support a week later. On Monday, Mayor Lovely Warren fired Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who she said initially misled her about the circumstances of Prude’s death. The fatal shooting early Saturday did not appear to be linked to the March death. Officers responded to calls of shots fired and found “approximately 100 people” running from the scene, Simmons said. Before the call, police were not aware of the party, he said. “This is yet another tragedy where individuals are having these illegal, unsanctioned house parties taking place in these properties, which — number one — is not safe because of COVID, because of the conditions. And then you add in alcohol and violence and it just becomes a recipe for disaster,” Simmons said. The interim chief said no suspects were in custody, adding that it’s too early to tell whether there were multiple shooters.

Coyote bites woman on Marin County beach near San Francisco

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-18/coyote-bites-woman-on-marin-county-beach-near-san-francisco

A woman was hospitalized this week after a coyote bit her leg while she was on a beach in the Marin Headlands, north of San Francisco, in a recreational area where there has been an increase in interactions between humans and wildlife, authorities said. The woman told park rangers the coyote was acting aggressively as it approached her Tuesday on a remote beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Marin County. After the animal bit her, she walked 1.7 miles on a trail back to a road and drove to a hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries, Charles Strickfaden, a spokesman for the National Park Service, told the Marin Independent Journal. He said park rangers have noted a “large increase” in reports of people feeding coyotes. As a result, “food-conditioned coyotes” are increasingly approaching visitors to beg for food. Park workers have begun trapping coyotes and outfitting them with GPS tracking collars, which biologists are using to study the animals’ movements. About half a dozen coyotes have been tagged and released this month. While interactions between humans and coyotes are on the rise in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, reports of coyotes biting people are rare, Strickfaden said. If park scientists are able to identify the coyote that bit the woman Tuesday, “our next steps will involve collaring or hazing the animal to deter aggressive behavior and increasing our public outreach in the area,” he said. Park officials are urging visitors not to feed or approach wild animals. If approached by aggressive animals, people should make loud noises and large movements, officials said.

In a reversal, CDC now says those exposed to coronavirus should get tested

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-09-18/cdc-drops-coronavirus-controversial-testing-advice

U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention essentially returned to its previous testing guidance, getting rid of language posted last month that said people who didn’t feel sick didn’t need to get tested. That change had set off a rash of criticism from health experts who couldn’t fathom why the nation’s top public health agency would say such a thing amid a pandemic that has been difficult to control. Health officials were evasive about why they made the change in August, and some speculated it was forced on the CDC by political appointees within the Trump administration. The CDC now says anyone who has been within six feet of a person with documented infection for at least 15 minutes should get a test. The agency called the changes a “clarification” that was needed “due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission.”

National Book Award nominations are out: 'The Vanishing Half' is on longlist

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/the-vanishing-half-nominated-for-national-book-award

Two of the summer’s most talked-about novels, Brit Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half” and Megha Majumdar’s “A Burning,” are on the National Book Awards fiction longlist. Judges also nominated the story collection “If I Had Two Wings” by Randall Kenan, who died in August. Books ‘Vanishing Half’ author Brit Bennett talks about the inspiration behind her bestselling novel. Aug. 12, 2020 Friday’s list concludes a week during which the National Book Foundation, which presents the awards, announced nominees for translation, poetry, young people’s literature and nonfiction. On Oct. 6, the lists will be narrowed from 10 to five books in each category. Winners will be announced Nov. 18, with honorary medals being awarded to novelist Walter Mosley and to the late Simon & Schuster Chief Executive Carolyn Reidy, whose husband will accept on her behalf. Obituaries Reidy died Tuesday of a heart attack at age 71. She joined Simon & Schuster in 1992 as president of the trade division. May 12, 2020 Many of the fiction nominees are younger authors, under age 50, with a handful or less of published works. Two books are debut novels: “The Burning,” the story of a woman in India who is accused of terrorism, and Douglas Stuart’s “Shuggie Bain,” a family saga set in Glasgow. Books The author has been everywhere, in life and fiction. “A Children’s Bible” passionately fuses the two: “You’ve gotta be Chicken Little sooner or later.” May 5, 2020 Others on the fiction list include Rumaan Alam’s “Leave the World Behind,” Christopher Beha’s “The Index of Self-Destructive Acts,” Lydia Millet’s “A Children’s Bible” and Deesha Philyaw’s “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.” Also nominated were Vanessa Veselka’s “The Great Offshore Grounds” and Charles Yu‘s “Interior Chinatown.” Books Steph Cha shares a meal and some notes on performing identity with the “Interior Chinatown” author. Feb. 19, 2020 Some off the year’s most anticipated works did not make the list, including Marilynne Robinson’s “Jack,” Ayad Akhtar’s “Homeland Elegies” and Sigrid Nunez‘s “What Are You Going Through,” her first novel since winning the National Book Award two years ago for “The Friend.” Books “What Are You Going Through” feels like a spiritual and in some ways literal sequel to Nunez’s National Book Award-winning novel, “The Friend” Sept. 8, 2020

Van Morrison targets COVID-19 restrictions in new protest songs

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/van-morrison-targets-virus-restrictions-in-3-new-songs

Van Morrison has never been one to hold back over the years. Why start now? The 75-year-old singer-songwriter is certainly not holding back on what he thinks of the lockdown restrictions put in place by governments around the world in response to the coronavirus. Morrison, whose decades as a musician produced classic hits such as “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Gloria” and “Moondance,” revealed Friday that he is releasing three protest songs that call for the restrictions on routine activities to be lifted. In “No More Lockdown,” the Northern Irishman says the curbs “enslave” people, effectively labels the British government as “fascist bullies,” condemns celebrities for “telling us what we are supposed to feel” and charges scientists of “making up crooked facts.” Music We polled more than 30 music critics, inside and outside The Times, on the best albums to listen to while you’re stuck at home (and kind of freaking out). March 25, 2020 “I’m not telling people what to do or think. The government is doing a great job of that already,” Morrison said. “It’s about freedom of choice, I believe people should have the right to think for themselves.” Morrison, who was knighted in 2016 for his services to music and to tourism in Northern Ireland, is also releasing “Born to Be Free” and “As I Walked Out.” The former is due to be released on Sept. 25, followed by the other two songs a month later. Morrison plans to perform the songs during his upcoming shows at the London Palladium. Entertainment & Arts Coping with coronavirus fears? Make a Spotify playlist of your favorite songs and belt them out — and open a window so others can hear. March 18, 2020

Israel returns to virus lockdown as cases mount

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/israel-returns-to-virus-lockdown-as-cases-mount

Israel is set to go back into a full lockdown later Friday to try to contain a coronavirus outbreak that has steadily worsened for months as its government has been plagued by indecision and infighting. The three-week lockdown beginning at 2 p.m. will include the closure of many businesses and strict limits on public gatherings, and will largely confine people to their homes. The closures coincide with the Jewish High Holidays, when people typically visit their families and gather for large prayer services. In an address late Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that even stricter measures may be needed to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. There are currently more than 46,000 active cases, with at least 577 hospitalized in serious condition. “It could be that we will have no choice but to make the directives more stringent,” Netanyahu said. “I will not impose a lockdown on the citizens of Israel for no reason, and I will not hesitate to add further restrictions if it is necessary.” Under the new lockdown, nearly all businesses open to the public will be closed. People must remain within 0.6 miles of home, but there are several exceptions, including shopping for food or medicine, going to work in a business that’s closed to the public, attending protests and even seeking essential pet care. World & Nation The coronavirus crisis has led to some tentative attempts at cooperation between Arab nations and Israel, which many of them do not recognize. Israel has reported a total of more than 175,000 cases since the outbreak began, including at least 1,169 deaths. It is now reporting around 5,000 new cases a day, one of the highest per capita infection rates in the world. Israel was among the first countries to impose sweeping lockdowns this spring, sealing its borders and forcing most businesses to close. That succeeded in bringing the number of new cases to only a few dozen per day in May. But then the economy abruptly reopened, and a new government was sworn in that was paralyzed by infighting. In recent months authorities have announced various restrictions only to see them ignored or reversed even as new cases soared to record levels. The occupied West Bank has followed a similar trajectory, with a spring lockdown largely containing its outbreak followed by a rise of cases that forced the Palestinian Authority to impose a 10-day lockdown in July. The PA has reported more than 30,000 cases in the West Bank and around 240 deaths. World & Nation Insular, traditional Jewish community, resistant to state authority, sees spike in COVID-19 cases in Israel. The Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, was initially insulated from the pandemic. But authorities detected community spread last month, and there are now more than 1,700 active cases in the impoverished territory of 2 million, straining its already fragile health system. At least 16 people have died. In Israel, the government has come under withering criticism for its response to the virus and the economic crisis triggered by the earlier lockdown. Netanyahu, who is also on trial for corruption, has been the target of weekly protests outside his official residence. Israel’s insular ultra-Orthodox community, which has a high rate of infection, has also been up in arms about the restrictions, especially those targeting religious gatherings. In Tel Aviv, hundreds of people protested the renewed lockdown on Thursday, including doctors and scientists who said it would be ineffective. Dr. Amir Shahar, head of an emergency department in the city of Netanya and one of the organizers of the demonstration, said the lockdown is “disastrous” and would do “more harm than good.”

North Korea preparing for a military parade, satellite images show

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/satellite-images-show-n-korea-preparing-for-military-parade

North Korea is preparing for a massive military parade in its capital to mark the 75th anniversary of its ruling party next month, satellite images indicated Friday, as the country strengthens its anti-coronavirus measures. The images, provided by Maxar, a Colorado-based satellite imagery company, show thousands of people assembled in formation near Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square and rehearsing for a military parade. The anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party is on Oct. 10. North Korea often holds military parades featuring goose-stepping soldiers and new weapons systems on state anniversaries to bolster unity and intimidate enemies. North Korea insists it hasn’t had any coronavirus cases, a claim widely disputed by many experts. On Monday, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said the country was intensifying its emergency anti-coronavirus efforts. It said authorities were trying to boost the anti-pandemic atmosphere to ensure that the campaign against the virus “is waged consistently without a moment’s indolence, slackness and carelessness.” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for strong unity among the country’s 25 million people as it faces multiple crises including the pandemic, damage from a recent typhoon, and ongoing U.S.-led economic sanctions. He closed the country’s border with China, its biggest trading partner, in January over coronavirus concerns. Experts say the border closure has probably worsened North Korea’s already troubled economy. Earlier this week, the nominee for chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told lawmakers that North Korea might conduct an underwater ballistic missile test, the first in about a year, ahead of the Oct. 10 ruling party anniversary.

