ap – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com Explore Cincy Sat, 01 Jul 2023 22:05:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cincylink.com/pub/content/uploads/sites/27/2020/03/apple-touch-icon-precomposed-100x100.png ap – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com 32 32 Biden gives update as student loan forgiveness site opens https://cincylink.com/2023/07/01/biden-gives-update-as-student-loan-forgiveness-site-opens/ https://cincylink.com/2023/07/01/biden-gives-update-as-student-loan-forgiveness-site-opens/#respond Sat, 01 Jul 2023 22:05:49 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=176410

The U.S. Education Department has begun accepting applications for President Joe Biden's student debt cancellation — a plan that makes 43 million Americans eligible for at least some debt forgiveness.Borrowers were notified late Friday that an early, "beta launch" version of a new online form was made available as the department looks to find and fix any glitches. Applications submitted during the pilot period will be processed after the form is officially made public, the agency said."This testing period will allow the department to monitor site performance through real-world use, test the site ahead of the official application launch, refine processes, and uncover any possible bugs prior to official launch," the department said in a statement.The test form will be available "on and off" during the initial rollout, the department said on its website. The official form is expected to be made public later this month, and administration officials have been preparing for heavy web traffic.Biden's plan calls for $10,000 in federal student debt cancellation for those with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that make less than $250,000 a year. Those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college are eligible for an additional $10,000.The plan makes 20 million eligible to get their federal student debt erased entirely.The department did not immediately say Monday how many applications it had fielded through the beta launch. Thousands took to social media to share the form, with many saying they submitted their applications with little trouble.The Biden administration has touted it as a "simple, straightforward" application. It asks for the borrower's name, Social Security number, contact information and date of birth. It does not require income information but asks users to check a box attesting that they are eligible under the program's income limits.That information will be checked against Education Department records to help identify applicants who are likely to exceed the income limits, the administration says. Those people will be asked for more information to prove their income.An estimated 1 million to 5 million people will be required to provide that extra documentation, the Education Department said in a recent submission to the White House's Office of Management and Budget.Creating and processing the form is estimated to cost nearly $100 million, a figure that angered advocates who view the application as an unnecessary barrier. The form is meant to help exclude the roughly 5% of borrowers who exceed the income limits, but advocates say it could also deter some lower-income Americans who need the relief.Once the Education Department begins processing applications, borrowers should expect to see their debt forgiven in four to six weeks, officials say. Most applications submitted by mid-November will be processed by Jan. 1 — the day federal student loan payments are set to resume after being paused during the pandemic.Borrowers will be able to submit applications through the end of 2023.The Biden administration is pushing ahead with the debt cancellation even as it fights a growing number of legal challenges. Six Republican-led states are suing to block the plan, saying it oversteps Biden's authority and will lead to financial losses for student loan servicers, which are hired to manage federal student loans and earn revenue on the interest.A federal judge in St. Louis is now weighing the states' request for an injunction to halt the plan. In court documents, the Education Department has vowed not to finalize any of the debt cancellation before Oct. 23.Biden promised to pursue widespread student debt forgiveness as a presidential candidate, but the issue went through more than a year of internal deliberation amid questions about its legality. His plan sparked intense debate ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans and some Democrats saying it's an unfair handout for college graduates.___The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

WASHINGTON —

The U.S. Education Department has begun accepting applications for President Joe Biden's student debt cancellation — a plan that makes 43 million Americans eligible for at least some debt forgiveness.

Borrowers were notified late Friday that an early, "beta launch" version of a new online form was made available as the department looks to find and fix any glitches. Applications submitted during the pilot period will be processed after the form is officially made public, the agency said.

"This testing period will allow the department to monitor site performance through real-world use, test the site ahead of the official application launch, refine processes, and uncover any possible bugs prior to official launch," the department said in a statement.

The test form will be available "on and off" during the initial rollout, the department said on its website. The official form is expected to be made public later this month, and administration officials have been preparing for heavy web traffic.

Biden's plan calls for $10,000 in federal student debt cancellation for those with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that make less than $250,000 a year. Those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college are eligible for an additional $10,000.

The plan makes 20 million eligible to get their federal student debt erased entirely.

The department did not immediately say Monday how many applications it had fielded through the beta launch. Thousands took to social media to share the form, with many saying they submitted their applications with little trouble.

The Biden administration has touted it as a "simple, straightforward" application. It asks for the borrower's name, Social Security number, contact information and date of birth. It does not require income information but asks users to check a box attesting that they are eligible under the program's income limits.

That information will be checked against Education Department records to help identify applicants who are likely to exceed the income limits, the administration says. Those people will be asked for more information to prove their income.

An estimated 1 million to 5 million people will be required to provide that extra documentation, the Education Department said in a recent submission to the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

Creating and processing the form is estimated to cost nearly $100 million, a figure that angered advocates who view the application as an unnecessary barrier. The form is meant to help exclude the roughly 5% of borrowers who exceed the income limits, but advocates say it could also deter some lower-income Americans who need the relief.

Once the Education Department begins processing applications, borrowers should expect to see their debt forgiven in four to six weeks, officials say. Most applications submitted by mid-November will be processed by Jan. 1 — the day federal student loan payments are set to resume after being paused during the pandemic.

Borrowers will be able to submit applications through the end of 2023.

The Biden administration is pushing ahead with the debt cancellation even as it fights a growing number of legal challenges. Six Republican-led states are suing to block the plan, saying it oversteps Biden's authority and will lead to financial losses for student loan servicers, which are hired to manage federal student loans and earn revenue on the interest.

A federal judge in St. Louis is now weighing the states' request for an injunction to halt the plan. In court documents, the Education Department has vowed not to finalize any of the debt cancellation before Oct. 23.

Biden promised to pursue widespread student debt forgiveness as a presidential candidate, but the issue went through more than a year of internal deliberation amid questions about its legality. His plan sparked intense debate ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans and some Democrats saying it's an unfair handout for college graduates.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/07/01/biden-gives-update-as-student-loan-forgiveness-site-opens/feed/ 0 Monkeys missing for a day from Dallas Zoo get fed, snuggle up https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/monkeys-missing-for-a-day-from-dallas-zoo-get-fed-snuggle-up/ https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/monkeys-missing-for-a-day-from-dallas-zoo-get-fed-snuggle-up/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 12:39:43 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=187940

The two small monkeys who were found in a vacant house a day after being taken from the Dallas Zoo lost a bit of weight during their ordeal but show no signs of injury, the zoo said Wednesday.The disappearance Monday of the two emperor tamarin monkeys — named Bella and Finn — and the discovery that their enclosure had been cut was the latest in a string of unusual events at the zoo over the last few weeks, which has included other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture.Dallas police said they found the monkeys — who have long whiskers that look like a mustache — late Tuesday afternoon in the closet of a home south of the zoo after getting a tip from the public. No arrests have been made.The zoo said Wednesday on Twitter that both Bella and Finn "started eating and drinking almost immediately" after they were examined, and the two were "so happy to snuggle in their nest sack" on Tuesday night."We will continue to monitor them closely, but for now, we're so glad they are safe and back with us," the zoo said in a Wednesday statement.Police had released a photo and video of a man they said they wanted to talk to about the monkeys and were still seeking him Wednesday.They are also trying to determine if the string of incidents over the last few weeks at the zoo are related or not.On Jan. 13, arriving workers found that a clouded leopard named Nova was missing from her cage, and police said that a cutting tool had been intentionally used to make an opening in her enclosure. The zoo closed as a search for her got underway, and she was found later that day near her habitat.Zoo workers had also found a similar gash in an enclosure for langur monkeys, though none got out or appeared harmed, police said.On Jan. 21, workers arriving at the zoo found an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin dead. Gregg Hudson, the zoo's president and CEO, called the death "very suspicious" and said the vulture had "a wound," but declined to give further details.The zoo said in its Wednesday statement that the incidents over the last few weeks have led officials there to "take a hard look" at security measures, saying that while what they've had in place has worked in the past "it has become obvious that we need to make significant changes."The zoo said it has already implemented additional security measures that have included adding more cameras, additional fencing and more patrols, and will make other changes as well.The zoo said that since Bella and Finn were taken away from the zoo, they'll need to undergo a quarantine period before they can return to their habitat there.Meanwhile, in Louisiana, officials said they have launched an investigation after 12 squirrel monkeys were discovered missing Sunday from a zoo in the state's southwest. Their habitat at Zoosiana in Broussard, about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge, had been "compromised" and some damage was done to get in, city Police Chief Vance Olivier said Tuesday.

DALLAS —

The two small monkeys who were found in a vacant house a day after being taken from the Dallas Zoo lost a bit of weight during their ordeal but show no signs of injury, the zoo said Wednesday.

The disappearance Monday of the two emperor tamarin monkeys — named Bella and Finn — and the discovery that their enclosure had been cut was the latest in a string of unusual events at the zoo over the last few weeks, which has included other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture.

Dallas police said they found the monkeys — who have long whiskers that look like a mustache — late Tuesday afternoon in the closet of a home south of the zoo after getting a tip from the public. No arrests have been made.

The zoo said Wednesday on Twitter that both Bella and Finn "started eating and drinking almost immediately" after they were examined, and the two were "so happy to snuggle in their nest sack" on Tuesday night.

"We will continue to monitor them closely, but for now, we're so glad they are safe and back with us," the zoo said in a Wednesday statement.

This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn at the zoo on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.

Dallas Zoo via AP

This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows emperor tamarin monkeys Bella and Finn at the zoo on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.

Police had released a photo and video of a man they said they wanted to talk to about the monkeys and were still seeking him Wednesday.

They are also trying to determine if the string of incidents over the last few weeks at the zoo are related or not.

On Jan. 13, arriving workers found that a clouded leopard named Nova was missing from her cage, and police said that a cutting tool had been intentionally used to make an opening in her enclosure. The zoo closed as a search for her got underway, and she was found later that day near her habitat.

Zoo workers had also found a similar gash in an enclosure for langur monkeys, though none got out or appeared harmed, police said.

On Jan. 21, workers arriving at the zoo found an endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin dead. Gregg Hudson, the zoo's president and CEO, called the death "very suspicious" and said the vulture had "a wound," but declined to give further details.

The zoo said in its Wednesday statement that the incidents over the last few weeks have led officials there to "take a hard look" at security measures, saying that while what they've had in place has worked in the past "it has become obvious that we need to make significant changes."

The zoo said it has already implemented additional security measures that have included adding more cameras, additional fencing and more patrols, and will make other changes as well.

The zoo said that since Bella and Finn were taken away from the zoo, they'll need to undergo a quarantine period before they can return to their habitat there.

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, officials said they have launched an investigation after 12 squirrel monkeys were discovered missing Sunday from a zoo in the state's southwest. Their habitat at Zoosiana in Broussard, about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge, had been "compromised" and some damage was done to get in, city Police Chief Vance Olivier said Tuesday.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/monkeys-missing-for-a-day-from-dallas-zoo-get-fed-snuggle-up/feed/ 0 Black history class revised by College Board after criticism https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/black-history-class-revised-by-college-board-after-criticism/ https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/black-history-class-revised-by-college-board-after-criticism/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 12:36:57 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=187971

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A revised curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies downplays some components that drew criticism from conservatives including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had threatened to ban the class in his state.

In the official framework made public on Wednesday, topics such as Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer theory are no longer subjects to be taught. They are included only on a list of topics that states and school systems could suggest to students for end-of-the-year projects.

The rejection of the course by DeSantis, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, stirred new political debate over how schools teach about race. Florida officials last month issued a chart that said it promoted the idea that modern American society oppresses Black people, was inappropriate, and uses articles by critics of capitalism.

A spokesperson for DeSantis on Wednesday said the state education department is reviewing the revised curriculum for compliance with Florida law.