Blast targets 'American' English school in southern Iraq

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/blast-targets-american-english-school-in-southern-iraq

An improvised explosive device blew up outside an English-language institute in southern Iraq early Friday without causing any casualties, Iraqi police said in a statement, amid a recent uptick in attacks targeting the American presence in Iraq. The blast damaged the facade of the American Institute for English Learning in the holy city of Najaf, a statement from the province’s police directorate said. The school is not formally affiliated with any institutions in the U.S. It was believed to have been targeted because it offered English-language lessons to Iraqis. No Americans were employed there. Attacks targeting the U.S. presence have been on the rise since Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi traveled to Washington last month to conclude strategic talks. Rocket attacks routinely target the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government, where the U.S. Embassy is located. Roadside bombs also often hit convoys carrying materials destined for the U.S. military. Hours before Friday’s attack on the English-language center, a roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi convoy transporting equipment headed for the U.S.-led coalition without causing any losses. Last week, a roadside bomb targeted a British diplomatic convoy in Baghdad, without causing any casualties. There are more than 5,000 American troops in Iraq now. Last month, the top U.S. general for the Middle East said he believed the U.S. will keep a smaller but enduring presence in the country.

FBI director says antifa is an ideology, not an organization

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-18/fbi-director-says-antifa-is-an-ideology-not-an-organization

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told lawmakers Thursday that antifa is an ideology, not an organization, delivering testimony that puts him at odds with President Trump, who has said he would designate it a terrorist group. Hours after the hearing, Trump posted on Twitter chastising his FBI director for his statements on antifa and on Russian election interference, two themes that dominated a congressional hearing on threats to the American homeland. Referring to antifa, the president wrote: “And I look at them as a bunch of well funded ANARCHISTS & THUGS who are protected because the Comey/Mueller inspired FBI is simply unable, or unwilling, to find their funding source, and allows them to get away with ‘murder’. LAW & ORDER!” The Twitter barbs thrust Wray again into a spotlight that he has spent three years trying to avoid after his predecessor, James B. Comey, became entangled in politics before being ultimately fired. Though Wray said as recently as Thursday that the FBI made unacceptable mistakes during its investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Trump nonetheless has intermittently lashed out at Wray over the pace of fixing those problems and continues to regard his intelligence community with suspicion because of the Russia probe. Wray did not dispute in his testimony Thursday that antifa activists were a serious concern, saying that antifa was a “real thing” and that the FBI had undertaken “any number of properly predicated investigations into what we would describe as violent anarchist extremists,” including into individuals who identify with antifa. Opinion Rural conservative patrols in Oregon have chalked up the wildfires to ‘antifa’ and are out scouting for ‘arsonists’ and ‘looters.’ But, he said, “it’s not a group or an organization. It’s a movement or an ideology.” That characterization contradicts the depiction from Trump, who in June singled out antifa — short for “anti-fascists” and an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups — as responsible for the violence that occurred alongside peaceful protests following George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis. Trump tweeted that the U.S. would be designating antifa as a terrorist organization, even though such designations are historically reserved for foreign groups and antifa lacks the hierarchical structure of formal organizations. The hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee — established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to confront the threat of international terrorism — focused almost entirely on domestic matters, including violence by white supremacists as well as anti-government extremists. The topics underscored the shift of attention by law enforcement at a time of intense divisions and polarization inside the country. But one area where foreign threats were addressed was in the presidential election and Russia’s attempts to interfere in the campaign. Wray sought to make clear the scope of the threats the country faces while resisting lawmakers’ attempts to steer him into politically charged statements. When asked whether extremists on the left or the right posed the bigger threat, he pivoted instead to an answer about how solo actors, or “lone wolves,” with easy access to weapons were a primary concern. “We don’t really think of threats in terms of left-right at the FBI. We’re focused on the violence, not the ideology,” he said later. The FBI director said racially motivated violent extremists, such as white supremacists, have been responsible for the most lethal attacks in the U.S. in recent years. But this year the most lethal violence has come from anti-government activists, such as anarchists and militia types, Wray said. Wray also affirmed the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the November election, which he said was taking the form of foreign influence campaigns aimed at sowing discord and swaying public opinion as well as efforts to denigrate Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Politics U.S. officials tracking Russian disinformation operations say it clearly echoes the Trump campaign’s efforts to undermine Biden. He said that the U.S. had not yet seen targeting of election infrastructure like in 2016, but efforts to sow doubt about the election’s integrity are a serious concern, he said. “What concerns me the most is the steady drumbeat of misinformation and sort of amplification of smaller cyber intrusions,” Wray said. “I worry that they will contribute over time to a lack of confidence of American voters and citizens in the validity of their vote. “I think that would be a perception,” he added, “not a reality. I think Americans can and should have confidence in our election system and certainly in our democracy. But I worry that people will take on a feeling of futility because of all of the noise and confusion that’s generated.” Trump has rejected intelligence conclusions of Russian interference aimed at benefiting his campaign and has been eager, along with other administration officials, to talk about intelligence officials’ assessment that China would prefer that Trump lose to Biden. He responded on that front Thursday evening, tweeting: “But Chris, you don’t see any activity from China, even though it is a FAR greater threat than Russia, Russia, Russia. They will both, plus others, be able to interfere in our 2020 Election with our totally vulnerable Unsolicited (Counterfeit?) Ballot Scam. Check it out!” Though intelligence officials said in a statement last month that China would prefer that Trump lose, they appeared to stop short of accusing Beijing of directly interfering in the election in hopes of swaying the outcome.

William Barr under fire over comparison of coronavirus lockdown to slavery

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-17/barr-under-fire-over-comparison-of-virus-lock-in-to-slavery

U.S. Atty. Gen. William Barr drew sharp condemnation Thursday for comparing lockdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic to slavery. In remarks Wednesday night at an event hosted by Hillsdale College, Barr called the lockdown orders the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history” since slavery. His comments, at a Northern Virginia event hosted by the school, also criticized his own prosecutors for behaving as “headhunters” in their pursuit of prominent targets and for using the weight of the criminal justice system to launch what he said were “ill-conceived” political probes. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the No. 3 House Democratic leader, told CNN that Barr’s remarks were “the most ridiculous, tone-deaf, God-awful things I’ve ever heard” because they wrongly equated human bondage with a measure aimed at saving lives. “Slavery was not about saving lives. It was about devaluing lives,” Clyburn said. “This pandemic is a threat to human life.” It’s not the first time Barr has condemned stay-at-home orders. He has previously said that some orders were “ disturbingly close to house arrest,” and the Justice Department sent letters to several states warning that some of their virus-related restrictions might be unlawful. Prosecutors also filed statements of interest in several civil cases challenging some of the restrictions. Barr has faced scrutiny for overruling the decisions of Justice Department prosecutors who work for him, including in criminal cases involving associates of President Trump. But in his remarks, he rejected the notion that prosecutors should have final say in cases that they bring. Instead, Barr described them as part of the “permanent bureaucracy” and suggested they need to be supervised, and even reined in, by politically appointed leaders accountable to the president and Congress. “The men and women who have ultimate authority in the Justice Department are thus the ones on whom our elected officials have conferred that responsibility — by presidential appointment and Senate confirmation,” Barr said. “That blessing by the two political branches of government gives these officials democratic legitimacy that career officials simply do not possess.” Barr himself has been aggressive as attorney general in pursuing certain categories of prosecutions, including using federal statutes to charge defendants in the unrest that roiled cities after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But he warned that prosecutors can become overly attached to their cases in ways that lose perspective and judgment, listing a series of prosecutions — including under previous administrations — in which he said he believed the government had taken extreme positions. “Individual prosecutors can sometimes become headhunters, consumed with taking down their target,” Barr said. “Subjecting their decisions to review by detached supervisors ensures the involvement of dispassionate decision-makers in the process.” Barr’s comments appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to the fracas that arose ahead of the February sentencing of Trump confidant Roger Stone. In that case, Barr overruled the sentencing recommendation of the line prosecutors in favor of a lighter punishment. The move prompted the entire trial team to quit before Stone’s sentencing hearing. Barr has defended his intervention as in the interests of justice. In May, he sought the dismissal of the criminal case against former Trump administration national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation to lying to the FBI. Barr’s request is tied up in a court fight. Also Thursday, a spokeswoman for Barr said the Justice Department had explored charging Portland officials in the civil unrest there. They researched whether they could levy criminal or civil charges against the officials — exploring whether their rhetoric and actions may have helped spur the violence in Portland. The move underscored the larger Trump administration’s effort to spotlight and crack down on protest-related violence. The majority of the mass police reform demonstrations nationwide have been peaceful.

William Barr urges federal prosecutors to charge protesters with violent crimes

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-17/300-and-counting-push-by-feds-to-arrest-in-us-protests

In a private call with federal prosecutors across the country, Atty. Gen. William Barr’s message was clear: Aggressively go after demonstrators who cause violence. Barr pushed his U.S. attorneys to bring federal charges whenever they could, keeping a grip on cases even if a defendant could be tried instead in state court, according to officials with knowledge of last week’s call who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal convictions often result in longer prison sentences. The Trump administration’s crackdown has already led to more than 300 arrests on federal crimes in the protests since the death of George Floyd. An AP analysis of the data shows that, while many people are accused of violent crimes such as arson for hurling Molotov cocktails and burning police cars and assault for injuring law enforcement, others are not. That’s led to criticism that at least some arrests are a politically motivated effort to stymie demonstrations. “The speed at which this whole thing was moved from state court to federal court is stunning and unbelievable,” said Charles Sunwabe, who represents an Erie, Pa., man accused of lighting a fire at a coffee shop after a May 30 protest. “It’s an attempt to intimidate these demonstrators and to silence them,” he said. Some cases are viewed as trumped up and should not be in federal court, lawyers say, including a teenager accused of civil disorder for claiming online “we are not each other’s enemy, only enemy is 12,” a reference to law enforcement. The administration has seized on the demonstrations and an aggressive federal response to showcase what President Trump says is his law-and-order prowess, claiming he is countering rising crime in cities run by Democrats. Trump has derided protesters and played up the violence around protests, though the majority of them are peaceful. Pockets of violence have indeed popped up in cities, including Portland, Ore., where protests devolved into clashes with law enforcement for weeks on end. Nights of unrest have occurred elsewhere. Federal officials were called into to Kenosha, Wis., after large protests and unrest following the shooting by police of Jacob Blake and the fatal shooting of two protesters and later arrest of a 17-year-old in their deaths. Notably, that teenager has not been charged with any federal crimes. Neither was a man accused of shooting and killing a demonstrator in Louisville, Ky., following the death of Breonna Taylor. While Barr has gone after protest-related violence targeted at law enforcement, he has argued there is seldom a reason to open sweeping investigations into the practices of police departments. The Justice Department, however, has initiated a number of civil rights investigations into individual cases. Barr has said he does not believe there is systemic racism in police departments, even though Black people are disproportionately more likely to be killed by police, and public attitudes over police reforms have shifted. During the call with U.S. attorneys, Barr raised the prospect that prosecutors could bring a number of other potential charges in unrest cases, including the rarely used sedition statute, according to the officials familiar with the call. Legal experts cautioned that the use of that statute is unlikely, given its difficulty to prove in court. Federal involvement in local cases is nothing new. Officials across the country have turned to the Justice Department for decades, particularly for violent crime and gang cases where offenders could face much stiffer federal penalties and there is no parole. Police chiefs in several cities have pointed to the importance of their relationships with federal prosecutors to bring charges that can result in long prison sentences to drive down violent crime. Even before the unrest earlier this year, the Justice Department was stepping in to bring charges in states where the government believes justice is not being fully pursued by local prosecutors. In January, for example, the department brought federal hate crime charges against a woman accused of slapping three Orthodox Jewish women in an apparent anti-Semitic attack in New York during Hanukkah. It is not clear whether protest-related arrests will continue apace. Demonstrations have slowed, though not necessarily because of the federal charges. Wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the South have lessened some of the conflict. While many local prosecutors have dismissed dozens of low-level protest arrests, some are still coming down hard. A Pennsylvania judge set bail at $1 million for about a dozen people in a protest that followed the death of a knife-wielding man by police. Even some Democrats, including District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, have called for the Justice Department to pursue federal charges against violent demonstrators, going as far as accusing the administration of declining to prosecute rioters. Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department had arrested 42 people one August weekend after a protest left a trail of vandalism. But prosecutors said the arrest paperwork did not identify specific crimes tied to each suspect. The federal confrontation with Bowser seemed counterintuitive, though Trump has a history of squaring off against the mayor. About one-third of the federal protest-related cases are in Portland, for crimes such as assaulting a deputy U.S. marshal with a baseball bat, setting fires and setting off explosives at the federal courthouse and throwing rocks at officers. Three purported members of the so-called Boogaloo movement, whose name is a slang term for a second civil war or collapse of civilization, were charged with possessing a homemade bomb and inciting a riot in Las Vegas. An El Paso, Texas, man was accused of promoting hate speech, posting a video online with a racist epithet and making threatening comments to Black Lives Matter protesters while holding a military-style rifle at his feet. A Minnesota man was accused of helping burn down a police precinct headquarters after Floyd’s death. But other cases simply do not belong in federal court, lawyers say. In Seattle, 35-year-old Isaiah Willoughby, who’s accused of setting fire to the outside of a police precinct, faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted of arson in federal court. He could be looking at about a year behind bars in state court, where his lawyer said the case belongs. “This is city property that has been destroyed and you have a local prosecutors office that is ready and willing and able to charge these cases in state court, but the federal government is attempting to emphasize these protest-related crimes for whatever agenda they are seeking to pursue,” said assistant federal public defender Dennis Carroll. Carroll accused federal authorities of using the cases to try to make the protests seem more violent and disruptive than they really were. Federal prosecutors this month agreed to dismiss the charge against a man who authorities said was found with a Molotov cocktail in his backpack after he and other protesters were arrested in May for blocking traffic in Jacksonville, Fla. Video showed that 27-year-old Ivan Zecher was wrongfully arrested because he was actually on the sidewalk — not in the street — meaning prosecutors could not pursue their case, Zecher’s attorney, Marcus Barnett, said. “There is absolutely an agenda here to blow these out of proportion, make these look more serious or more sinister than it is,” Barnett said of the pursuit of federal charges. “This is the Justice Department, from the top, furthering an agenda that has nothing to do with justice,” he said.

Malaysian monkey stole student's phone, then took selfies

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-17/just-monkeying-around-primate-takes-phone-then-selfies

A Malaysian student whose cellphone was stolen while he was sleeping has tracked down the culprit: a monkey who took photo and video selfies with the device before abandoning it. Zackrydz Rodzi, 20, said Wednesday that his phone was missing from his bedroom when he woke up Saturday. He found the phone’s casing under his bed but there was no sign of robbery in his house in southern Johor state. When his father saw a monkey the next day, he launched a search in the jungle behind his house. Using his brother’s phone to call the device, he found it covered in mud under a palm tree. But a bigger surprise came when he checked his phone and found a series of monkey selfies and videos recorded in the phone. “My uncle was joking that maybe the monkey took some selfies with the phone. ... So when I checked my phone picture gallery, I was shocked. The suspect’s face was plastered on the screen. It was hilarious,” Zackrydz said. He said he was curious why the monkey took the phone and not the camera or other things in his room. He said the primate must have thought it was food as it has a colorful casing. Most of the images were blurry, but some showed the monkey’s face. One of the videos taken from atop a tree showed glimpses of the monkey opening his mouth and appearing to try to eat the phone. “My house is now in a total lockdown,” Zackrydz said, laughing, adding that he didn’t want a repeat of the incident.

William Barr takes aim at prosecutors inside his own Justice Department

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-17/barr-takes-aim-at-prosecutors-inside-his-own-justice-dept

Atty. Gen. William Barr took aim at his own Justice Department on Wednesday night, accusing prosecutors of behaving as “headhunters” in their pursuit of prominent targets and of using the weight of the criminal justice system to launch what he said were “ill-conceived” political probes. The comments at a speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan amounted to a striking, and unusual, rebuke of the thousands of prosecutors who do the daily work of assembling criminal cases across the country. Barr has faced scrutiny for overruling the decisions of Justice Department prosecutors who work for him, including in criminal cases involving associates of President Trump. Rejecting the notion that prosecutors should have final say in cases that they bring, Barr described them instead as part of the “permanent bureaucracy” and suggested they need to be supervised, and even reined in, by politically appointed leaders accountable to the president and Congress. “The men and women who have ultimate authority in the Justice Department are thus the ones on whom our elected officials have conferred that responsibility — by presidential appointment and Senate confirmation,” Barr said, according to his prepared remarks. “That blessing by the two political branches of government gives these officials democratic legitimacy that career officials simply do not possess.” Barr himself has been aggressive as attorney general in pursuing certain categories of prosecutions, including using federal statutes to charge defendants in the unrest that roiled cities after the death of George Floyd. But he warned that prosecutors can become overly attached to their cases in ways that lose perspective and judgment, listing a series of prosecutions — including under prior administrations — in which he said he believed the government had taken extreme positions. Politics Attorney General William Barr defended the Justice Department’s move to intervene in a defamation lawsuit against President Trump, but some experts were skeptical of the federal government’s effort. “Individual prosecutors can sometimes become headhunters, consumed with taking down their target,” Barr said. “Subjecting their decisions to review by detached supervisors ensures the involvement of dispassionate decision-makers in the process.” Barr’s comments appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to the fracas that arose ahead of the February sentencing of Trump confidant Roger Stone. In that case, Barr overruled the sentencing recommendation of the line prosecutors in favor of a lighter punishment. The move prompted the entire trial team to quit before Stone’s sentencing hearing. Barr has defended his intervention as in the interests of justice. In May, he sought the dismissal of the criminal case against former Trump administration national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation to lying to the FBI. Barr’s request is tied up in a court fight. Though Barr was accused of undue intervention on behalf of the president’s associates, he bristled in his speech Wednesday night at the idea that it was even possible for an attorney general to meddle in the affairs of a department that he leads. “Name one successful organization where the lowest level employees’ decisions are deemed sacrosanct. There aren’t any,” Barr said. He added: “Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency. Good leaders at the Justice Department — as at any organization — need to trust and support their subordinates. But that does not mean blindly deferring to whatever those subordinates want to do.” He also took a veiled swipe at members of Mueller’s team. He suggested that the Trump administration had been more successful than the Obama administration before the Supreme Court, and that one reason was that the Obama administration had some of the people who were later on Mueller’s team writing their briefs for the court. That appeared to be a reference to Michael Dreeben, a highly respected lawyer who argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, during a decades-long career in the Justice Department’s solicitor general’s office. Dreeben was a senior member of Mueller’s team.

Hawaii to allow travelers to skip quarantine with virus test

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/hawaii-to-allow-travelers-to-skip-quarantine-with-virus-test

Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Wednesday that starting Oct. 15, travelers arriving from out of state may bypass a 14-day quarantine requirement if they test negative for COVID-19. Travelers will have to take the test within 72 hours before their flight arrives in the islands. Ige said drugstore operator CVS and healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente will conduct the tests as part of an agreement with the state. Earlier this year Ige planned to start a pre-travel testing program on Aug. 1 only to have to postpone it as COVID-19 cases spiked on the U.S. mainland and in Hawaii. A shortage of testing supplies also forced delays. Another start date for Sept. 1 was also canceled. Airlines are expected to help inform travelers of the requirement. Hawaii leaders are hopeful that pre-travel testing will encourage people to return to Hawaii in a way that keeps residents safe. Tourism traffic to the state has plunged more than 90% since the pandemic began, forcing hundreds of hotels to close and pushing many people out of work. “I want to emphasize that this pre-travel testing will allow us to add a greater element of safety for travel into our state,” Ige said at a news conference. Travel & Experiences Seeing family is tempting, but do these trips make sense for you and your kin? Lt. Gov. Josh Green, who joined the news conference via Zoom because he tested positive for the disease and is isolating at home, said the program will provide economic opportunity at a time when so many people are suffering. Upheaval from the pandemic pushed nearly one-quarter of Hawaii’s workforce into joblessness. In April, Hawaii had the third-worst unemployment rate in the nation after Nevada and Michigan. “I worry about the long-term impacts of economic distress and that impact this has on our people, when they can’t afford their homes as easily, or groceries or healthcare,” Green said. On Wednesday, the state Department of Health reported Hawaii had an average of 118 cases per day for the previous seven days. That’s down from a seven-day daily average of 255 on Aug. 28.