The course is currently being tested at 60 schools around the U.S., and the official framework is intended to guide the expansion of the course to hundreds of additional high schools in the next academic year. The College Board, which oversees AP courses, said developers consulted with professors from more than 200 colleges, including several historically Black institutions.

The College Board has been taking input also from teachers running the pilot classes as the draft curriculum has gone through several revisions over the last year.

Critics accused the organization of bending to political pressure.

“To wake up on the first day of Black History Month to news of white men in positions of privilege horse trading essential and inextricably linked parts of Black History, which is American history, is infuriating,” said David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition. “The lives, contributions, and stories of Black trans, queer, and non-binary/non-conforming people matter and should not be diminished or erased.”

The course has been popular among students in schools where it has been introduced. At Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana, so many students were interested that Emmitt Glynn is teaching it to two classes, instead of just the one he was originally planning.

Earlier this week, his students read selections of “The Wretched of the Earth” by Frantz Fanon, which deals with the violence inherent in colonial societies. In a lively discussion, students connected the text to what they had learned about the conflict between colonizers and Native Americans, to the war in Ukraine and to police violence in Memphis, Tennessee.

“We’ve been covering the gamut from the shores of Africa to where we are now in the 1930s, and we will continue on through history,” Glynn said. He said he was proud to see the connections his students were making between the past and now.

For Malina Ouyang, 17, taking the class helped fill gaps in what she has been taught. “Taking this class," she said, "I realized how much is not said in other classes.”

Matthew Evans, 16, said the class has educated him on a multitude of perspectives on Black history. He said the political controversy is just “a distraction.”

“Any time you want to try to silence something, you will only make someone want to learn about it even more,” he said.

The College Board offers AP courses across the academic spectrum, including math, science, social studies, foreign languages and fine arts. The courses are optional. Taught at a college level, students who score high enough on the final exam usually earn course credit at their university.

In a written statement Wednesday, College Board CEO David Coleman said the course is “an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture.”

“No one is excluded from this course: the Black artists and inventors whose achievements have come to light; the Black women and men, including gay Americans, who played pivotal roles in the Civil Rights movements; and people of faith from all backgrounds who contributed to the antislavery and Civil Rights causes. Everyone is seen,” he said.

In Malcolm Reed's classroom at St. Amant High School in Louisiana, where he teaches the AP class, he tries to be mindful of how the material and discussions can affect students.

“I give them the information and I've seen light bulbs go off. I ask them, ‘How does it affect you? How do you feel about learning this?’ ” he said. “It's also new for me, and I'm just taking it in stride. We're not just learning history, but we're making history.”




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/06/03/black-history-class-revised-by-college-board-after-criticism/feed/ 0 Biden’s claims in his State of Union address https://cincylink.com/2022/03/02/bidens-claims-in-his-state-of-union-address/ https://cincylink.com/2022/03/02/bidens-claims-in-his-state-of-union-address/#respond Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:07:19 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=152007