Federal officials considered using 'heat ray' on D.C. protesters, report says

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/report-feds-considered-using-heat-ray-on-dc-protesters

A military whistleblower says federal officials sought some unusual crowd control devices — including one that’s been called a “heat ray” — to deal with protesters outside the White House on the June day that law enforcement forcibly cleared Lafayette Square. In written responses to questions from a House committee, National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco said the Defense Department’s lead military police officer for the National Capital Region sent an email asking if the D.C. National Guard possessed a long-range acoustic device — used to transmit loud noises — or an Active Denial System, the so-called heat ray. DeMarco said he responded that the Guard was not in possession of either device. National Public Radio and The Washington Post first reported DeMarco’s testimony. Use of either the acoustic device or the Active Denial System would have been a significant escalation of crowd control for the Guard members, particularly since the Defense officials ordered that the Guard troops not be armed when they went into D.C. Law enforcement personnel were armed. And although active-duty military troops were sent to the region, they remained at bases outside the District in case they were needed but never actually entered the District. Politics Trump hopes violence at protests will generate a backlash against Democrats; opponents accuse him of inciting more violence with his rhetoric. The Active Denial System was developed by the military nearly two decades ago, and was unveiled to the public around 2007. It’s not clear that it’s ever actually been used in combat, although there are reports it has been deployed. The system, which emits a directed beam of energy that causes a burning sensation, was considered a nonlethal way to control crowds, particularly when it may be difficult to tell the enemy from innocent civilians in war zones. Use of the device appeared to stall amid questions about whether it actually caused more serious injuries or burns than initially thought. The Long Range Acoustic Device, also called a sound cannon, sends out loud messages or sounds and has been used by law enforcement to disperse crowds. The U.S. military has, in recent years, ordered the LRAD for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command to be used by ships to hail or warn other vessels. DeMarco testified in late July before the House Natural Resources Committee, which is investigating the use of force against crowds in Lafayette Square in June. His remarks on the crowd control devices came in response to follow-up questions from the committee. DeMarco’s lawyer sent his answers to the committee on Aug. 28; NPR posted the document online Wednesday. Politics President Trump has a hard-line position on policing. Joe Biden urges reforms to limit the use of force but rejects calls to ‘defund’ the police. The Trump administration has said that vicious attacks by protesters led federal forces to turn on what appeared to be a largely peaceful crowd June 1 in the square in front of the White House. Law enforcement and security officers that night clubbed and punched protesters and unleashed mounted officers and chemical agents against them in one of the most controversial confrontations at the height of this year’s nationwide protests over the killing of Black people at the hands of police. The forceful clearing of Lafayette Square, long one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstrations, came minutes before President Trump appeared in the area, on his way to stage a photo event in front of a historic church nearby.

Stanley Crouch, provocative critic and lover of jazz, dead at 74

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/stanley-crouch-contentious-man-of-letters-dead-at-74

Stanley Crouch, a contentious and influential critic, columnist and self-taught Renaissance man who in fiction and nonfiction was inspired by his knowledge and love of blues and jazz and his impulse to step over the line, died Wednesday at age 74. His wife, Gloria Nixon-Crouch, told the Associated Press that he died at a hospice in New York City. He had been in poor health in recent years after suffering a stroke. In a career dating to the 1960s, Crouch was a columnist for the Village Voice and the New York Daily News, a guest on NPR and Charlie Rose’s show, a jazz drummer, a founder of what became Jazz at Lincoln Center and mentor to Wynton Marsalis and many younger writers and musicians, an aficionado of baseball and American folklore and scourge of Toni Morrison, Spike Lee and Amiri Baraka, among others. At home, he read, wrote and listened to music. Away from home, he might turn up anywhere — dining with then-Vice President Al Gore, chatting up musicians at the Village Vanguard or making a special appearance at a ceremony for the National Board of Review awards, when he accepted a prize on behalf of Quentin Tarantino, who appreciated Crouch’s praise for “Pulp Fiction.” He was also a favorite of documentary maker Ken Burns, his commentary appearing in “Jazz” and “The Civil War” among other films. Crouch’s work was ever a blend of high art and street talk, the prose version of what he considered the profound democracy of jazz. He saw his country, his work and his life as intertwined, advancing “through argument, through contradiction, through reinterpretation,” grounded and graced by a spirit of “tragic optimism.” In his 2007 biography of Charlie Parker, “Kansas City Lightning,” he presents the great saxophonist in his early days as not just a revolutionary musician, but a kind of exemplary citizen. “The 21-year-old Parker was possessed by his music — by a ravenous need to improvise, to learn new tunes, to find new ways of getting through the harmonies with materials that would liberate him from cliches,” Crouch wrote. “Parker seemed to have a crying soul, a spirit as troubled by the nature of life as it was capable of almost unlimited celebration.” Books OK, “here I go with the written part,” the main theme, says essayist and jazz critic Stanley Crouch. May 21, 1990 Crouch championed new ideas, but was deeply immersed in the past and in some ways preferred it — scorning fusion and other more recent incarnations of jazz, to the point where he and Marsalis were criticized for unduly shaping Burns’ jazz documentary, and identifying with the term “Negro” over African American. A deep-voiced, bulky man who once slapped the face of a reviewer who had panned his novel “Don’t the Moon Look Lonesome,” he was equally emphatic whether rhapsodizing over Duke Ellington or Charlie Parker, disparaging gangsta rap (“‘Birth of a Nation’ with a backbeat”) or admiring Barack Obama (“a rhythm and blues guy”). Warm words from Crouch were savored if only for the ferocity, even extremity, of his scorn. He called Lee a “middle-class would-be street Negro” and Morrison a writer “perforated by ideology,” turning out “bathtub corn liquor.” He and Baraka so despised each other that when New Yorker writer Robert Boynton called Baraka for a story on Crouch in 1995, the poet called Crouch ”a backwards, asinine person” and hung up the phone. “Crouch has a virtually insatiable appetite for controversy,” Boynton wrote. Crouch’s criticism was collected into “Notes of a Hanging Judge,” “The All-American Skin Game” and other books. He had been working on a second Parker volume, but could not complete it because of his health. His honors included a Whiting Award, the Windham-Campbell Prize and being named a Jazz Master in 2019 by the National Endowment for the Arts. He was a visiting professor at Columbia University and president of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Archives WE KNOW this: Barack Obama is a rising star. He’s a powerful speaker and a gifted writer. Dec. 17, 2006 Crouch is survived by his wife, a daughter and granddaughter. Asthmatic and often in poor health as a child, Crouch was raised in Los Angeles by his mother and was eager to learn about new worlds, reading William Faulkner, Mark Twain and other canonical writers and teaching himself how to drum. He was a civil rights activist in the 1960s who was radicalized by the 1965 Watts riots but later turned against Black nationalism. Crouch became an heir to the intellectual tradition of such fellow Black writers as Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray, advocating the spontaneity and inclusiveness of jazz as the finest qualities of “this crazy quilt called America.” In a 2011 Daily News column, he savored “those affirmative, good-time American moments capable of transcending one-dimensional materialism.” “That is the essence of jazz in all its styles and is the continuing essence of Americana when lived to its most potent vitality,” he wrote, “the top and the bottom mixed into a seamless liquidity of many flavors, all recognized for the light of their deeply human sources.” Obituaries With “Beloved” and other writings, Toni Morrison gave voice to the silences in the past and created some of the most memorable characters in American literature. Aug. 6, 2019

Mexico asks for information on alleged migrant abuse at U.S. centers

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/mexico-alleged-migrant-abuse-us-centers-hysterectomies

The Mexican government said Wednesday it has requested information from the United States about claims that migrants were subjected to hysterectomies at a detention center in Georgia and that a migrant allegedly suffered sexual abuse at a facility in Texas. “A formal request has been made to the appropriate authorities for a report on the supposed negligent actions or rights abuses at immigration detention centers,” Mexico’s foreign relations department said. The department said consular personnel would try to guarantee migrants’ rights are respected at detention centers. It said it would follow the cases and provide consular assistance to any victims. On Monday, a former nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia alleged that staff members had performed questionable hysterectomies on migrant women held there. A top U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement medical official has “vehemently” disputed the allegations. Also this week, an immigrant woman who has accused guards of sexually assaulting her at a detention center in El Paso was deported. The woman alleged that guards at the El Paso Processing Center forcibly kissed her and targeted her in places where they could not be seen by security cameras. After the Texas Tribune and ProPublica first reported the allegations, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general opened an investigation into her case and allegations from at least two other people.

Trump twice tweets doctored Biden video, fueling spread of disinformation

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/trump-fuels-spread-of-altered-biden-video-tweeting-it-twice

A video altered to make it appear as though Democratic president candidate Joe Biden played a song disparaging the police was viewed more than 4.5 million times on Twitter by Wednesday afternoon, its spread fueled by President Trump, who tweeted it — twice. The video, which appears to show Biden playing a controversial song by the rap group N.W.A during a campaign trip to Florida, was labeled as manipulated media by Twitter, but it continued to circulate widely. At the event and in the original video, Biden pulled out his cellphone and played “Despacito,” a song by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, who introduced him at a Hispanic Heritage Month event Tuesday in Kissimmee, Fla. In the altered video, the song has been changed to N.W.A’s “F— tha Police.” “What is this all about,” the president wrote when he first tweeted the doctored video Tuesday night. He tweeted it again Wednesday, saying: “China is drooling. They can’t believe this!” Trump retweeted the video from the United Spot, which describes itself as a parody or satire account on YouTube and Facebook — but not on Twitter, where the pro-Trump account has more than 22,000 followers. The account, which often tags the president to make him aware of posts, was created this year. Another account closely associated with the United Spot was previously suspended by Twitter. The platform did not immediately respond to a question about the ties between the accounts. A Twitter spokesperson told the Associated Press that the manipulated media tag was added to the tweet based on the platform’s policy on synthetic and manipulated media. Politics President Trump shared a tweet falsely suggesting Democratic nominee Joe Biden is a pedophile, the latest smear from his no-holds-barred reelection campaign. Sept. 15, 2020 The United Spot often airs manipulated videos on its social media accounts, some of them attacking political figures such as Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It did not respond to a request for comment. The United Spot shared the altered video of Biden with the caption, “Joe Biden has just ONE thing to say and it ain’t good. Listen to this.” The president retweeted that tweet. Links to the manipulated video also appeared on Facebook on Wednesday. Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said, “The video has been fact-checked — and even before that happened, it had been removed from places where people discover content on Instagram, like Explore and hashtags.” On Wednesday, social media users began changing the song shared in the manipulated video. The official account for the Trump campaign, Team Trump, shared an altered version of the video with audio saying, “I’ve loved kids jumping on my lap.” Biden made the remark about children jumping on his lap during a 2017 ceremony in Wilmington, Del., where a pool facility was being renamed for him. Biden used to work at the pool as a lifeguard. At the event, Biden discussed how he learned about race while working at the pool, which served a predominately Black community. On Tuesday, Biden made his first trip to Florida since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, an effort to boost support in a key battleground state. A Biden win in Florida would significantly narrow Trump’s path to reelection. The retweet is the latest effort by the Trump campaign to claim that Biden is against the police. The campaign and the Republican National Committee have falsely suggested that Biden supports defunding the police. Biden has outlined plans that would boost funding to “community-oriented policing” and redirect some funding to address mental health issues and create partnerships between police and mental health and disability experts. Politics President Trump has a hard-line position on policing. Joe Biden urges reforms to limit the use of force but rejects calls to ‘defund’ the police. Oct. 1, 2020 Twitter has previously flagged Trump’s tweets for containing manipulated media. In June, Twitter applied the label to an altered video shared by Trump that showed a white toddler running toward a Black toddler. The video was labeled with a fake CNN headline saying, “Terrified toddler runs from racist baby.” In the original video, which was shared to tell the story of the two boys’ friendship, the toddlers meet and hug. In July, Twitter removed a viral video shared by the president showing a group promoting the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which experts have said repeatedly is not effective at treating COVID-19. The N.W.A song used in the manipulated video was released in 1988 as part of the group’s “Straight Outta Compton” album, which shared the rappers’ experiences with racial profiling and police brutality. Technology and the Internet Among the big social media platforms, Twitter has taken a unique approach to moderating user speech, one that’s both unusually subjective and notably principled. That approach has allowed the company to avoid direct conflict with President Trump — until this week. May 29, 2020

U.S. charges 5 Chinese citizens in global hacking campaign

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/us-charges-5-chinese-citizens-in-global-hacking-campaign

The Justice Department has charged five Chinese citizens with hacks targeting more than 100 companies and institutions in the United States and elsewhere, including social media and video game companies as well as universities and telecommunications providers, officials said Wednesday. The five defendants remain fugitives, but prosecutors say two Malaysian businessmen accused of conspiring with the alleged hackers to profit off the attacks on video game companies were arrested in that country this week and faced extradition proceedings. The indictments, announced Wednesday, are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to call out cybercrimes by China. In July, prosecutors accused hackers of working with the Chinese government to target firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world. Officials said the hacking scheme was wide-ranging and targeted various business sectors and academia and was carried out by a group known as APT41. They say it resembles other hacking schemes by China that are carried out at the behest of the government, or at least with its approval. One of the five defendants told a colleague that he was very close to the Chinese Ministry of State Security and would be protected “unless something very big happens,” said Deputy Atty. Gen. Jeffrey Rosen, who criticized the Chinese government for what he said was a failure by Beijing to disrupt hacking crimes. “We know the Chinese authorities to be at least as able as the law enforcement authorities here and in like-minded states to enforce laws against computer intrusions. But they choose not to,” Rosen said.

Celebrities join Instagram 'freeze' to protest Facebook's response to hateful content

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/celebs-join-instagram-freeze-to-protest-facebook-inaction

Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities are taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to the #StopHateforProfit movement’s latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day. Facebook owns Instagram. “I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation — created by groups to sow division and split America apart — only to take steps after people are killed,” Kardashian West posted on her Instagram account on Tuesday. Facebook declined to comment but pointed to recent announcements about what it’s doing to limit the reach on its platform of groups that support violence and its efforts to protect the U.S. election in November. I love that I can connect directly with you through Instagram and Facebook, but I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation - created by groups to sow division and split America apart – only to take steps after people are killed. Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy. Please join me tomorrow when I will be “freezing” my Instagram and FB account to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. Link in bio for more info on how to preserve truth. A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 15, 2020 at 11:50am PDT With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram, and support from her and other big names for the boycott saw Facebook shares slide in aftermarket trading late Tuesday. They were down 1.7% ahead of the market open on Wednesday. The organizers behind “#StopHateforProfit, including civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP and Color of Change, had previously led a campaign that got hundreds of brands and nonprofit organizations to join a Facebook advertising boycott in July. Ashton Kutcher, Mark Ruffalo, Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx and Sacha Baron Cohen were among about two dozen Hollywood stars and celebrity influencers supporting the campaign, the organizers said. Movies ‘The Social Dilemma’ on Netflix takes aim at Facebook, Google, Twitter and other purveyors of social media and search engines Sept. 9, 2020 DiCaprio said he was standing with the civil rights groups to call “on all users of Instagram and Facebook to protest the amplification of hate, racism, and the undermining of democracy on those platforms.” Facebook, which earned nearly $70 billion in advertising revenue last year, is facing a reckoning over what critics call indefensible excuses for promoting divisions, hate and misinformation on their platforms. Business Mark Zuckerberg’s cluelessness shows how socially dangerous Facebook has become. June 5, 2020 “We are quickly approaching one of the most consequential elections in American history,” organizers said. “Facebook’s unchecked and vague ‘changes’ are falling dangerously short of what is necessary to protect our democracy.” The movement also singled out for criticism Facebook’s handling of online material ahead of the shootings in Kenosha, Wis., last month. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said the company made a mistake in not removing sooner a page belonging to a militia group that called for armed civilians to enter the town. It took the page down only after an armed teenager allegedly killed two people after violent protests sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who is Black.

Big Ten changes course, aims for October start to football

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-09-16/big-ten-changes-course-aims-for-october-start-to-football

Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the weekend of Oct. 24. Each team will have an eight-game schedule. The Big Ten said its Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously Tuesday to restart sports. The emergence of daily rapid-response COVID-19 testing, not available when university presidents and chancellors decided to pull the plug on the season, helped trigger a re-vote. USC Sports USC football players took to social media Tuesday to ask Gov. Gavin Newsom to allow Pac-12 teams to play a fall season. Sept. 15, 2020 The Pac-12 recently announced a partnership with a diagnostic lab that will give the conference’s schools the capacity to test athletes daily. The Big Ten believes it can do the same and that it is a game-changer. The move came amid sharp pressure from coaches, a lawsuit from players, and pressure from parents and even President Trump pushing for a Big Ten football season. The conference is home to a number of battleground states in the November election.

U.S. outlines plan to provide free COVID-19 vaccines

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/us-plan-free-covid-19-vaccines

The federal government outlined a sweeping plan Wednesday to make vaccines for COVID-19 available free to all Americans, even as polls show a strong undercurrent of skepticism rippling across the land. In a report to Congress and an accompanying “playbook” for states and localities, federal health agencies and the Defense Department sketched out complex plans for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or possibly later this year, eventually ramping up to reach any American who wants a shot. The Pentagon is involved with the distribution of vaccines, but civilian health workers will be the ones giving shots. The campaign is “much larger in scope and complexity than seasonal influenza or other previous outbreak-related vaccination responses,” said the playbook for states from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the highlights: Politics AstraZeneca, which received U.S. funds to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, raised prices despite promises by President Trump to keep drug costs in check. Sept. 14, 2020 Some of the broad components of the federal plan have already been discussed, but Wednesday’s reports attempt to put the key details into a comprehensive framework. Distribution is happening under the umbrella of Operation Warp Speed, a White House-backed initiative to have millions of doses ready to ship once a vaccine is given what’s expected to be an emergency use approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Several formulations are undergoing final trials. But the whole enterprise is facing public skepticism. Only about half of Americans said they’d get vaccinated in an Associated Press poll taken in May. Of those who wouldn’t get vaccinated, the overwhelming majority said they were worried about safety. To effectively protect the nation from the coronavirus, experts say upwards of 70% of Americans must either be vaccinated or have their own immunity from fighting off COVID-19. Since the poll, questions have only mounted about whether the government is trying to rush COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to help President Trump’s reelection chances. Before the Republican National Convention in August, the FDA granted authorization for treatment of COVID-19 patients with plasma from people who have recovered, even though some government scientists were not convinced the clinical evidence of its effectiveness was sufficiently strong. And last week it was reported that Michael Caputo, a Health and Human Services Department political appointee, tried to gain editorial control over a weekly scientific publication from the CDC. As public confidence in core health agencies has taken a beating, Trump administration officials have been forced to play defense. “We are working closely with our state and local public health partners ... to ensure that Americans can receive the vaccine as soon as possible and vaccinate with confidence,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement Wednesday. “Americans should know that the vaccine development process is being driven completely by science and the data.” That could be a tough sell. In the AP poll, one in five Americans said they would not get a coronavirus vaccine, and 31% said they were unsure.

House report blasts Boeing, FAA for 737 Max jet crashes, seeks reforms

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/panels-report-blasts-boeing-faa-for-crashes-seeks-reforms

A House committee issued a scathing report Wednesday questioning whether Boeing and government regulators have recognized the problems that caused two deadly 737 Max jet crashes and whether either will be willing to make significant changes to fix them. Staff members from the Democrat-controlled Transportation Committee blamed the crashes that killed 346 people on the “horrific culmination” of failed government oversight, design flaws and a lack of action at Boeing despite knowing about problems. The committee identified many deficiencies in the Federal Aviation Administration approval process for new jetliners. But both the agency and Boeing have said certification of the Max complied with FAA regulations, the 246-page report said. “The fact that a compliant airplane suffered from two deadly crashes in less than five months is clear evidence that the current regulatory system is fundamentally flawed and needs to be repaired,” the staff wrote in the report released early Wednesday. The report highlights the need for legislation to fix the approval process and deal with the FAA’s delegation of some oversight tasks to aircraft manufacturer employees, said Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio of Oregon. Opinion The Seattle Times led the world with its investigation of the 737 Max crashes, because its reporters had deep expertise and reliable sources earned from decades of covering a company that got its start in Seattle. “Obviously the system is inadequate,” DeFazio said. “We will be adopting significant reforms.” He wouldn’t give details of possible changes, saying committee leaders are in talks with Republicans about legislation. He said the committee won’t scrap the delegation program, and he hopes to reach agreement on reforms before year’s end. The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday could make changes to a bipartisan bill introduced in June giving the FAA more control over picking company employees who sign off on safety decisions. One improvement may be that a plane with significant changes from previous models would need more FAA review. The House report stems from an 18-month investigation into the October 2018 crash of Lion Air flight 610 in Indonesia and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in March of 2019. The Max was grounded worldwide shortly after the Ethiopia crash. Regulators are testing planes with revamped flight control software, and Boeing hopes to get the Max flying again late this year or early in 2021. The investigators mainly focused on the reason Boeing was able to get the jet approved with minimal pilot training: It convinced the FAA that the Max was an updated version of previous generation 737s. But in fact, Boeing equipped the plane with software called MCAS, an acronym for Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which automatically lowers the plane’s nose to prevent an aerodynamic stall. Initially, pilots worldwide weren’t told about the system, which Boeing said was needed because the Max had bigger, more powerful engines that were placed farther forward on the wings than older 737s. In both crashes, MCAS repeatedly pointed the nose down, forcing pilots into unsuccessful struggles to keep the planes aloft. Committee investigators said they found several instances in which Boeing concealed information about MCAS from the FAA and airlines. The Chicago-based company didn’t disclose that MCAS worked off a single sensor called “angle of attack,” which measures a plane’s pitch. It also didn’t disclose that a gauge that would have alerted pilots to a malfunctioning sensor didn’t work on the vast majority of the jets. Boeing also concealed that it took a company test pilot more than 10 seconds to determine that MCAS was operating and respond to it, a condition that the pilot found to be “catastrophic,” according to the report. Federal guidelines assume pilots will respond to this condition within four seconds. Four Boeing employees working as “authorized representatives” with permission to act on the FAA’s behalf to validate aircraft systems knew about the test pilot’s slow response. But there was no evidence that they reported this to the FAA, the report said. Business The communications threaten to upend Boeing’s efforts to rebuild public trust in the 737 Max. Another authorized representative raised concerns in 2016 about hazards of MCAS repeatedly pointing the plane’s nose down, but the concerns never made it to the FAA. Repeated MCAS activation and faulty sensors “were the core contributing factors that led to the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes more than two years later,” the report said. According to the report, Boeing wanted to keep details about MCAS from the FAA so it wouldn’t require additional pilot training. That would ruin Boeing’s sales pitch for the Max, that pilots of older 737s wouldn’t have to go through extensive simulator training to fly the new planes. Investigators found that Boeing had a financial incentive to avoid more pilot training. Under a 2011 contract with Southwest Airlines, Boeing would have had to knock $1 million off the price of each Max if simulator training was needed. “That drove a whole lot of really bad decisions internally at Boeing, and also the FAA did not pick up on these things,” DeFazio said. He added that Boeing had an internal meeting in 2013 and agreed never to talk about MCAS outside the company. At one point, MCAS was listed in pilot training manuals, but an authorized representative signed off on removing it, he said. In a statement, Boeing said it has worked to strengthen its safety culture and has cooperated with the committee. The company has incorporated many recommendations from committees and experts who have examined Max issues. Boeing said it has learned from mistakes. “Change is always hard and requires a daily commitment, but we as a company are dedicated to doing the work,” the statement said. The FAA said in a statement it looks forward to working with the committee to make improvements, and it’s already making changes based on internal and independent reviews. “These initiatives are focused on advancing overall aviation safety by improving our organization, processes, and culture,” the FAA said, adding that it is requiring a number of design changes to the Max before it can fly again. When it came to FAA oversight, investigators said they found multiple examples of agency managers overruling technical and safety experts at the behest of Boeing. A draft internal FAA safety culture survey said that many in the FAA believe aviation safety leaders “are overly concerned with achieving the business oriented outcomes of industry stakeholders and are not held accountable for safety-related decisions,” the report stated. In an interview with investigators, Keith Leverkuhn, former Boeing general manager for the Max who was promoted in the company, said he considered development of the Max a success despite the crashes. “I do challenge the suggestion that the development was a failure,” the report quotes him as saying. Investigators wrote that this raised doubts about Boeing’s ability to change. “Only a genuine, holistic, and assertive commitment to changing the cultural issues unearthed in the committee’s investigation ... can enhance aviation safety and truly help both Boeing and the FAA learn from the dire lessons of the 737 Max tragedies,” the report said.