FACT CHECK: Biden's claims in his State of Union address



Thank you so much madam Speaker Madam. Vice President, Our first lady and second Gentlemen. Members of Congress in the cabinet, Justice of the Supreme Court. My fellow americans Last year. COVID, 19 kept us apart this year. We're finally together again. Tonight, tonight we meet as democrats, republicans, independents but most importantly as americans with the duty to one another, to America, to the american people to the constitution and an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny. I think six days ago Russia's Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met with the mall wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people. President Zelinski, every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination literally inspires the world groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees to teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland. And in this struggle President Zelensky said in his speech, the european parliament light will win over darkness. Ukrainian ambassador to the United States is here tonight. Sitting with the first lady. Let's each of us. If you're able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to the world. You thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Alright, so strong. She's resolved Yes, we yes we the United States America stand with the Ukrainian people throughout our history. We've learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression. they cause more chaos. They keep moving and the cost the threats to the America and America to the world keeps rising. That's why the NATO alliance was created to secure peace and stability in europe. After World War two, The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. It matters american diplomacy matters. American resolve matters. Putin's latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and totally unprovoked. He rejected repeated repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the west and NATO wouldn't respond. He thought he could divide us at home in this chamber in this nation. He thought he could divide us in europe as well. But Putin was wrong. We are ready. We are united and that's what we did. We stayed united. We prepared extensively and carefully. We spent months building coalitions of other freedom loving nations in europe and the Americas to America to the asian and african continents. To confront Putin. Like many of you, I spent countless hours unifying your european allies. We shared with the world in advance what we knew Putin was planning and precisely how we would try to falsify and justify his aggression. We countered Russia's lies with the truth And now now that he's acted, The three War Free World is holding him accountable Along with 27 members of the European Union, including France Germany Italy as well as countries like the United Kingdom. Canada Japan Korea. Australia, New Zealand and many others. Even Switzerland are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been together. Together together along with our allies. We are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. We're cutting off Russia's largest banks in the international financial system, preventing Russia's central bank from defending the Russell Rubel Rubel, making Putin $630 billion dollar war fund worthless. We're choking Russia's access, choking Russia's access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come. Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime no more. The United States, I mean in the United States Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the Russian oligarchs. We're joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets, we're coming for you ill begotten gains. And tonight I'm announcing that we will join our allies and closing off American aerospace to all Russian flights. Further isolating Russia and adding additional squeezed on their economy. The he has no idea what's coming. The ruble has already lost 30% of its value. The Russian stock market has lost 40% of its value and trading remains suspended. The Russian economy is reeling and Putin alone is the one to blame together with our allies, we're providing support to the Ukrainians and their fight for freedom, military assistance, economic assistance, humanitarian assistance. We're giving more than a billion dollars of direct assistance to Ukraine and will continue to aid Ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering. But let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine. Our force is not going to europe to fight Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies. In the event that Putin decides to keep moving west for that purpose, we have mobilized american ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. And as I've made crystal clear, the United States and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power every single inch And we're clear eyed Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. But the next few days, weeks and months, it will be hard on them. Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield, he will pay a continuing high price over the long run and a pound of Ukrainian people, proud, proud people, Pound for pound, ready to fight with every inch of energy. They have. They've known 30 years of independence have repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards to all americans. I'll be honest with you, as I always promised, I would be a Russian dictator of invading a foreign country has cost around the world and I'm taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at Russian economy and that we use every tool at our disposal to protect american businesses and consumers. Tonight, I can announce the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead that effort releasing 30 million barrels of our own strategic petroleum reserve and we stand ready to do more if necessary, unite it with our allies. These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home. But I know news about what's happening can seem alarming to all americans, but I want you to know we're going to be okay, we're going to be okay when the history of this area is written, Putin's war in Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. Well, while it shouldn't, while it shouldn't have taken, it shouldn't have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what's at stake. Now, everyone sees it clearly, we see the unity among leaders of nations a more unified europe, a more unified west. We see unity among the people are gathering in cities and large crowds around the world, even in Russia to demonstrate their support for the people of Ukraine in the battle between democracy and autocracies. democracies are rising to the moment and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security. This is the real test. It's gonna take time. So let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people to our fellow Ukrainian americans who forged a deep bond that connects our two nations. We stand with you, we stand with you. Putin may circle Kiev with tanks, but I will never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people. He'll never he'll never extinguish her love of freedom and he will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world we meet tonight and in America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. The pandemic has been punishing and so many families that are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas housing and so much more. I understand like many of you did, my dad had to leave his home in Scranton pennsylvania to find work. So like many of you, I grew up in a family when the price of food went up, it was felt throughout the family. It had an impact. That's one of the first things I did as president was fight to pass the american rescue plan because people were hurting. We needed to act and we did a few pieces of legislation have done more at a critical moment in history to lift us out of the crisis. It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19 delivered immediate economic relief to tens of millions of americans. It helped put food on the table, remember those long lines of cars waiting for hours just to get a box of food put in the trunk. It cut the cost of health care insurance. And as my dad used to say, it gave the people just a little bit of breathing room. Unlike the $2 trillion dollar tax cut passed in the previous administration, That benefits the top 1% of Americans, the American rescue plan, the american rescue plan, Help working people and left no one behind. It worked. It worked. It worked and created jobs, lots of jobs. In fact, our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year. More job in one year than ever before. In the history of the United States of America economy grew at a rate of 5.7 last year, the strongest growth rate in 40 years and the first step in bringing fundamental changes in our economy that hasn't worked for working people in this nation for too long For the past 40 years, we were told the tax break for those at the top and benefits would trickle down and everyone would, would benefit. But that trickle down theory led to a weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits in a widening gap between the top and everyone else and then nearly a century. Look, Vice President Harris and I ran for office and I realized we had fundamental disagreements on this, but ran for office with a new economic vision for America invest in. America, educate. Americans grow the workforce, build the economy from the bottom up in the middle out, not from the top down, because we know because we know because we know when the middle class grow, when the middle class grows the poor of the way up and the wealthy do very well. America used to have the best roads, bridges and airports on earth. And now Our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world, Won't be able to compete for the jobs of the 21st century if we don't fix, it that's why it was so important to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law. And I thank my republican friends to join to invest rebuild America. The single biggest investment in history was a bipartisan effort. I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen. We're done talking about infrastructure weeks, we're now talking about an infrastructure decade. Look, it's going to it's going to transform America To put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century and we faced with the rest of the world, particularly china. I told xi Jinping, it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people will create good jobs for millions of americans modernizing roads, airports, ports, waterways all across America and we'll do it to withstand the devastating effects of climate change and promote environmental justice. We'll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations began to replace the poisonous lead pipes. So every child, every american has clean water to drink at home and at school, we're gonna provide, provide affordable, high speed internet for every american, rural, suburban, urban and tribal communities. 4000 projects have already been announced. Many of you have announced them in your district and tonight I'm announcing that this year we will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and one, 2500 Bridges in Disrepair. And folks, we use taxpayers dollars to rebuild America. We're going to do it by buying american, Buy American products, support American jobs. The federal government spends about $600 billion dollars a year to keep this country safe and secure. There's been a law on the books for almost a century to make sure taxpayers dollars support american jobs and businesses. Every administration democrat or Republican says they'll do it. But we're actually, we're actually doing it will buy America to make sure every everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guardrails is made in America from beginning to end, all of it, all of it. But but folks to compete for the jobs of the future. We also need a loving playing field with china and other competitors. That's why it's so important to pass the bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and american manufacturing. We used to invest almost 2% of our GDP in research and development. We don't now can't china is, let me give you one example why it's so important to pass. If you travel 20 miles east of columbus Ohio, You'll find 1000 empty acres of land. It won't look like much. But if you stop and look closely, you'll see a field of dreams. The ground in which America's future will be built. That's where intel. The american company that helped build Silicon Valley Is going to build a $20 billion dollars semiconductor mega site Up to eight state of the art factories in one place, 10,000 new jobs In those factories. The average job about $135, a year. Some most sophisticated manufacturing in the world to make computer chips the size of a fingertip, the power of the world in everyday lives. From smartphones technology that the internet technology has yet to be invented. But that's just the beginning. Intel Ceo, Pat Gelsinger's who is here tonight. I know where Pat is Pat. There you go. Pat stand up. Pat Pat came to see me and he told me they're ready to increase their investment from 20 billion To 100 billion. That would be the biggest investment in manufacturing in american history and all they're waiting for is for you to pass this bill. So let's not wait any longer, send it to my desk. I'll sign it and will really take off in a big way, folks, way intel is not alone or something happening in America. Just look around and you'll see an amazing story, the rebirth of pride that comes from stamping products made in America. The revitalization of american manufacturing companies are choosing to build new factories here when just a few years ago, they would have gone overseas. That's what's happening Ford is investing $11 billion 11,000 jobs across the country. Jim is making the largest investment in his history, $7 billion 4000 jobs in Michigan All told 369,000 new manufacturing jobs were created in America last year alone, folks powered by people I've met like jojo burgess from generations of union steelworkers in Pittsburgh, who's serious tonight. Where you jojo? There you go. Thanks buddy as Ohio, as Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown says, Sherrod Brown says it's time to bury the label rust belt. It's time to see then the, what used to be called the Rust belt become the home of significant resurgence of manufacturing and with all the bright spots in our economy. Record job growth, higher wages. Too many families are struggling to keep up with their bills, inflation is robbing them of gains, they thought otherwise they would be able to feel I get it. That's why my top priority is getting prices under control. Look, our economy roared back faster than almost anyone predicted. But the pandemic meant that businesses had a hard time hiring enough people because of the pandemic to keep up production in their factories. So you didn't have people making those beams that went in the buildings because they were out. The factory was closed. The panic also disrupted the global supply chain factories close. When that happens it takes longer to make goods and get them to the warehouses to the stores and go prices go up, look at cars. Last year 1/3 of all the inflation was because of automobile sales. There weren't enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. And guess what prices of automobiles went way up, especially used vehicles as well. And so we have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make americans poor. I think I have a better idea to fight inflation, lower your costs, not your wages folks. That means make more cars than semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America, more jobs where you can earn a good living in America instead of relying on foreign supply chains. Let's make it in America. Look economist, economists call this, increasing the productive capacity of our comedy of our economy. I call it building a better America. My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. 17 nobel Laureates in economics said my plan, Willie's long term inflationary pressures, top business leaders and I believe most americans support the plan and here's the plan. First cut the cost of prescription drugs. We pay more for the same drug produced by the same company in America and any other country in the world. Just look at insulin. one in 10. Americans has diabetes In Virginia. I met a 13 year old boy, the handsome young man standing up there, Joshua Davis. He and his dad both have type one diabetes, which means they need insulin every single day insulin costs about $10 a vial to make, that's what it costs the pharmaceutical company. But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his dad up to 30 times that amount. I spoke with Joshua's mom. Imagine what it's like to look at your child who needs insulin to stay healthy and have no idea how in God's name, you're going to be able to pay for it, what it does to your family. But what it does to your dignity, your ability to look your child in the eye to be the parent you expect yourself to be. I really mean to think about that. That's what I think about, you know, yesterday Joshua's here tonight, but yesterday was his birthday. Happy birthday buddy by the way for Joshua and 200,000 other young people with Type one diabetes. Let's cap the cost of insulin $35 a month. So everyone can afford it. And drug companies will do very, very well. Their profit margins were at it. I know we have great disagreements on this floor with this. Let's let Medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs. They already set the price for V. A. Drugs. Look, American rescue plan is helping millions of families of Affordable Care Act plans to save them $2400 a year on their health program, Liam's, let's close the coverage gap and make these savings permanent. The second, let's cut energy costs for families An average of $500 year by combating climate change. Let provide an investment tax credits to weatherize your home and your business to be energy efficient and get a tax credit for it. Double americans, clean energy production and solar wind and so much more lower the price of electric vehicle, saving another $80 a month that you're not going to have to pay at the pump Folks. 3rd, third thing we can do to change the standard of living for hard working folks. Just cut the cost of childcare, Cut the cost of childcare folks for if you live in a major city in America. You pay up to $14,000 a year for childcare per child. I was a single dad for five years raising two kids had a lot of help though. I had a mom and dad, a brother and a sister that really helped. But middle class and working folks shouldn't have to pay more than 7% of their income to care for the young Children. My plan, my plan would cut the cost of childcare and half for most families help parents, including millions of women who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn't afford childcare to be able to get back to work generating economic growth. But my plan doesn't stop there. It also includes home and long term care, more affordable housing, three K for three and four year old. All these will lower costs for families. Under my plan, nobody let me say this again. Nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Not a single penny. I may be wrong, but my guess is that we took a secret ballot in this floor, that we'd all agree that the president tax system ain't fair. We have to fix it. I'm not looking to punish anybody, but let's make corporations and wealthy americans start paying their fair share. Look last year, last year like chris coons and tom carper and my distinguished congresswoman, we come from the land of corporate America are more corporations incorporated in America than every other state in America combined And I still won 36 years in a row. The point is Even they understand they should pay just a fair share. Last year, 55 of the Fortune 500 companies earned $40 billion zero in federal taxes. Now look, it's not fair. That's why I proposed a 15% minimum tax rate for corporations we've got and that's why. And the G-7 other meetings overseas were able to put together, I was able to be somewhat helpful 130 countries degree on a global minimum tax rate. So companies can't get out of paying their taxes at home by shipping jobs and factories overseas. It will raise billions of dollars. That's why I proposed closing loopholes for the very wealthy who don't pay, who pay a lower tax rate than a teacher and a firefighter. So that's my plan. But we have to go more detail later, I'm gonna grow. We will grow the economy lower the cost of families. So what are we waiting for? Let's get this done. We all know we've got to make changes folks while you're at it, confirm my nominees for the Federal Reserve, which plays a critical role and fighting inflation. My plan will not only lower costs and give families a fair shot. It will lower the deficit. The previous administration not only ballooned the deficit with those tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations, it undermine the watchdogs, The job of those to keep pandemic relief funds being wasted. Remember we had those debates, but whether or not those watchdogs should be able to see every day how much money was being spent. Where was it going to the right place under my administration? But watchdogs are back and we're going to go after the criminals who stole billions of relief money meant for small business and millions of americans. Tonight, I'm announcing that the Justice Department will soon name a chief prosecutor from pandemic fraud. I think we all agree. Thank you. By the end of this year, the depths will be down to less than half of what it was before I took office. The only president ever to cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion dollars in a single year, lowering your cost. Also meant demanding more competition. I'm a capitalist. But capitalism without competition is not capitalism, capitalism without competition is exploitation. That drives up profits. And corporations have to compete, their profits go up and your prices go up when they don't have to compete. Small businesses and family farmers and ranchers. I need not tell some of our republican friends from those states, guess what? You've got four basic meat packing facilities. That's it. You play with them or you don't get to play at all. And you pay a hell of a lot more. A hell of a lot more because only four see what's happening with ocean carriers and moving goods in and out of America during the pandemic, About half a dozen or less foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1000 and made record profits. Tonight I'm announcing a crackdown on those companies overcharging american businesses and consumers folks. And as Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. That ends on my watch. Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure loved ones get the care they deserve and that they inspect and they will look that closely. We're also going to cut costs to keep the economy going strong and giving workers a fair shot provide more training and apprenticeships higher than based on skills, not just their degrees. Let's pass the paycheck fairness Act and paid leave, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the child tax credit. So no one has to raise the family of poverty. Let's increase pell grants, increase our historic support for H. B. C. U. S. And invest in what Jill, our first lady who teaches full time calls. America's best kept secret community colleges. Look, let's pass the pro act when the majority of workers want a former union, they shouldn't be able to be stopped when we invest in our workers and we build an economy from the bottom up in the middle out together, we can do something. We haven't done in a long time, build a better America for more than two years, Covid has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of this nation. And I know you're tired, frustrated and exhausted. That doesn't even count close to a million people who sit at the dining room table or kitchen table looking at an empty chair because they lost somebody. But I also know this because of the progress we made, because of your resilience and the tools that we have been provided by this Congress tonight, I can say we're moving forward safely back to a more normal routines. We've reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19 where severe cases are down to a level not seen since july of last year. Just a few days ago, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new mass guidelines. Under the new guidelines, Most americans and most of the country can now go mask free and based on projections based on projections, more of the country will reach a point across that point across the next couple of weeks. And thanks to the progress we've made in the past year. COVID-19 no longer need control our lives. I know some are talking about living with COVID-19, but tonight I say That we never will just accept living with COVID-19 will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. And because this virus mutates and spreads, we have to stay on guard here are four common sense steps as we move forward safely in my view. First. Stay protected with vaccines and treatments. We know how incredibly effective vaccines are. If you're vaccinated and boosted, you have the highest degree of protection, I will never give up on vaccinating more americans. Now, I know parents with kids under five are eager to see their vaccines authorized for their Children. Scientists are working hard to get that done. We'll be ready with plenty of vaccines if and when they do. We're already we are also ready with antiviral treatments. If you get COVID-19, the fighter pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90%. I've ordered more pills than anyone in the world has fighter is working overtime to get us some million pills this month and more than double that next month. And now we're launching the test to treat initiative so people can get tested at the pharmacy and if they prove positive received the antiviral pills on the spot. At no cost folks. If you're if you're immuno compromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments and free high quality masks. We're leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone's needs. As we move forward on testing, we've made hundreds of millions of tests available and you can order them for free to your doorstep. And we've already ordered free test If you're already ordered free test tonight I'm announcing. You can order another group of tests. Covid go to Covid test dot gov. Starting next week and you can get more tests second. We must prepare for new variants over the past. We've gotten much better at detecting new variants if necessary. We'll be able to develop new vaccines within 100 days instead of maybe months or years. And if Congress presides the funds we need, we'll have new stockpiles of tests, mask pills ready if needed. I can't promise a new variant won't come, but I can't, I can't promise you will do everything within our power to be ready. If it does third, you can end the shutdown of schools and businesses. We have the tools we need. It's time for America to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again with people. People working from home can feel safe and begin to return to their offices. We're doing that here in the federal government. The vast majority of federal workers. Well, once again, working person, our schools are open. Let's keep it that way. Our kids need to be in school 75%, of adult Americans fully vaccinated And hospitalizations down by 77%. Most americans can remove their masks and stay in the classroom and move forward safely. We achieved this because we've provided free vaccines, treatments, tests and masks. Of course continuing this cost money. So I'm not surprised. You will be back to see you all and I'm gonna soon send a request to Congress. The vast majority of americans have used these tools and they want again. We may need them again. So I expect Congress and I hope you'll pass that quickly. Fourth. We'll continue vaccinating the world. We've sent 475 million vaccine doses two, countries. More than any nation on earth. We won't stop because you can't build a wall high enough to keep out a vaccine. The vaccine can stop to spread of these diseases. You know, we've lost so much in COVID-19 Time with one another. The worst of all the much loss of life. Let's use this moment to reset. So stop looking at Covid as a partisan dividing line. See it for what it is. A God awful disease. Let's stop sending each seeing each other as enemies to start seeing each other for who we are. Fellow americans. Look, we can't change how divided we've been. There's a long time in coming, but we can change how to move forward On COVID-19 and other issues that we must face together. I recently visited new york city Police Department days after the funerals. Officer Wilbur Maura and his partner Officer Jason Rivera. They're responding to a 911 call when a man shot and killed him with a stolen gun Officer Moore was 27 years old officer very was 22 years old. Both Dominican americans who grew up in the same streets that they later chose the parole to patrol as police officers. I spoke with their families and I told them when they were forever in debt for their sacrifices and we'll carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety of every community deserves like some of you have been around for a while. I've worked with you on these issues for a long time. I know what works investigating crime prevention and community policing. The cops who walked the beat, who know the neighborhood and who can restore trust and safety. Let's not abandon our streets or choose between safety and equal justice. Let's come together and protect our communities, restore trust and hold law enforcement accountable. That's why the Justice Department has required body cameras, banned chokeholds and restricted, no knock warrants for its officers. That's why the american rescue plan That you all provided $350 billion dollars that cities, states and counties can use to hire more police invest in more proven strategies, proven strategies like proven strategy like community violence, interruption trusted messengers breaking the cycle of violence and trauma giving young people some hope. We should all agree. The answer is not to defund the police is to fund the police, fund them, Fund them, Fund them with resources and training, resources and training. They need to protect our community. Yes, I asked democrats and republicans alike to pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe and we'll do everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking of ghost guns that you can buy online, assemble at home. No serial numbers can't be traced. I asked Congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence, passed universal background checks. Why should anyone on the terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon? Why why folks ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines a little bit of 100 rounds? Do you think the deer wearing Kevlar vests look repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can't be sued? The only one imagine had we done that with the tobacco manufacturers? These laws don't infringe on the second Amendment. They save lives. The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote and have it counted. And look, it's under assault in state after state, new laws have been passed, not only suppress the vote, we've been there before, but to subvert the entire election. We can't let this happen tonight. I call on the Senate to pass, pass the freedom to vote act, passed the john Lewis act, voting rights act. And while you're at it pass the disclose actual americans know who's funding our election. Look tonight, I'd like to honor someone who dedicated his life to serve this country. Justice prior. An army veteran constitutional scholar, retiring Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Bryer. Thank you for your service. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you immediately get up stand up and say thank you. I think we all know no matter what your ideology, we all know one of the most serious constitutional responsibility the president has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court as I did four days ago, I have nominated the Circuit Court of Appeals Tangie Brown Jackson, one of our nation's top legal minds who will continue in just brought justice, legacy of excellence. A former top litigator in private practice, a former federal public defender from a family of public school educators and police officers. She's a consensus builder since he's been nominated, she has received a broad range of support, including the fraternal Order of Police and former judges supported by democrats and republicans folks. If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system and I think we can do both at our border. We've installed new technology like cutting edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling. We've set up joint patrols in Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers. We're putting in place dedicated immigration judges and significant larger number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their curses cases heard faster and those who don't legitimately here can be sent back. We're screening, we're securing commitments and supporting partners in South and central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders. We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty has led the generation of immigrants to this land. My forebears and many of yours provide a pathway to citizenship for dreamers. Those with temporary status. Farmworkers, essential workers, revise our laws. So businesses have workers, they need families don't wait decades. They reunited. It's not only the right thing to do, it's economically smart thing to do. That's why the immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions, the religious leaders to the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Let's get it done once and for all folks advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women. The constitutional right affirmed by roe v wade standing president for half a century is under attack as never before. If you want to go forward, not backwards. We must protect access to healthcare, preserve a woman's right to choose and continue to advance maternal health care for all americans, folks for our L. G. B. T. Q. Plus americans. Let's finally get the bipartisan equality act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender americans and their families. It's simply wrong said last year, especially to our younger transgender americans, I'll always have your back as your president so you can be yourself and reach your God given potential folks, I've just demonstrated all often appear as we do not agree and that we we do agree on a lot more things than we acknowledge. I signed 80 bipartisan bills in the law last year from preventing government shutdowns protecting asian americans from still too common hate crimes reforming military justice and will soon be strengthened the violence against women Act that I first wrote three decades ago. It's important. It's important for us to show show the nation we can come together and do big things. So now that I'm offering a unity agenda for the nation, four big things we can do together in my view. First beat the opioid epidemic. There's so much we can do to increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery. Get rid of outdated rules and stop doctors and that stopped doctors prescribing treatments, stop the flow of illicit drugs by working with state and local law enforcement to go after the traffickers. And if you're suffering from addiction, you know, you should know you're not alone. I believe in recovery and I celebrate the 23 million 23 million Americans in recovery. 2nd, let's take on mental health, especially among our Children whose lives and education have been turned upside down. The american rescue plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. I urge every parent to make sure your school your school does just that have the money. We can all play a part. Sign up to be a tutor or mentor Children are also struggling before the pandemic, bullying violence, trauma and the harms of social media as Francis Haugen who is here tonight with us has shown. We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they're conducting on our Children for profit. Thank you. Thank you for the courage. You show it's time to strengthen privacy protections. Band targeted advertising to Children, demand tech coming, stop collecting personal data on our Children. And let's get all americans, the mental health services they need more people can turn for help and full power to between physical and mental health care if we treat it that way in our insurance, third piece of that agenda and support our veterans veterans are the backbone and the spine of this country. They're the best of us. I've always believed that we have a sacred obligation of Kryptos. We send to war and care for those in their family when they come home, my administration is providing assistance and job training housing and now helping lower income veterans get V A care debt free. And our troops in Iraq have faced in Afghanistan faced many dangers. One being stationed at bases, breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits. Many of you have been there. I've been in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan over 40 times. These burn pits and incinerate waste the waste of war medical and hazards, material, jet fuel and so much more and they come home many of the world's fittest and best trained warriors in the world. Never the same headaches, numbness, dizziness, a cancer that would put them in a flag draped coffin. I know one of those, one of those soldiers with my son, Major Beau biden. I don't know for sure if the burn pit that he lived near that his hooch was near in Iraq and earlier than that in Kosovo is the cause of his brain cancer, the disease of so many other troops. But I am committed to find out everything we can committed to. Military families like Daniel Robinson from Ohio, the widow of Sergeant first class heath Robinson. He was born a soldier Army National Guard combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq stationed near Baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields. Danielle is here with us tonight. They love going to Ohio State football game and he loved billy Lagos with their daughter. But cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged his lungs and body. Danielle says Heath was a fighter to the very end. He didn't know how to stop fighting and neither did she through her pain. She found purpose to demand that we do better tonight. Danielle. We are going to do better. V A V A is firing new ways of linking toxic exposure disease. Already helping more veterans get benefits. And tonight I'm announcing we're expanding eligibility of veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. I'm also calling on Congress to pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits of the comprehensive healthcare. Fourth last let's end cancer as we know it. This is personal, this is personal meaning to Jill and kamala. And so many of you, so many of you have lost someone you love, husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, dad, Cancer is the number two cause of death in America. 2nd only to heart disease. Last month I announced the plan to supercharge the cancer Moonshot that President Obama asked me to lead six years ago. Our goal is to cut cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years. I think we can do better than that. Turn cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases. More support for patients and their families to get there. I call on Congress to fund what I called R. P. H. Advanced advanced research projects, agency for health pattern after DARPA. The Defense Department projects that lead in DARPA to the internet GPS and so much more to make our forces more safer and be able to wage war more with more clarity. Our pra will have a singular purpose to drive breakthroughs in cancer. Alzheimer's and diabetes and more a unity agenda for the nation. We can do these things. It's within our power and I don't see a partisan edge to any one of those four things. My fellow americans tonight we've gathered in this sacred space, a citadel of democracy in this capital generation after generation of americans have debated great questions, made great strife. I've done great things. We fought for freedom, expanded liberty, debated totalitarianism and terror. We built the strongest freest and most prosperous nation in the world has ever known now is the hour our moment of responsibility, our test of resolve and conscience of history itself. It is in this moment that our character of this generation is formed. Our purpose is found, our future is forged. Well, I know this nation, we'll meet the test, protect freedom and liberty, expand fairness and opportunity and we will save democracy as hard as those times have been. I'm more optimistic about America today than I've been my whole life because I see the future that's within our grasp. Because I know there's simply nothing beyond our our capacity. We're the only nation on earth that has always turned every crisis we've faced into an opportunity, the only nation that can be defined by a single word possibilities. So on this night, On our 245th year as a nation, I've come to report on the state of the nation, the state of the Union. And my report is this the state of the Union is strong because you the american people are strong. We are stronger today. We are stronger today than we were a year ago and we'll be stronger a year from now than we are today. This is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time and we will as one people, one America, the United States of America. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, Go get him.