Fleeing suspect abandons winning lottery ticket, Georgia sheriff says

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/sheriff-fleeing-suspect-abandons-winning-lottery-ticket

A man in Georgia left his good luck behind when he abandoned a winning lottery ticket while fleeing sheriff’s deputies. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office says the man had a Georgia Lottery scratch game card worth $100 when he ran away during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 on Monday. In a Facebook post, it offered its congratulations and invited him to claim the ticket at its office in Canton about 40 miles north of Atlanta. The man, who was not identified, was later taken into custody, Capt. Jay Baker, a sheriff’s spokesman, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Baker said the man was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for a tag violation, and he ran into the woods. The lottery ticket was in a backpack that also had methamphetamine, according to Baker. The man can have the lottery ticket back, but the sheriff’s office said it will keep the drugs.

Israel strikes Gaza militant sites after rocket fire during U.S. ceremony

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-16/israel-strikes-gaza-after-rocket-fire-during-us-ceremony

The Israeli military struck Hamas militant sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday in response to rocket fire toward Israel the previous night that coincided with the signing of normalization agreements between Israel and two Arab countries at the White House. The barrage against Israel began Tuesday night just as the ceremony in Washington was getting underway to formalize the new agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Two Israelis were lightly wounded. The rocket fire continued overnight, with sirens sounding across southern Israel. The military said five projectiles landed in open areas with the rest intercepted by Israel’s rocket defense system. In response, the military said it struck about 10 sites belonging to Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, including a weapons and explosives manufacturing factory, underground infrastructure and a military training compound. The renewed exchange offered a stark reminder that the festive events in Washington would likely do little to change Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. In addition to the bilateral agreements signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, all three signed a document dubbed the “Abraham Accords” after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions. The Palestinians are opposed to the agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, viewing them as a betrayal of their cause by the Arab countries, which agreed to recognize Israel without securing territorial concessions. They vow that the agreements, and any others that may follow, will not undermine their cause. Politics The U.S. Embassy probably stays in Jerusalem, but Biden would want to undo several Trump actions in the Middle East. Neither President Trump nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the Palestinians in their remarks at the signing ceremony, but both the UAE and Bahraini foreign ministers spoke of the importance of creating a Palestinian state. Upon his departure back from Washington, Netanyahu said he was not surprised by the rocket attack or the timing of the militants. “They want to take peace backwards but they won’t succeed,” he said. “We will strike hard against all those who seek to harm us and reach out a hand in peace to all those whose hand is reached out to peace with us.” The Islamic militant group Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007, when it seized power from the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority. Israel and Egypt have imposed a crippling blockade on the coastal territory since then. A number of Palestinian militant groups operate in Gaza, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks and typically responds to rocket fire with airstrikes on militant targets. There were no immediate reports of any injuries in Gaza. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and several smaller skirmishes since 2007. Egypt and Qatar have brokered an informal cease-fire in recent years in which Hamas has reined in rocket attacks in exchange for economic aid and a loosening of the blockade, but the arrangement has broken down on a number of occasions. Israelis have warmly embraced the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, which are only the third and fourth Arab countries — after Egypt and Jordan — to recognize Israel. City Hall in Tel Aviv was lit up with the word “peace” in English, Hebrew and Arabic. In Jerusalem, authorities projected the flags of the U.S., Israel, the UAE and Bahrain on the walls of the Old City.

At town hall, Trump denies downplaying the coronavirus and casts doubt on masks

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-09-15/trump-denies-downplaying-coronavirus-casts-doubt-on-mask-usage-at-town-hall

Fielding compelling questions about voters’ real-world problems, President Trump denied during a televised town hall that he had played down the threat of the coronavirus earlier this year, although there is an audio recording of him stating he did just that. Trump, in what could well be a preview of his performance in the presidential debates less than two weeks from now, cast doubt on the widely accepted scientific conclusions of his own administration strongly urging the use of face coverings and seemed to bat away the suggestion that the nation has racial inequities. “Well, I hope there’s not a race problem,” Trump said Tuesday when asked about his campaign rhetoric, seeming to ignore the historical injustices carried out against Black Americans. Face to face with everyday voters for the first time in months, Trump was defensive but resisted agitation as he was pressed on his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and why he doesn’t more aggressively promote the use of masks to reduce the spread of the disease. “There are people that don’t think masks are good,” Trump said, though his own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly urges their use. The event, hosted by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, was a warm-up of sorts before Trump faces Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the first presidential debate Sept. 29. Taped at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the event featured Trump taking questions from an audience of just 21 voters to comply with state and local coronavirus regulations. Politics President Trump shared a tweet falsely suggesting Democratic nominee Joe Biden is a pedophile, the latest smear from his no-holds-barred reelection campaign. Sept. 15, 2020 Trump sought to counter his admission to journalist Bob Woodward that he was deliberately “playing it down” when discussing the threat of COVID-19 to Americans earlier this year. Despite audio of his comments being released, Trump said: “Yeah, well, I didn’t downplay it. I actually, in many ways, I up-played it, in terms of action.” “My action was very strong,” Trump added. “I’m not looking to be dishonest. I don’t want people to panic.” Trump also insisted he was not wrong when he praised China’s response to the virus in January and February, saying he trusted Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader. “He told me that it was under control, that everything was, and it turned out to be not true,” Trump said. Trump also suggested that the virus would disappear without a vaccine, claiming the nation would develop a herd immunity with time, but he didn’t mention the lives that would be lost along the way. “It’s going to be herd-developed, and that’s going to happen. That will all happen,” Trump said. “But with a vaccine, I think it will go away very quickly.” The questions from uncommitted voters were pointed and poignant: a diabetic man who said he felt he’d been thrown “under the bus” by mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic; a Black woman with a disease that left her un-insurable until the Obama healthcare law came along and is worried that she could lose coverage again; a Black pastor who questioned Trump’s campaign motto to “Make America Great Again.” Politics A majority of Asian American voters prefer Democratic nominee Joe Biden over Republican President Trump, a new poll says. Sept. 15, 2020 “When has America been great for African Americans in the ghetto of America?” the pastor asked. Asked about what he was doing to address protests against racial injustice, Trump lamented a “lack of respect” and the absence of “retribution” for those who clash with or carry out attacks against police officers. Trump on Sunday called for the death penalty for the individual who shot and critically injured two Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies over the weekend. Trump has been unusually mum on his preparations ahead of the first debate, set to take place in Cleveland. On Tuesday, he told Fox News he believes his day job is the best practice for his three scheduled showdowns with Biden. “Well, I sort of prepare every day by just doing what I’m doing,” Trump said. He noted that he had been in California on Monday and had been to other states before that to make the point that he’s getting out and about more than Biden. One person likely to study the replay: Biden. Returning from a long day of campaigning in Florida, Biden said at his plane that he was preparing for the debates mostly by going through what Trump has said in the past. But he suggested he had yet to initiate mock debates, saying he was unaware who would play the role of Trump in his preparations. Trump, in the Fox interview, lowered expectations for his Democratic opponent’s performance, judging Biden “a disaster” and “grossly incompetent” in the primary debates. He assessed Biden as “OK” and “fine” in his final one-on-one debate with Bernie Sanders before clinching the nomination. Trump’s rhetoric on Biden marked a departure from the traditional efforts by candidates to talk up their rivals’ preparation for televised debates, in hopes of setting an unattainably high bar for their performance. The second of the three scheduled debates, set to be held Oct. 15 in Miami, will feature a similar “town meeting” style. Biden is to have his own opportunity to hone his skills taking questions from voters on Thursday, when he participates in a televised town hall hosted by CNN. The visit to Pennsylvania is Trump’s second to the battleground state in the last week, after he attended a Sept. 11 memorial event Friday in Shanksville.

Coronavirus death toll linked to Maine wedding grows to 7

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-15/virus-death-toll-linked-to-maine-wedding-grows-to-7

At least seven people have died in connection to a coronavirus outbreak that continues to sicken people in Maine following a wedding reception held over the summer that violated state virus guidelines, public health authorities said. The August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. Maine authorities have identified overlaps between the wedding reception and outbreaks elsewhere in the state. An employee of the York County Jail attended the wedding, Maine CDC officials have said. Maine health officials have also said an outbreak at a Madison rehabilitation center, which is the site of six of the seven deaths, is connected to the wedding because an employee of the facility lives in the same household as a person who attended. The virus cases stemming from the wedding have spanned hundreds of miles in a state that had largely controlled the spread of the coronavirus through the summer. Maine has reported fewer than 5,000 cases of COVID-19 in total since March. But the growing number of cases related to the wedding, which exceeded the state’s guidelines of 50 people or fewer at indoor gatherings, could undo some of that progress if it continues to swell. Authorities have said more than 65 people attended the wedding. Science & Medicine The NIH has launched an investigation into the case of a patient who suffered spinal cord damage after joining AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trial. The six people from the Madison rehabilitation facility who died were all residents of that facility, and none attended the wedding reception, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC. “Maine CDC is concerned about where we are, and I’m asking everyone else to share in that concern. COVID-19, right now, is not on the other side of the fence. It is in our yards,” Shah said. “The gains that Maine has made against COVID-19 are ones that could, and unfortunately can, be washed away.” The wedding was officiated by pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford. The Maine CDC is investigating to determine if an outbreak at the church is connected to the wedding outbreak. That outbreak has sickened 10 people, Shah said. The church issued a statement Tuesday that said “a number of Calvary Baptist Church members attended” the wedding reception. The statement said the church is taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus and will defend its right to continue holding services. “The Calvary Baptist Church has a legal right to meet. The authority of a local Christian church, a Jewish synagogue or a Muslim mosque to gather for their respective religious services is a time-honored part of our nation’s history since its inception,” the statement said. “These religious activities are also fully protected under the 1st Amendment to our United States Constitution.” Bell has been critical of government attempts to control the coronavirus, and videos show he has held services without social distancing. He hired a lawyer known nationally for defending the religious rights of churches. Neither Bell nor the attorney working with the church, David Gibbs of Florida, personally responded to a request Tuesday for comment. Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long said the agency’s investigations suggest “multiple potential points of transmission related to the Aug. 7 wedding and reception.” The agency is working to limit the spread of the virus and support people affected by it, he said. Shah said the state’s positivity rate has ticked up to 0.63% for the previous seven days. At one point, the rate was less than half a percentage point. The rate remains well below the national average of 5%, Shah said.

Stocks give up part of an early gain but still end higher

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-15/stocks-give-up-part-of-an-early-gain-but-still-end-higher

Stocks on Wall Street overcame a late burst of selling and closed up Tuesday, as gains in big technology companies outweighed losses in banks and elsewhere in the market. After being up 1.1% earlier in the day, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended with a gain of 0.5%. It’s the second straight sizable gain for the benchmark index following its worst week since June. High-flying technology stocks, which have been driving the market higher throughout the pandemic, abruptly lost altitude this month amid worries that their prices had simply climbed too high, even after taking into account their tremendous growth. But the last two days marked a reversal of that trend, with shares in tech firms — as well as other companies that play a key role in online access and commerce — climbing again. Microsoft rose 1.6% on Tuesday, Amazon gained 1.7%, and Zoom Video climbed 1.8%. A key reason tech stocks are climbing again is that investors still expect that the companies’ profits will boom as even more of daily life shifts online. “The things that are doing well or are beneficiaries or are working in this environment, for good reason, are the things that are going up,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments. “That isn’t going to change until we get a notable change in one of the things that are uncertain — the virus itself and the effect that’s having on the economy — and whether we get anything new on the fiscal stimulus front.” The S&P 500 rose 17.66 points to 3,401.20. The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 2.27 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27,995.60. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with tech stocks, climbed 133.67 points, or 1.2%, to 11,190.32. Stocks of smaller companies eked out a tiny gain. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps rose 1.18 points, or 0.1%, to 1,538.15. Because tech companies have grown so massive, their movements alone can dictate the market’s performance more than ever. Tech stocks as a group account for nearly 28% of the S&P 500, and they’re up 3.1% this week after slumping more than 4% in each of the prior two weeks. Analysts expect more volatility for stocks in the months ahead as the market navigates uncertainty over the still-struggling economy, the outcome of the election and pessimism that Democrats and Republicans in Washington will be able to reach a deal to send more aid to unemployed workers. Investors weighed a batch of mixed global economic data Tuesday. Stocks in Europe and much of Asia ticked higher after reports showing retail sales in China were higher last month than a year earlier. That was China’s first such sales growth this year, after the pandemic walloped its economy. In Europe’s largest economy, a reading on German economic confidence rose more than expected. A report showed that U.S. industrial production strengthened last month, but the growth wasn’t as strong as economists were expecting. Other reports showed that manufacturing in New York state is expanding more than economists expected, as are import and export prices. Treasury yields were relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 0.67%, unchanged from late Monday. The 30-year yield ticked up to 1.44% from 1.41%. Shorter-term rates remain pinned at lower levels on expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its benchmark rate at nearly zero for some time to help the economy recover. The central bank began its latest meeting on interest-rate policy Tuesday, and it will announce its decision Wednesday. Economists say it could change some of the language around its existing pledge to buy bonds to support markets, but they expect no major news. On the losing side was Carnival, which dropped 10.8%, making it the biggest decliner in the S&P 500. The cruise ship operator said it may sell as much as $1 billion in stock to raise cash, and it reported a preliminary $2.9-billion loss for its latest quarter. More encouragingly, it also said its advance bookings for the second half of 2021 are similar to where booking positions were in 2018 for the second half of 2019, before the coronavirus pummeled the industry. Financial stocks were also laggards. JPMorgan Chase fell 3.1%. It trimmed its forecast for this year’s net interest income, which measures how much profit it makes from interest payments for loans and other products after subtracting the interest it pays out on deposits.

California fitness centers sue state over virus closures

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-15/california-fitness-centers-sue-state-over-virus-closures

California fitness centers have filed a lawsuit alleging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus unfairly target the industry and are demanding they be allowed to reopen. The California Fitness Alliance, which represents nearly 300 businesses, filed the suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Scott Street, a lawyer for the group, said Tuesday. The suit accuses state and L.A. County officials of requiring gyms to close without providing evidence that they contribute to virus outbreaks and at a time when staying healthy is critical to California’s residents. The prolonged closure is depriving millions of people the ability to exercise as temperatures soar and smoky air from wildfires blankets much of the state, said Francesca Schuler, a founding partner of the alliance. “We are not looking for a fight,” said Schuler, who is chief executive of In-Shape Health Clubs. “We are committed to being as safe as possible. We are in the health business. That’s what we care about more than anything.” Messages were sent seeking comment from the California Department of Public Health and L.A. County Department of Public Health. The suit is one of many filed by California sectors walloped by closures due to the pandemic. Newsom’s administration let many businesses reopen in spring but shut them again in July as virus cases surged and is now allowing reopenings to take place in phases as counties see virus cases diminish. Under state rules, fitness centers can reopen indoors at 10% of capacity when a county’s infections drop from “widespread” to “substantial.” In counties with infections in the “minimal” category, gyms can reopen indoors at 50% capacity. The closures have devastated the fitness industry, which could see between 30% and 40% of businesses close for good, Schuler said. They have also worsened the health of many residents who rely on gyms for exercise at a time when the public is being urged to stay healthy to protect themselves against COVID-19, she said. The alliance also questioned why fitness centers are facing more restrictive measures than restaurants when gym equipment can be spaced out and patrons are required to wear masks. Statewide, California’s coronavirus infection rate has dropped steadily for weeks. As of last Tuesday, however, infections in 33 of the state’s 58 counties were still rated widespread, requiring schools to only offer distance learning and most businesses to limit their indoor operations.

Alexei Navalny posts photo of himself on Instagram, says he can breathe

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-15/navalny-posts-photo-of-himself-online-says-he-can-breathe

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday posted a picture of himself in a hospital in Germany and said he was breathing on his own. He posted Tuesday on Instagram: “Hi, this is Navalny. I have been missing you. I still can’t do much, but yesterday I managed to breathe on my own for the entire day. “Just on my own, no extra help, not even a valve in my throat. I liked it very much. It’s a remarkable process that is underestimated by many. Strongly recommended.” Navalny, 44, was flown to Berlin for treatment at the Charite hospital two days after falling ill on a domestic flight in Russia on Aug. 20. A German military lab determined that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, the same class of Soviet-era agent that Britain said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, in 2018. On Monday, the German government said tests by labs in France and Sweden backed up its findings. World & Nation The attack on Alexei Navalny — at least the sixth such attempt against a Russian dissident in the last five years — has provoked international condemnation on a scale not seen since the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal. The Kremlin has bristled at calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders to answer questions about the poisoning, denying any official involvement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of using the incident as a pretext to introduce new sanctions against Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he had expressed “deep concern over the criminal act” with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The Kremlin said Putin in the call “underlined the impropriety of unfounded accusations against the Russian side” and emphasized Russia’s demand for Germany to hand over analyses and samples. Putin also called for joint work by German and Russian doctors. Navalny’s spokesman, Leonid Volkov, refused to give any details on Navalny’s possible plans after his recovery when reached by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Endorsement: Yes on Prop. 24. It's not perfect, but it would improve online privacy

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-09-15/yes-on-proposition-24