FACT CHECK: Biden's claims in his State of Union address


The Associated Press is fact-checking President Joe Biden's first State of the Union speech as he grapples with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a stalled domestic agenda and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.Some of the claims we've examined:COVID-19BIDEN: "Severe cases are down to a level not seen since July of last year."THE FACTS: Biden overstated the improvement, omitting a statistic that remains a worrisome marker of the toll from COVID-19.While hospitalizations indeed are down from last summer, deaths remain high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID tracker shows 289 deaths on July 1, 2021. This past Monday the CDC tracker reported 1,985 deaths.___EconomyBIDEN: "The pandemic also disrupted the global supply chain ... Look at cars last year. One-third of all the inflation was because of automobile sales. There weren't enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. And guess what? Prices of automobiles went way up ... And so we have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drag down wages and make Americans poorer. I think I have a better idea to fight inflation. Lower your costs and not your wages. Folks, that means make more cars and semi conductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America ... Instead of relying on foreign supply chains let's make it in America."THE FACTS: It's dubious to suggest that more domestic manufacturing means less inflation. Manufactured products made overseas, particularly in countries such as China or Mexico where wages are lower, are generally cheaper than U.S.-made goods. Biden also places too much weight on supply chain disruptions from overseas as a factor in the worst inflation in four decades. Although those problems indeed have been a major factor in driving up costs, inflation is increasingly showing up in other areas, such as rents and restaurant meals, that reflect the rapid growth of the economy and wages in the past year and not a global supply bottleneck. Those trends are likely to keep pushing up prices even as supply chains recover.___Electric vehiclesBIDEN, promoting his $1 trillion infrastructure law: "We're done talking about infrastructure weeks. We're now talking about an infrastructure decade. ... We'll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations." THE FACTS: Not so fast.The bipartisan legislation approved by Congress ended up providing just half of the $15 billion that Biden had envisioned to fulfill a campaign promise of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.Biden's Build Back Better proposal aimed to fill the gap by adding back billions to pay for charging stations. But Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in December declared that bill dead in its present form due to cost.Administration officials now say the infrastructure law will help "pave" the way for up to 500,000 charging outlets by 2030. That's different than charging stations, which could have several outlets. They say private investments could help fill the gap. Currently there are over 100,000 EV outlets in the U.S.The Transportation Department's plan asks states to build a nationwide network of EV charging stations that would place new or upgraded ones every 50 miles along interstate highways. The $5 billion in federal money over five years relies on cooperation from sprawling rural communities in the U.S., which are less likely to own EVs due to their typically higher price.States are expected to start construction as early as fall.___Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Hope Yen and Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.

The Associated Press is fact-checking President Joe Biden's first State of the Union speech as he grapples with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a stalled domestic agenda and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the claims we've examined:

COVID-19

BIDEN: "Severe cases are down to a level not seen since July of last year."

THE FACTS: Biden overstated the improvement, omitting a statistic that remains a worrisome marker of the toll from COVID-19.

While hospitalizations indeed are down from last summer, deaths remain high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID tracker shows 289 deaths on July 1, 2021. This past Monday the CDC tracker reported 1,985 deaths.

___

Economy

BIDEN: "The pandemic also disrupted the global supply chain ... Look at cars last year. One-third of all the inflation was because of automobile sales. There weren't enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. And guess what? Prices of automobiles went way up ... And so we have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drag down wages and make Americans poorer. I think I have a better idea to fight inflation. Lower your costs and not your wages. Folks, that means make more cars and semi conductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America ... Instead of relying on foreign supply chains let's make it in America."

THE FACTS: It's dubious to suggest that more domestic manufacturing means less inflation.

Manufactured products made overseas, particularly in countries such as China or Mexico where wages are lower, are generally cheaper than U.S.-made goods.

Biden also places too much weight on supply chain disruptions from overseas as a factor in the worst inflation in four decades. Although those problems indeed have been a major factor in driving up costs, inflation is increasingly showing up in other areas, such as rents and restaurant meals, that reflect the rapid growth of the economy and wages in the past year and not a global supply bottleneck. Those trends are likely to keep pushing up prices even as supply chains recover.

___

Electric vehicles

BIDEN, promoting his $1 trillion infrastructure law: "We're done talking about infrastructure weeks. We're now talking about an infrastructure decade. ... We'll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations."

THE FACTS: Not so fast.

The bipartisan legislation approved by Congress ended up providing just half of the $15 billion that Biden had envisioned to fulfill a campaign promise of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.

Biden's Build Back Better proposal aimed to fill the gap by adding back billions to pay for charging stations. But Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in December declared that bill dead in its present form due to cost.

Administration officials now say the infrastructure law will help "pave" the way for up to 500,000 charging outlets by 2030. That's different than charging stations, which could have several outlets. They say private investments could help fill the gap. Currently there are over 100,000 EV outlets in the U.S.

The Transportation Department's plan asks states to build a nationwide network of EV charging stations that would place new or upgraded ones every 50 miles along interstate highways. The $5 billion in federal money over five years relies on cooperation from sprawling rural communities in the U.S., which are less likely to own EVs due to their typically higher price.

States are expected to start construction as early as fall.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Hope Yen and Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2022/03/02/bidens-claims-in-his-state-of-union-address/feed/ 0 Native American tribes reach $590 million opioid settlement https://cincylink.com/2022/02/02/native-american-tribes-reach-590-million-opioid-settlement/ https://cincylink.com/2022/02/02/native-american-tribes-reach-590-million-opioid-settlement/#respond Wed, 02 Feb 2022 10:27:16 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=143077

Native American tribes have reached settlements over the toll of opioids totaling $590 million with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and the country's three largest drug distribution companies, according to a court filing made public Tuesday.The filing in U.S. District Court in Cleveland lays out the broad terms of the settlements with Johnson & Johnson and distribution companies AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Some details are still being hashed out.All federally recognized tribes in the U.S. will be able to participate in the settlements, even if they did not sue over opioids. And there could be settlements between other firms in the industry and tribes, many of which have been hit hard by the overdose crisis.W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Washington state, called it a big deal for tribes to reach their own settlement, in contrast with tobacco industry deals in the 1990s that left out Native American groups.Allen doesn't expect his tribe of about 550 people to get much from the settlement, but it will help in its efforts to build a healing center that will address opioid addiction, he said. "Every penny counts, so we'll take it and run with it," he said.One study cited in the settlement found that Native Americans have had the highest per capita rate of opioid overdose of any population group in 2015."The dollars that will flow to tribes under this initial settlement will help fund crucial, on-reservation, culturally appropriate opioid treatment services," Douglas Yankton, chairman of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota, said in a statement.More than 400 tribes and intertribal organizations representing about 80% of tribal citizens have sued over opioids.New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson — whose opioids included Duragesic and Nucynta but which has stopped selling opioids — said in a statement Tuesday that the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing. AmerisourceBergen, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, said in a statement that the deal will expedite help for communities and let the company focus on the pharmaceutical supply chain.Cardinal, based in Columbus, Ohio, and McKesson, based in Irving, Texas, declined to comment.Under the deal, Johnson & Johnson would pay $150 million over two years. AmerisourceBergen McKesson and Cardinal would contribute $440 million in total over seven years. Each of the 574 federally recognized tribes could decide whether to participate but would be required to use the money to deal with the opioid epidemic.The deal would take effect when 95% of the tribes with lawsuits against the companies agree to the settlement, said Tara Sutton, a lawyer whose firm is representing 28 tribes.Settlements are also in the works between tribes and other companies involved in opioids, Sutton said.The newly announced deals are separate from a $75 million one the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the three distribution companies reached last year ahead of a trial.The same four companies are nearing the final stages of approval of settlements worth $26 billion with state and local governments across the U.S. They have until later this month to decide whether enough government entities have signed on to continue in the deal.The money for tribes will come out of the larger settlements.The tribal settlements are part of about $40 billion worth of settlements, penalties and fines rung up over the years by companies over their role in opioids.The drugs, including both prescription drugs such as OxyContin and illicit ones including heroin and illegally made fentanyl, have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades.___Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Fonseca from Flagstaff, Arizona.

Native American tribes have reached settlements over the toll of opioids totaling $590 million with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and the country's three largest drug distribution companies, according to a court filing made public Tuesday.

The filing in U.S. District Court in Cleveland lays out the broad terms of the settlements with Johnson & Johnson and distribution companies AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Some details are still being hashed out.

All federally recognized tribes in the U.S. will be able to participate in the settlements, even if they did not sue over opioids. And there could be settlements between other firms in the industry and tribes, many of which have been hit hard by the overdose crisis.

W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Washington state, called it a big deal for tribes to reach their own settlement, in contrast with tobacco industry deals in the 1990s that left out Native American groups.

Allen doesn't expect his tribe of about 550 people to get much from the settlement, but it will help in its efforts to build a healing center that will address opioid addiction, he said.

"Every penny counts, so we'll take it and run with it," he said.

One study cited in the settlement found that Native Americans have had the highest per capita rate of opioid overdose of any population group in 2015.

"The dollars that will flow to tribes under this initial settlement will help fund crucial, on-reservation, culturally appropriate opioid treatment services," Douglas Yankton, chairman of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota, said in a statement.

More than 400 tribes and intertribal organizations representing about 80% of tribal citizens have sued over opioids.

New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson — whose opioids included Duragesic and Nucynta but which has stopped selling opioids — said in a statement Tuesday that the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

AmerisourceBergen, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, said in a statement that the deal will expedite help for communities and let the company focus on the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Cardinal, based in Columbus, Ohio, and McKesson, based in Irving, Texas, declined to comment.

Under the deal, Johnson & Johnson would pay $150 million over two years. AmerisourceBergen McKesson and Cardinal would contribute $440 million in total over seven years.

Each of the 574 federally recognized tribes could decide whether to participate but would be required to use the money to deal with the opioid epidemic.

The deal would take effect when 95% of the tribes with lawsuits against the companies agree to the settlement, said Tara Sutton, a lawyer whose firm is representing 28 tribes.

Settlements are also in the works between tribes and other companies involved in opioids, Sutton said.

The newly announced deals are separate from a $75 million one the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the three distribution companies reached last year ahead of a trial.

The same four companies are nearing the final stages of approval of settlements worth $26 billion with state and local governments across the U.S. They have until later this month to decide whether enough government entities have signed on to continue in the deal.

The money for tribes will come out of the larger settlements.

The tribal settlements are part of about $40 billion worth of settlements, penalties and fines rung up over the years by companies over their role in opioids.

The drugs, including both prescription drugs such as OxyContin and illicit ones including heroin and illegally made fentanyl, have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades.

___

Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Fonseca from Flagstaff, Arizona.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2022/02/02/native-american-tribes-reach-590-million-opioid-settlement/feed/ 0 Who betrayed Anne Frank? A cold case team has named a new suspect https://cincylink.com/2022/01/17/who-betrayed-anne-frank-a-cold-case-team-has-named-a-new-suspect/ https://cincylink.com/2022/01/17/who-betrayed-anne-frank-a-cold-case-team-has-named-a-new-suspect/#respond Tue, 18 Jan 2022 00:47:21 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=138225

A cold case team that combed through evidence for five years in a bid to unravel one of World War II's enduring mysteries has reached what it calls the "most likely scenario" of who betrayed Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family.Their answer, outlined in a new book called "The Betrayal of Anne Frank A Cold Case Investigation," by Canadian academic and author Rosemary Sullivan, is that it could have been a prominent Jewish notary called Arnold van den Bergh, who disclosed the secret annex hiding place of the Frank family to German occupiers to save his own family from deportation and murder in Nazi concentration camps."We have investigated over 30 suspects in 20 different scenarios, leaving one scenario we like to refer to as the most likely scenario," said filmmaker Thijs Bayens, who had the idea to put together the cold case team, that was led by retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke, to forensically examine the evidence. Bayens was quick to add that, "we don't have 100% certainty.""There is no smoking gun because betrayal is circumstantial," Bayens told The Associated Press on Monday.The Franks and four other Jews hid in the annex, reached by a secret staircase hidden behind a bookcase, from July 1942 until they were discovered in August 1944 and deported to concentration camps. Only Anne's father, Otto Frank, survived the war. Anne and her sister died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Anne was 15.The diary Anne wrote while in hiding was published after the war and became a symbol of hope and resilience that has been translated into dozens of languages and read by millions.But the identity of the person who gave away the location of their hiding place has always remained a mystery, despite previous investigations.The team's findings suggest that Otto Frank was one of the first to hear about the possible involvement of Van den Bergh, a prominent member of the Jewish community in Amsterdam.A brief note, a typed copy of an anonymous tip delivered to Otto Frank after the war, names Van den Bergh, who died in 1950, as the person who informed German authorities in Amsterdam where to find the Frank family, the researchers say.The note was an overlooked part of a decades-old Amsterdam police investigation that was reviewed by the team, which used artificial intelligence to analyze and draw links between archives around the world.The Anne Frank House museum in the canal-side Amsterdam building that includes the secret annex welcomed the new research but said it also leaves questions unanswered. The museum gave the researchers access to its archives for the cold case project."No, I don't think we can say that a mystery has been solved now. I think it's an interesting theory that the team came up with," said museum director Ronald Leopold. "I think they come up with a lot of interesting information, but I also think there are still many missing pieces of the puzzle. And those pieces need to be further investigated in order to see how we can value this new theory."Bayens said the hunt for the betrayer was also a way of looking for an explanation of how the horror of the Nazi occupation forced some members of a once close-knit Amsterdam community to turn on one another. How did fascism bring people "to the desperate point of betraying each other, which is an awful, really awful situation?" he said. "We went looking for a perpetrator and we found a victim," Bayens said.

AMSTERDAM —

A cold case team that combed through evidence for five years in a bid to unravel one of World War II's enduring mysteries has reached what it calls the "most likely scenario" of who betrayed Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family.

Their answer, outlined in a new book called "The Betrayal of Anne Frank A Cold Case Investigation," by Canadian academic and author Rosemary Sullivan, is that it could have been a prominent Jewish notary called Arnold van den Bergh, who disclosed the secret annex hiding place of the Frank family to German occupiers to save his own family from deportation and murder in Nazi concentration camps.

"We have investigated over 30 suspects in 20 different scenarios, leaving one scenario we like to refer to as the most likely scenario," said filmmaker Thijs Bayens, who had the idea to put together the cold case team, that was led by retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke, to forensically examine the evidence.

Bayens was quick to add that, "we don't have 100% certainty."

"There is no smoking gun because betrayal is circumstantial," Bayens told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Franks and four other Jews hid in the annex, reached by a secret staircase hidden behind a bookcase, from July 1942 until they were discovered in August 1944 and deported to concentration camps.

Only Anne's father, Otto Frank, survived the war. Anne and her sister died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Anne was 15.

The diary Anne wrote while in hiding was published after the war and became a symbol of hope and resilience that has been translated into dozens of languages and read by millions.

But the identity of the person who gave away the location of their hiding place has always remained a mystery, despite previous investigations.

The team's findings suggest that Otto Frank was one of the first to hear about the possible involvement of Van den Bergh, a prominent member of the Jewish community in Amsterdam.

A brief note, a typed copy of an anonymous tip delivered to Otto Frank after the war, names Van den Bergh, who died in 1950, as the person who informed German authorities in Amsterdam where to find the Frank family, the researchers say.

The note was an overlooked part of a decades-old Amsterdam police investigation that was reviewed by the team, which used artificial intelligence to analyze and draw links between archives around the world.

The Anne Frank House museum in the canal-side Amsterdam building that includes the secret annex welcomed the new research but said it also leaves questions unanswered. The museum gave the researchers access to its archives for the cold case project.

"No, I don't think we can say that a mystery has been solved now. I think it's an interesting theory that the team came up with," said museum director Ronald Leopold. "I think they come up with a lot of interesting information, but I also think there are still many missing pieces of the puzzle. And those pieces need to be further investigated in order to see how we can value this new theory."