Over the last decade, personal data has become the invisible currency that funds much of the internet. Social networks, sites and apps attract people with free content and services, then use the data they gather to make a fortune off of targeted advertisements. Two years ago, the Legislature passed a groundbreaking law to give Californians more control over the personal information collected from them online. The idea was to let you withdraw from that hidden exchange of information, barring sites from selling your data to third parties that assemble detailed profiles of consumers’ habits and tastes. Unfortunately, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which went into effect this year, didn’t live up to its billing. Major online companies found ways to wriggle out if its requirements, and industry lobbyists have pressured the Legislature to water it down further. In response, Alastair Mactaggart, a Bay Area real estate developer who was one of the main proponents of the act, and state Sen. Robert M. Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) crafted an initiative aimed at shoring up the law and steered it onto the November ballot. Proposition 24, also known as the California Privacy Rights Act, would expand Californians’ privacy rights in several areas, while also amending the current law in several ways that are hotly disputed. The measure is supported by a broad array of privacy experts, but it’s opposed by several well-respected privacy and civil liberties organizations, as well as a number of internet industry groups. Two major privacy advocates, Consumer Reports and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have declared their neutrality, praising some aspects of the initiative and criticizing others. We could sink deeply into the history and the behind-the-scenes drama, but in the end, the questions for voters are whether Proposition 24 would make privacy protections stronger, whether it goes far enough to make a meaningful difference, and whether it would enable the state to provide even better protections in the future. The answer to all three is yes. Although California’s current privacy law is the strongest in the country, it has many shortcomings. Its limits apply only to the sale of data, so some sites have circumvented them by claiming they’re not selling personal information, they’re merely sharing it with partners. That’s one of several glaring loopholes that big, data-hoovering sites and platforms such as Google, Facebook and Spotify have exploited. In addition, only the state attorney general can bring enforcement actions, and Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has said he can’t imagine bringing more than two of those a year. Plus, anyone found in violation has the right to correct the problem without penalty. In other words, every site and service starts with a get-out-of-jail-free card they can use repeatedly, once per different type of offense. Meanwhile, even when the law works as intended, the result can be jarring. For many people, the internet has become a frustrating succession of “cookie walls,” as each new site they visit forces them to jump through multiple hoops in order to bar the sale of their data. And once they do, they may be denied access to the site unless they buy a subscription. Proposition 24 would close many of the loopholes undermining the current law. Among other things, it would cover data sharing as well as sales, give Californians the explicit right to opt out of the kind of tracking that Google and other ad networks continue to do, provide new rights to correct information that’s been collected and stop the automated processing of personal data. It would define a new category of “sensitive personal information” — including race, sexual orientation, union membership and location — and let Californians limit its use online. It would establish and fund a new state agency to replace the overburdened attorney general’s office as the source and enforcer of data privacy rules. And it would bring California law much more closely into line with the European Union’s powerful privacy framework, the General Data Protection Regulation. Critics concede these points. They argue, however, that Proposition 24 settles for too little in terms of privacy rights, would weaken privacy protection in certain areas and would prevent the Legislature from adopting more protective statutes. These are all contentious points, mainly because current law and Proposition 24 are extremely technical in nature, as is the whole issue of online data collection. The proposition also is no model of clarity. Nevertheless, opponents do not make a compelling case. Mactaggart and Hertzberg focused on behavioral targeting, not on the broader internet ecosystem of data collection. So, like current law, the new measure would not force sites to ask first before collecting data, nor would it bar them from giving better content or services to consumers who allow the sale of their personal information — or, alternatively, who pay a fee that reflects their data’s value to the seller. The latter, opponents say, is a pay-for-privacy approach that discriminates against people of lesser means. Supporters of Proposition 24 note that a growing number of browsers and smartphones are set by default to tell sites not to share personal information, which amounts to an automatic opt-out. They also argue, persuasively, that the new measure wouldn’t make the current system of cookie walls and pay-for-privacy worse; instead, it improves on the current law by closing loopholes and giving sites more incentive to treat people who won’t allow data sales the same as those who will. The biggest concern raised by opponents of Proposition 24 is that the law says it should be implemented in a way that gives attention to the impact on businesses, which they argue will prevent the Legislature from adopting new privacy protections that further limit data collection. However, they’re misreading the proposition, which allows the Legislature to change the law (by a simple majority vote) only in ways that “are consistent with and further the purpose and intent of this Act.” And the purpose and intent is clearly stated: “to further protect consumers’ rights, including the constitutional right of privacy.” In other words, the measure would set a solid foundation for online privacy rights in California, while leaving the door open for the Legislature to add on more protections. Vote yes on Proposition 24.

Perfectly preserved Ice Age cave bear found in Arctic Russia

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-15/perfectly-preserved-ice-age-cave-bear-found-in-arctic-russia

Reindeer herders in a Russian Arctic archipelago have found an immaculately preserved carcass of an Ice Age cave bear, researchers said Monday. The find — revealed as permafrost melts across vast areas of Siberia — was discovered on the Lyakhovsky Islands with its teeth and even its nose intact. Previously, scientists only had been able to discover the bones of cave bears that became extinct 15,000 years ago. Scientists of the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, the premier center for research into woolly mammoths and other prehistoric species, hailed the find as groundbreaking. In a statement issued by the university, researcher Lena Grigorieva emphasized that “this is the first and only find of its kind — a whole bear carcass with soft tissues.” He added, “It is completely preserved, with all internal organs in place, including even its nose. This find is of great importance for the whole world.” A preliminary analysis indicated that the adult bear lived 22,000 to 39,500 years ago. World & Nation The giant pachyderms once roamed the Valley of Mexico. July 12, 2020 “It is necessary to carry out radiocarbon analysis to determine the precise age of the bear,” the university quoted researcher Maxim Cheprasov as saying. The bear carcass was found by reindeer herders on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island. It is the largest of the Lyakhovsky Islands, which are part of the New Siberian Islands archipelago that lies between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea. At about the same time, a well-preserved carcass of a cave bear cub was also found in another area in Yakutia’s mainland, the university said. It didn’t describe its condition in detail but noted that scientists were hopeful of obtaining its DNA. Recent years have seen major discoveries of mammoths, woolly rhinos, Ice Age foals, several puppies and cave lion cubs as the permafrost melts.

Death penalty cases show history of racial disparity, report finds

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-14/report-death-penalty-cases-show-history-of-racial-disparity

Black people have been overrepresented on death rows across the United States and killers of Black people are less likely to face the death penalty than people who kill white people, a new report found. The report from the Death Penalty Information Center is a history lesson in how lynchings and executions have been used in America and how discrimination bleeds into the entire criminal justice system. It traces a line from historical lynchings — killings outside the law — where Black people were killed in an effort to assert social control during slavery and Jim Crow, and how that eventually translated into state-ordered executions. It comes as the U.S. grapples with criminal justice and police reform following George Floyd’s death and the deaths of other Black people at the hands of police and in the wake of mass protest. Across the country, 30 states have the death penalty, but executions occur mostly in Southern states. And the federal government this year began carrying out executions again after a 17-year hiatus despite waning public support for the death penalty. The center, a think tank that studies both state and federal capital cases, wrote that capital punishment must be included in the discussion of the past. “I think what the data tells us and what history tells us is that they’re all part of the same phenomenon. The death penalty is inextricably linked to our history of slavery, of lynching, and Jim Crow segregation and we wanted to put what is happening today in its appropriate context,” said Robert Dunham, the head of the center. California California legislators vote to expand a law prohibiting the death penalty against intellectually disabled defendants. The bill now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom. The report found that throughout the modern era, people of color have been overrepresented on death row — in 2019, 52% of the death row inmates were Black, but that number has dropped to 42% this year, when approximately 60% of the population is white. But it also showed that the killers of white people were more likely than the killers of Black people to face the death penalty, and cases with white victims were more likely to be investigated. Since the death penalty resumed in 1977, 295 Black defendants were executed for killing a white victim, but only 21 white defendants were executed for the killing of a Black victim even though Black people are disproportionately the victims of crime. “If you’re thinking about Black victims of crime, they are more likely to be the victims of homicide, but we’ve created this system where Black victims of crime are less likely to get the services they need, the clearance rate for those crimes is much lower,” said Ngozi Ndulue, author of the study. “Instead what we have is what is seen as the ‘worst of the worst’ being executed, and that means in many cases the person killed was white.” The report also details several case studies in which race may be playing a role today, including a man named Pervis Payne, accused of the 1987 stabbing deaths of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo. Payne told police he was at Christopher’s apartment building in Millington, Tenn., to meet his girlfriend when he saw a man in bloody clothes run past him. Payne, who is Black, has said he found and tried to help the victims, who were white, but panicked when he saw a white policeman and ran away. Payne is sentenced to die Dec. 3, but he has asked a judge to order DNA testing. At the time of his trial, DNA testing of evidence was unavailable, and no testing has ever been done in his case. A request for DNA testing in 2006 was refused based on a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling that has since been overturned. His recent petition said police focused almost exclusively on him as a suspect, although nothing in his history suggested he would commit such a crime. He was a minister’s son who never caused problems either as a child or a teenager. But prosecutors alleged Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a “drug-induced frenzy.” The town of Millington is in Shelby County, which has the most death sentences and lynchings of any county in the state. The report also takes aim at the federal government’s scheduling of executions. The first set were all white men, a move critics argue was a political calculation to avoid uproar. The federal death penalty suffers the same racial bias, according to the report. Of the 57 people on federal death row, 34 are people of color, including 26 Black men, some convicted by all-white juries, the report found. Christopher Vialva, the first Black inmate on federal death row set to die this year, is scheduled to be executed next week.

Wisconsin court rejects Green Party bid to be added to ballot, allowing mailing to resume

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-14/wisconsin-supreme-court-rejects-green-bid-for-ballot-access

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday said the Green Party’s presidential candidate should not be added to the ballot, clearing the way for local clerks to resume mailing absentee ballots to more than 1 million voters who have requested one. The 4-3 order comes just seven weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election in this narrowly divided state. Election officials had warned of significant delays and chaos had the court ordered Howie Hawkins added to the ballot. That would have forced clerks to reprint and mail the ballots less than two months before the election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission in August deadlocked twice on whether Hawkins and his running mate should be placed on the ballot. Three Republican commission members said Hawkins should be on the ballot while three Democrats said he didn’t qualify because his running mate listed an incorrect address on thousands of nominating signatures. The deadlock meant he was left off the ballot. The state Supreme Court sided with the commission in determining Hawkins should not be on the ballot. Democrats had feared that adding Hawkins to the ballot would take votes away from Joe Biden and assist President Trump, who won Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016. Rapper Kanye West is also trying to get on the state’s ballot. The court did not address his challenge, which, if successful, could result in a new ballot being ordered, causing more delays. Both West and Hawkins are getting help from Republicans who see them as siphoning votes from Biden in this narrowly divided state. Attorneys representing the Green Party candidates have represented Republicans in prior legal battles. Several Republicans, including the former attorney for the state Republican Party, are assisting West. Politics GOP operatives have put Kanye West on the presidential ballot in several states, likely in hopes of drawing votes from Joe Biden. Aug. 10, 2020 Clerks had already mailed an untold number of ballots before the Supreme Court on Sept. 10 stopped the sending of ballots while it considered the Green Party lawsuit. Democrats feared a delay in creating and then sending out replacement ballots would confuse voters and damp turnout. The ruling comes just ahead of a state deadline to send absentee ballots by Thursday to people who have a request on file. Saturday is the deadline under federal law to mail ballots to military and overseas voters. Voters in Wisconsin have until Oct. 29 to request an absentee ballot by mail, but election officials have urged voters to act sooner, given expected delays in the mail. Absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m., when polls close on election day. Politics Black voters in Wisconsin, a battleground state, face growing threat of disenfranchisement in a pandemic election, says Souls to the Polls leader. Sept. 10, 2020 State elections officials have estimated that more than 2 million of the state’s roughly 3 million eligible voters will cast absentee ballots, largely due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Polls show a tight presidential race in Wisconsin, one of a handful of states likely to determine the outcome of the election. Adding Hawkins to the ballot could have had a dramatic effect. The Green Party’s 2016 presidential candidate, Jill Stein, won 31,006 votes in the state — more than Trump’s 22,748-vote margin over Hillary Clinton. There are more than 170 lawsuits nationally over election procedures, often filed by the two major parties or their allies, that have injected a new level of uncertainty into a contest already disrupted by the pandemic. Third parties are also going to court to get on the ballot in other states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Politics Trump’s racially charged Minnesota and Wisconsin TV ads focus on the violent aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake. Sept. 6, 2020