Bayens said the hunt for the betrayer was also a way of looking for an explanation of how the horror of the Nazi occupation forced some members of a once close-knit Amsterdam community to turn on one another.

How did fascism bring people "to the desperate point of betraying each other, which is an awful, really awful situation?" he said.

"We went looking for a perpetrator and we found a victim," Bayens said.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2022/01/17/who-betrayed-anne-frank-a-cold-case-team-has-named-a-new-suspect/feed/ 0 US and Russia face deep differences ahead of Ukraine talks https://cincylink.com/2022/01/01/us-and-russia-face-deep-differences-ahead-of-ukraine-talks/ https://cincylink.com/2022/01/01/us-and-russia-face-deep-differences-ahead-of-ukraine-talks/#respond Sat, 01 Jan 2022 08:57:07 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=133193

After tough talk between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin over the Russian troop buildup on the Ukraine border, both sides insist they are hopeful that a pathway to easing tensions could open during diplomatic talks set for January.But with less than two weeks to go before senior U.S. and Russian officials are to meet in Geneva, the chasm is deep and the prospect of finding an exit to the crisis faces no shortage of complications. Biden on Friday told reporters that he advised Putin when they spoke by phone a day earlier that the upcoming talks could only work if the Russian leader "deescalated, not escalated, the situation" in the days ahead. The U.S. president said he also sought to make plain to Putin that the U.S. and allies stood ready to hit Russia with punishing sanctions if the Russians further invade Ukraine."I made it clear to the President Putin that if he makes any more moves into Ukraine we will have severe sanctions," Biden said. "We will increase our presence in Europe with NATO allies."Meanwhile, Biden's national security team on Friday turned their attention to preparation for the Geneva talks, set for Jan. 9 and 10, to discuss the Russian massing of some 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine. The Geneva talks, which are to be led on the U.S. side by senior State Department officials, are slated to be followed by Russia-NATO council talks and a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.Biden is scheduled to speak by phone Sunday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two leaders plan to review preparations for the upcoming diplomatic engagements, according to the White House.Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday debriefed Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the Biden-Putin call and discussed preparations for the upcoming summit."The two weeks ahead are going to be tough," said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland who was a top adviser on Eastern Europe to Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "The Biden administration has done a pretty credible job of outlining, framing up the negotiations. But the toughest test is yet to come because Putin will continue to engage in threats and brinksmanship to see how determined we are." While Biden reiterated that he stood ready to exact sanctions that would reverberate throughout Russia, Kremlin officials doubled down on its warning to Biden about making a "colossal mistake" that could have enormous ramifications for an already fraught U.S.-Russian relationship.A top Putin aide on Friday reinforced that Russia stands by its demands for written security guarantees. Moscow wants it codified that any future expansion of NATO must exclude Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc countries and demands that the bloc remove offensive weaponry from countries in the Russian neighborhood."We will not allow our initiatives to be drowned in endless discussions," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the state RIA-Novosti news agency Friday. "If no constructive answer comes in a reasonable time and the West continues its aggressive course, Russia will have to take all necessary measures to maintain a strategic balance and remove unacceptable threats to our security."The Biden administration and NATO allies have made clear that the Russian demands are non-starters.The seemingly unrealistic rhetoric has made some in Washington question of how effective talks can be.Following the Biden-Putin call, a group of 24 former U.S. national security officials and Russia experts- — a group that includes several officials who served in the Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton's administrations — released a statement calling on Biden to immediately, and publicly, lay out the penalties Russia would face if Putin were to move forward with military action.The signatories of the statement included several former U.S. ambassadors, including Fried, Russia envoys Michael McFaul and Alexander Vershbow, and Ukraine envoys Steven Pifer and John Herbst."We believe the United States should, in closest consultation with its NATO allies and with Ukraine, take immediate steps to affect the Kremlin's cost-benefit calculations before the Russian leadership opts for further military escalation," the group wrote. "Such a response would include a package of major and painful sanctions that would be applied immediately if Russia assaults Ukraine. Ideally, the outline of these sanctions would be communicated now to Moscow, so that the Kremlin has a clear understanding of the magnitude of the economic hit it will face."The Russians for their part continue to make the case that they are facing an existential threat with Ukraine.Lavrov on Friday noted an increase in weapons supplies to Ukraine and the growing number and scope of joint military drills conducted by Western powers with Ukraine, charging that "the Kyiv regime naturally perceives this support as a carte blanche for the use of force." He added that Russia will protect its citizens living in eastern Ukraine."As for residents of Donbas, where hundreds of thousands of our citizens live, Russia will take all necessary measures to protect them," he said. "An adequate response will be given to any possible military provocations by Kyiv against Donbas."Simon Miles, a diplomatic and international historian of the Cold War at Duke University, said it would be a mistake for the White House to let "Russia unilaterally set the tempo of what is about to unfold.""Whatever the U.S. can do to keep the Russians on their back foot, as opposed to letting the Kremlin set the agenda, is going to be important to securing a favorable resolution," Miles said.—-Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

WILMINGTON, Del. —

After tough talk between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin over the Russian troop buildup on the Ukraine border, both sides insist they are hopeful that a pathway to easing tensions could open during diplomatic talks set for January.

But with less than two weeks to go before senior U.S. and Russian officials are to meet in Geneva, the chasm is deep and the prospect of finding an exit to the crisis faces no shortage of complications.

Biden on Friday told reporters that he advised Putin when they spoke by phone a day earlier that the upcoming talks could only work if the Russian leader "deescalated, not escalated, the situation" in the days ahead. The U.S. president said he also sought to make plain to Putin that the U.S. and allies stood ready to hit Russia with punishing sanctions if the Russians further invade Ukraine.

"I made it clear to the President Putin that if he makes any more moves into Ukraine we will have severe sanctions," Biden said. "We will increase our presence in Europe with NATO allies."

Meanwhile, Biden's national security team on Friday turned their attention to preparation for the Geneva talks, set for Jan. 9 and 10, to discuss the Russian massing of some 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.

The Geneva talks, which are to be led on the U.S. side by senior State Department officials, are slated to be followed by Russia-NATO council talks and a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Biden is scheduled to speak by phone Sunday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two leaders plan to review preparations for the upcoming diplomatic engagements, according to the White House.

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrive to meet at the 'Villa la Grange', Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland.

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrive to meet at the ’Villa la Grange’, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday debriefed Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the Biden-Putin call and discussed preparations for the upcoming summit.

"The two weeks ahead are going to be tough," said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland who was a top adviser on Eastern Europe to Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "The Biden administration has done a pretty credible job of outlining, framing up the negotiations. But the toughest test is yet to come because Putin will continue to engage in threats and brinksmanship to see how determined we are."

While Biden reiterated that he stood ready to exact sanctions that would reverberate throughout Russia, Kremlin officials doubled down on its warning to Biden about making a "colossal mistake" that could have enormous ramifications for an already fraught U.S.-Russian relationship.

A top Putin aide on Friday reinforced that Russia stands by its demands for written security guarantees. Moscow wants it codified that any future expansion of NATO must exclude Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc countries and demands that the bloc remove offensive weaponry from countries in the Russian neighborhood.

"We will not allow our initiatives to be drowned in endless discussions," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the state RIA-Novosti news agency Friday. "If no constructive answer comes in a reasonable time and the West continues its aggressive course, Russia will have to take all necessary measures to maintain a strategic balance and remove unacceptable threats to our security."

The Biden administration and NATO allies have made clear that the Russian demands are non-starters.

The seemingly unrealistic rhetoric has made some in Washington question of how effective talks can be.

Following the Biden-Putin call, a group of 24 former U.S. national security officials and Russia experts- — a group that includes several officials who served in the Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton's administrations — released a statement calling on Biden to immediately, and publicly, lay out the penalties Russia would face if Putin were to move forward with military action.

The signatories of the statement included several former U.S. ambassadors, including Fried, Russia envoys Michael McFaul and Alexander Vershbow, and Ukraine envoys Steven Pifer and John Herbst.

"We believe the United States should, in closest consultation with its NATO allies and with Ukraine, take immediate steps to affect the Kremlin's cost-benefit calculations before the Russian leadership opts for further military escalation," the group wrote. "Such a response would include a package of major and painful sanctions that would be applied immediately if Russia assaults Ukraine. Ideally, the outline of these sanctions would be communicated now to Moscow, so that the Kremlin has a clear understanding of the magnitude of the economic hit it will face."

The Russians for their part continue to make the case that they are facing an existential threat with Ukraine.

Lavrov on Friday noted an increase in weapons supplies to Ukraine and the growing number and scope of joint military drills conducted by Western powers with Ukraine, charging that "the Kyiv regime naturally perceives this support as a carte blanche for the use of force." He added that Russia will protect its citizens living in eastern Ukraine.

"As for residents of Donbas, where hundreds of thousands of our citizens live, Russia will take all necessary measures to protect them," he said. "An adequate response will be given to any possible military provocations by Kyiv against Donbas."

Simon Miles, a diplomatic and international historian of the Cold War at Duke University, said it would be a mistake for the White House to let "Russia unilaterally set the tempo of what is about to unfold."

"Whatever the U.S. can do to keep the Russians on their back foot, as opposed to letting the Kremlin set the agenda, is going to be important to securing a favorable resolution," Miles said.

—-

Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2022/01/01/us-and-russia-face-deep-differences-ahead-of-ukraine-talks/feed/ 0 Nursing home workers are urged to get boosters as COVID-19 cases soar https://cincylink.com/2021/12/30/nursing-home-workers-are-urged-to-get-boosters-as-covid-19-cases-soar/ https://cincylink.com/2021/12/30/nursing-home-workers-are-urged-to-get-boosters-as-covid-19-cases-soar/#respond Fri, 31 Dec 2021 04:07:40 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=132795

Federal health officials on Thursday pressed nursing home workers to get their booster shots amid a spike in COVID-19 cases among staffers and a concerning lag in booster vaccination for residents and staff.The omicron variant "is lightning fast, and we can't afford another COVID-19 surge in nursing homes," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a livestreamed appeal to the industry. "You know that. I know that. Higher numbers of COVID cases would likely once again have a devastating impact on our loved ones ... and we know we just have to work doubly hard to keep them safe."Nursing homes are a testing ground for President Joe Biden's assertion that the United States is much better prepared to handle a surging virus than it was last winter. Although residents are a tiny proportion of the population, they represent a disproportionate share of Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year the advent of vaccines brought the virus under control in nursing homes and allowed them to reopen to visitors. But that return to normalcy could be in jeopardy as omicron pushes COVID-19 cases to new highs for the nation.Cases among nursing home staffers jumped to 10,353 for the week ending Dec. 27, a rise of nearly 80% from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staff deaths increased to 58, tripling from the previous week. Among residents, who are more heavily vaccinated, cases went up slightly and the data showed no increase in deaths.With medical experts advising that a booster shot is critical to defend against omicron, Becerra said only 57% of nursing home residents and 25% of staff and have gotten boosters. That's clearly behind a booster rate of nearly 66% among people age 65 or older and about 45% for adults of all ages, according to statistics from the White House."We've got to change that," Becerra said. The administration is urging some 1,400 federally funded community health centers across the land to partner with local nursing homes in a renewed vaccination campaign.Nursing home workers were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 under an earlier order issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which required staff at health care facilities that receive government money to get their shots. That directive got ensnared in litigation and the Supreme Court has set a special session next week to hear arguments on it, along with the much broader Biden administration vaccine mandate for workers at larger companies of all kinds. Together the orders would affect about 100 million employees. "Once again nursing homes are really the ground zero," said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, who has tracked the impact of the pandemic on residents and staff. "How well we do in combating this virus can often be discerned by just looking at the nursing homes."Grabowski said the Biden administration is right to raise the alarm now. "We see this time and time again: When staff (infection) rates go up, resident rates go up," he explained. Staffers unwittingly bring in the virus from surrounding communities, a common trigger for nursing home outbreaks.Vaccines enabled nursing homes to weather the delta variant surge earlier this year, and timely booster shots should go a long way toward blocking omicron. "The more vaccines and boosters we have, the more lives we are going to save over the course of the winter," Grabowski said.But some states are already seeing trouble.COVID-19 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes have almost doubled in the past week, and officials say that indicates the state is probably heading into another major surge of virus cases and hospitalizations.There were 63 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes Monday, about twice the number reported last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote in a midweek memo to Mississippi hospitals and health care providers.Along with other data, that points to "very rapid growth of COVID-19 infection and transmission...we have now entered our 5th wave of COVID-19 in the state," Byers wrote. One of the major nursing home industry groups is backing the administration's push on boosters.The American Health Care Association said in a statement it's asking members to "double down on their efforts to get as many residents and staff fully vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible." ___Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

Federal health officials on Thursday pressed nursing home workers to get their booster shots amid a spike in COVID-19 cases among staffers and a concerning lag in booster vaccination for residents and staff.

The omicron variant "is lightning fast, and we can't afford another COVID-19 surge in nursing homes," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a livestreamed appeal to the industry. "You know that. I know that. Higher numbers of COVID cases would likely once again have a devastating impact on our loved ones ... and we know we just have to work doubly hard to keep them safe."

Nursing homes are a testing ground for President Joe Biden's assertion that the United States is much better prepared to handle a surging virus than it was last winter. Although residents are a tiny proportion of the population, they represent a disproportionate share of Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year the advent of vaccines brought the virus under control in nursing homes and allowed them to reopen to visitors. But that return to normalcy could be in jeopardy as omicron pushes COVID-19 cases to new highs for the nation.

Cases among nursing home staffers jumped to 10,353 for the week ending Dec. 27, a rise of nearly 80% from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staff deaths increased to 58, tripling from the previous week. Among residents, who are more heavily vaccinated, cases went up slightly and the data showed no increase in deaths.

With medical experts advising that a booster shot is critical to defend against omicron, Becerra said only 57% of nursing home residents and 25% of staff and have gotten boosters. That's clearly behind a booster rate of nearly 66% among people age 65 or older and about 45% for adults of all ages, according to statistics from the White House.

"We've got to change that," Becerra said.

The administration is urging some 1,400 federally funded community health centers across the land to partner with local nursing homes in a renewed vaccination campaign.

Nursing home workers were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 under an earlier order issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which required staff at health care facilities that receive government money to get their shots. That directive got ensnared in litigation and the Supreme Court has set a special session next week to hear arguments on it, along with the much broader Biden administration vaccine mandate for workers at larger companies of all kinds. Together the orders would affect about 100 million employees.

"Once again nursing homes are really the ground zero," said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, who has tracked the impact of the pandemic on residents and staff. "How well we do in combating this virus can often be discerned by just looking at the nursing homes."

Grabowski said the Biden administration is right to raise the alarm now. "We see this time and time again: When staff (infection) rates go up, resident rates go up," he explained. Staffers unwittingly bring in the virus from surrounding communities, a common trigger for nursing home outbreaks.

Vaccines enabled nursing homes to weather the delta variant surge earlier this year, and timely booster shots should go a long way toward blocking omicron. "The more vaccines and boosters we have, the more lives we are going to save over the course of the winter," Grabowski said.

But some states are already seeing trouble.

COVID-19 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes have almost doubled in the past week, and officials say that indicates the state is probably heading into another major surge of virus cases and hospitalizations.

There were 63 outbreaks in Mississippi nursing homes Monday, about twice the number reported last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote in a midweek memo to Mississippi hospitals and health care providers.

Along with other data, that points to "very rapid growth of COVID-19 infection and transmission...we have now entered our 5th wave of COVID-19 in the state," Byers wrote.

One of the major nursing home industry groups is backing the administration's push on boosters.

The American Health Care Association said in a statement it's asking members to "double down on their efforts to get as many residents and staff fully vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible."

___

Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/12/30/nursing-home-workers-are-urged-to-get-boosters-as-covid-19-cases-soar/feed/ 0 More than 800,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19 to close out year filled with death https://cincylink.com/2021/12/14/more-than-800000-people-in-the-us-have-died-from-covid-19-to-close-out-year-filled-with-death/ https://cincylink.com/2021/12/14/more-than-800000-people-in-the-us-have-died-from-covid-19-to-close-out-year-filled-with-death/#respond Wed, 15 Dec 2021 01:47:16 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=127284

Carolyn Burnett is bracing for her first Christmas without her son Chris, a beloved high school football coach whose outdoor memorial service drew a crowd of hundreds.The unvaccinated 34-year-old father of four died in September as a result of COVID-19 after nearly two weeks on a ventilator, and his loss has left a gaping hole for his mother, widow and family as the holidays approach. How, she thought, could they take a holiday photo without Chris? What would Christmas Day football be like without him offering up commentary? How could they play trivia games on Christmas Eve without him beating everyone with his movie expertise?The U.S. on Tuesday hit another depressing pandemic milestone — 800,000 deaths. It's a sad coda to a year that held so much promise with the arrival of vaccines but is ending in heartbreak for the many grieving families trying to navigate the holiday season.For its Christmas card photo, the Burnett family ultimately opted to hold up a football presented as a memorial by the Kansas City Chiefs to represent Chris. Carolyn Burnett also set up a special shelf for the holidays, filling it with a drawing of her son, his bronzed baby shoe, a candle, a poem and an ornament of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.But nothing feels quite right this year."These emotions come and go so quickly," she said. "You see something. You hear something. His favorite food. You hear the song. There's just all these little things. And then, bam."The year began with the COVID-19 death toll at about 350,000 in the U.S., at a time when the country was in the throes of a winter surge so bad that patients were lined up in emergency room hallways waiting for beds.But vaccines were just getting rolled out, and sports stadiums and fairgrounds were quickly transformed into mass vaccination sites. Case numbers began falling. By spring, nearly all schools had reopened and communities were shedding mask orders. TV newscasters began talking cheerfully about a post-pandemic world. President Joe Biden proclaimed the Fourth of July holiday as a celebration of the nation's freedom from the virus. It didn't last long. The delta variant struck just as vaccination rates were stalling amid a wave of misinformation, devastating poorly immunized portions of the Midwest and South. Hospitals brought back mobile morgues and opened up their pocket books in a desperate bid to attract enough nurses to care for the sick. "People have no idea," said Debbie Eaves, a lab worker, who grew weary of the wave of death as she collected swabs from patients at Oakdale Community Hospital in Louisiana amid the surge. "Oh, no. They have no idea what it is to look and see, to see it."In Kansas, Carolyn Burnett begged her son, who went by the nickname Coach Cheese because of his love of cheeseburgers, to get vaccinated."He was a part of the group that ... just didn't trust it," she said, pausing and sighing. "They didn't want to be a guinea pig. They didn't want to be experimented on."She thought maybe he was softening. When his dad got his first COVID-19 shot in August, Chris, a diabetic, told his mother he would discuss it with his doctor. But then one of Chris' children got infected at a family sleepover and soon everyone was sick. She texted him, "Honey, God's got you." His last text to her said: "Mama, I feel him." He died Sept. 11. School administrators tweeted heartfelt condolences, praising his passion in coaching running backs at Olathe East High School. Tearful athletes paid tribute in TV interviews. The Kansas City Glory, an all-female football team that Burnett coached, asked fans to contribute to a GoFundMe fundraiser to help his children. And he was honored with an inspiration award at a ceremony that recognizes the region's best high school athletes."We had so much support that you would think he was a celebrity," his mom recalled. Now, as the year ends, the delta variant is fueling another wave of hospitalizations, court battles are brewing over vaccine mandates and fresh questions are swirling about the new omicron variant. Steve Grove has seen his share of coronavirus deaths in his role as a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.Recently, one dying patient's family gathered in a conference room. One by one they were taken to the patient's bedside, while the other relatives watched on Zoom. "It's a huge pain in the butt and the connection drops and it's weird," he acknowledged. "Here's what I'm going to say to COVID: 'Up yours.' I'm getting a Zoom call going, and there you have it. That's what's happening today at least. You're going to do what you're going to do and you're going to kill this person. You get to do that COVID. But what we're going to do today is this. And I'm going to give them a hug when it's done.""The alternative," he said, "is that you just, you just give up, and I guess most people in this building have too much faith in humanity."He acknowledged that he sometimes gets mad at unvaccinated patients because it "didn't have to be this way. And now there's a mess that perhaps was avoidable.""I'll confess to it," he said. "And I know I'm not proud of it, and I swallow it down and then I remember as a human being that my compassion reminds me that it's still somebody's loved one. It is still death and it still stings." Dr. LaTasha Perkins, of Georgetown University Student Health, is getting ready to take a job in January in a clinic that helps underserved residents of the community. She is Black and said she felt compelled to make the change after watching the virus devastate her family. She has lost a great uncle, an aunt and a cousin to COVID-19, and she suspects the virus may have played a role in the death of her grandfather. When it struck her own household last December after she had gotten her first shot but the rest of her family wasn't yet eligible, she spent sleepless nights watching her toddler breathe and took her husband to the hospital, although he wasn't admitted. She never got sick and credits the vaccine. Her husband also later got the shot. Still, maddeningly to her, only three of her six siblings are vaccinated. Some of the hesitation, she said, is rooted in the "horrible things done in the name of medicine to Black and brown bodies in this country." She tells them: "If you're worried about rich white people not caring about you, they're lining up getting the vaccine."She has been unable, though, to get through to some of her relatives. It's part of the reason why she started doing hesitancy talks specifically for African Americans in the D.C. area. "For my own selfish reason, I don't want to go to any more funerals," she said, "and I don't want COVID to come back in my house."

MISSION, Kan. —

Carolyn Burnett is bracing for her first Christmas without her son Chris, a beloved high school football coach whose outdoor memorial service drew a crowd of hundreds.

The unvaccinated 34-year-old father of four died in September as a result of COVID-19 after nearly two weeks on a ventilator, and his loss has left a gaping hole for his mother, widow and family as the holidays approach.

How, she thought, could they take a holiday photo without Chris? What would Christmas Day football be like without him offering up commentary? How could they play trivia games on Christmas Eve without him beating everyone with his movie expertise?

The U.S. on Tuesday hit another depressing pandemic milestone — 800,000 deaths. It's a sad coda to a year that held so much promise with the arrival of vaccines but is ending in heartbreak for the many grieving families trying to navigate the holiday season.

For its Christmas card photo, the Burnett family ultimately opted to hold up a football presented as a memorial by the Kansas City Chiefs to represent Chris. Carolyn Burnett also set up a special shelf for the holidays, filling it with a drawing of her son, his bronzed baby shoe, a candle, a poem and an ornament of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

But nothing feels quite right this year.

"These emotions come and go so quickly," she said. "You see something. You hear something. His favorite food. You hear the song. There's just all these little things. And then, bam."

Carolyn Burnett sorts through mementos to select items to commemorate her son Chris Burnett on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Olathe, Kan.

Charlie Riedel / AP Photo

Carolyn Burnett sorts through mementos to select items to commemorate her son Chris Burnett on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Olathe, Kan.

The year began with the COVID-19 death toll at about 350,000 in the U.S., at a time when the country was in the throes of a winter surge so bad that patients were lined up in emergency room hallways waiting for beds.

But vaccines were just getting rolled out, and sports stadiums and fairgrounds were quickly transformed into mass vaccination sites. Case numbers began falling. By spring, nearly all schools had reopened and communities were shedding mask orders. TV newscasters began talking cheerfully about a post-pandemic world. President Joe Biden proclaimed the Fourth of July holiday as a celebration of the nation's freedom from the virus.

It didn't last long. The delta variant struck just as vaccination rates were stalling amid a wave of misinformation, devastating poorly immunized portions of the Midwest and South. Hospitals brought back mobile morgues and opened up their pocket books in a desperate bid to attract enough nurses to care for the sick.

"People have no idea," said Debbie Eaves, a lab worker, who grew weary of the wave of death as she collected swabs from patients at Oakdale Community Hospital in Louisiana amid the surge. "Oh, no. They have no idea what it is to look and see, to see it."

In Kansas, Carolyn Burnett begged her son, who went by the nickname Coach Cheese because of his love of cheeseburgers, to get vaccinated.

"He was a part of the group that ... just didn't trust it," she said, pausing and sighing. "They didn't want to be a guinea pig. They didn't want to be experimented on."

She thought maybe he was softening. When his dad got his first COVID-19 shot in August, Chris, a diabetic, told his mother he would discuss it with his doctor. But then one of Chris' children got infected at a family sleepover and soon everyone was sick.

She texted him, "Honey, God's got you." His last text to her said: "Mama, I feel him." He died Sept. 11.

School administrators tweeted heartfelt condolences, praising his passion in coaching running backs at Olathe East High School. Tearful athletes paid tribute in TV interviews. The Kansas City Glory, an all-female football team that Burnett coached, asked fans to contribute to a GoFundMe fundraiser to help his children. And he was honored with an inspiration award at a ceremony that recognizes the region's best high school athletes.

"We had so much support that you would think he was a celebrity," his mom recalled.

Now, as the year ends, the delta variant is fueling another wave of hospitalizations, court battles are brewing over vaccine mandates and fresh questions are swirling about the new omicron variant.

Steve Grove has seen his share of coronavirus deaths in his role as a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Recently, one dying patient's family gathered in a conference room. One by one they were taken to the patient's bedside, while the other relatives watched on Zoom.

"It's a huge pain in the butt and the connection drops and it's weird," he acknowledged. "Here's what I'm going to say to COVID: 'Up yours.' I'm getting a Zoom call going, and there you have it. That's what's happening today at least. You're going to do what you're going to do and you're going to kill this person. You get to do that COVID. But what we're going to do today is this. And I'm going to give them a hug when it's done."

"The alternative," he said, "is that you just, you just give up, and I guess most people in this building have too much faith in humanity."

He acknowledged that he sometimes gets mad at unvaccinated patients because it "didn't have to be this way. And now there's a mess that perhaps was avoidable."

"I'll confess to it," he said. "And I know I'm not proud of it, and I swallow it down and then I remember as a human being that my compassion reminds me that it's still somebody's loved one. It is still death and it still stings."

Dr. LaTasha Perkins, of Georgetown University Student Health, is getting ready to take a job in January in a clinic that helps underserved residents of the community. She is Black and said she felt compelled to make the change after watching the virus devastate her family.

She has lost a great uncle, an aunt and a cousin to COVID-19, and she suspects the virus may have played a role in the death of her grandfather. When it struck her own household last December after she had gotten her first shot but the rest of her family wasn't yet eligible, she spent sleepless nights watching her toddler breathe and took her husband to the hospital, although he wasn't admitted. She never got sick and credits the vaccine. Her husband also later got the shot.

Still, maddeningly to her, only three of her six siblings are vaccinated. Some of the hesitation, she said, is rooted in the "horrible things done in the name of medicine to Black and brown bodies in this country." She tells them: "If you're worried about rich white people not caring about you, they're lining up getting the vaccine."

She has been unable, though, to get through to some of her relatives. It's part of the reason why she started doing hesitancy talks specifically for African Americans in the D.C. area.

"For my own selfish reason, I don't want to go to any more funerals," she said, "and I don't want COVID to come back in my house."


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/12/14/more-than-800000-people-in-the-us-have-died-from-covid-19-to-close-out-year-filled-with-death/feed/ 0 Reaction to Bob Dole’s death from US dignitaries, veterans https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/reaction-to-bob-doles-death-from-us-dignitaries-veterans/ https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/reaction-to-bob-doles-death-from-us-dignitaries-veterans/#respond Sun, 05 Dec 2021 23:17:18 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=124034

bob Dole was the kind of politician you'll have a hard time finding in Washington these days. Much of the country only saw the cartoon image. Hatchet man. Senator Dole has richly earned his reputation as a hatchet man tonight. Sharp tongue partisan Dubai used election promise from my opponent, pundits who didn't know better labeled him mean spirited, but the man wasn't defined by grouchiness or gridlock in the Senate, where he spent the bulk of his political life. Dole became a master at forging compromise, working with democrats to cobble together bills that left the country better off a food stamp bill with George, McGovern. The americans with disabilities act with tom Harkin Social Security reform with Daniel Patrick Moynihan. And some might find this surprising given the view that Congress has been my life, but that is not so with all due respect to congress, America has been my life. He also was a driving force behind Washington's magnificent World War Two Memorial. I've sort of become the unofficial greeter. I try to greet every group. I can't explain the emotion and what it means to one of these 85 90 95 year old veterans who get a chance to touch and feel of World War Two Memorial. It's part of the best thing that's happened to him in years and they're going to remember the rest of their lives. Dole was one of those young Americans who went off to the war on a hillside in Italy and explosions severely damaged his shoulder and spinal cord dole spent 39 months in hospitals hovering near death more than once. First, I didn't think it was fair then. I looked around in the next bed and they were taking somebody away who passed away or somebody had lost both legs had done something else. I didn't feel so sorry for myself. His right hand remained virtually useless for the rest of his life. His mind, however, was fine Voters in his home state of Kansas, cental to Washington for five terms, where he thrived becoming a Republican leader in the Senate. He was President Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976 and ran for president in 1980 and 1988. Finally winning the Republican nomination in 1996. William Jefferson Clinton has a job for four more years. It didn't work out. There's a lot more fun. Winning, it hurts to lose an election but stay involved and keep fighting the good fight. A 45 year political career was over. Dole moved on with Grace. Great senator bob dole. After the bitter 2016 primaries, Dole was the only former Republican presidential nominee to attend the convention that nominated Donald Trump. He poignantly saluted the casket of fellow Republican, but frequent rival George Bush. And to the end, Dole kept the trademark humor, so familiar to those who knew him and so surprising to those who did not. We always tried to have a little fun. My view is that it's not any fun. It's not worth doing. You look at your life and on reflection. I think success and failure are not opposites, it's just part of your life.

Reaction to Bob Dole's death from US dignitaries, veterans


U.S. dignitaries and military veterans are mourning former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a World War II veteran and former Republican presidential candidate who served in Congress for 36 years. Dole, who had stage 4 lung cancer, died Sunday at age 98, according to his wife, Elizabeth.___ "Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves. I will miss my friend. But I am grateful for the times we shared, and for the friendship Jill and I and our family have built with Liddy and the entire Dole family. ... He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. May God bless him, and may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism for all time." — President Joe Biden, who served with Dole in the Senate.___"Laura and I are saddened by the passing of a great patriot, Senator Bob Dole. This good man represented the finest of American values. He defended them in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend. Our entire family benefitted from that friendship, including my father. I will always remember Bob's salute to my late dad at the Capitol, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service." — Former President George W. Bush, speaking of Dole's tribute to former President George H.W. Bush.___"Bob Dole was an American war hero and true patriot for our Nation. He served the Great State of Kansas with honor and the Republican Party was made stronger by his service. Our Nation mourns his passing, and our prayers are with Elizabeth and his wonderful family." — Former President Donald Trump.___"Senator Bob Dole was a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman — with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party. Our thoughts are with Elizabeth and the Dole family." — Former President Barack Obama.___"Bob Dole dedicated his entire life to serving the American people, from his heroism in World War II to the 35 years he spent in Congress. After all he gave in the war, he didn't have to give more. But he did. His example should inspire people today and for generations to come." — Former President Bill Clinton.___"Whatever their politics, anyone who saw Bob Dole in action had to admire his character and his profound patriotism. Those of us who were lucky to know Bob well ourselves admired him even more. A bright light of patriotic good cheer burned all the way from Bob's teenage combat heroics through his whole career in Washington through the years since. It still shone brightly, undimmed, to his last days. Bob Dole lived the kind of full, rich, and deeply honorable American life that will be impossible for any tribute today to fully capture." — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.___"America has lost an iconic statesman and tireless veterans advocate. Bob Dole distinguished himself in combat long before becoming one of the most respected voices in Congress. His leadership and determination led to the construction and dedication of the National World War II Memorial. America is a better country as a result of this great patriot's service. The American Legion was proud to present Sen. Dole with our organization's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal in 1997. Our condolences to his wife, Elizabeth, his family and many friends." — American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard.___"Bob Dole was a giant of the Senate. I remember the large number of Republican and Democratic Senators gathering on the Floor to praise him when he stepped down from the Senate. Traveling with him, working with him and writing legislation with him are among my fondest memories of the Senate." — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the longest-serving sitting senator.___"From the battlefield to the United States Senate, he served our county with great integrity. He was a man of his word. As Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate, Senator Dole championed our men and women in uniform and the hidden heroes who care for them each day. ... From the Well of the House to the Floor of the Senate, from presidential candidate to elder statesman, he also never failed to raise his powerful voice on behalf of Americans living with disabilities. He was a force in enshrining essential protections into law with the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, and he served as an inspiration himself to millions. As we honor his life, let us resolve to live up to his challenge and carry on his mission." — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.___ "Over the last several years, I was fortunate to get to spend several Saturdays a year with Senator Dole. He made it his mission to greet fellow World War II veterans in Washington, D.C., when they came to visit the World War II Memorial, a memorial that Senator Dole helped make a reality. When Rhode Island veterans would come to Washington on Honor Flights, one of their true highlights was seeing Senator Dole. He was there to confer respect and honor upon others, and it was truly a privilege to be there at his side and see veterans and caregivers alike light up and connect with him. Senator Dole was both a great listener and storyteller and he always made sure our veterans knew: This is their memorial. It belongs to them." — Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.___"When I was at recovering at Walter Reed, Bob Dole was a patient too. He was 81 years old then, and he had his own private room, but he always did his rehab with the rest of us — cracking jokes and sharing stories about his Army days. I'll always remember how that proud Veteran from an earlier generation took the time — during some of the most difficult moments of my life — to interact with us younger Soldiers, helping us recover from both our physical and psychological wounds. ... He was a true statesman and model of the Greatest Generation who never failed to answer the call to serve." — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq.___"Senator Dole was many things -- a war hero, a father, a husband, a public servant; and to Kansans, a man who embodied everything good and decent about Kansas and about America. ... He was a larger-than-life presence in our nation's politics and demonstrated a decency, a humility, and a civility that should serve as a model for those of us in public life." — Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kan.___"As a public servant, private citizen, and true patriot, Senator Bob Dole showed total dedication to the American experiment and its deepest ideals, answering liberty's call at every turn. A combat hero, champion for those with disabilities, congressional leader from Kansas, and presidential candidate, Dole served this nation for 79 years. He lived a life of heroism and humor, courage and consequence, leadership and legacy that every American should strive for." — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

U.S. dignitaries and military veterans are mourning former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a World War II veteran and former Republican presidential candidate who served in Congress for 36 years. Dole, who had stage 4 lung cancer, died Sunday at age 98, according to his wife, Elizabeth.

___

"Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves. I will miss my friend. But I am grateful for the times we shared, and for the friendship Jill and I and our family have built with Liddy and the entire Dole family. ... He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. May God bless him, and may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism for all time." — President Joe Biden, who served with Dole in the Senate.

___

"Laura and I are saddened by the passing of a great patriot, Senator Bob Dole. This good man represented the finest of American values. He defended them in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend. Our entire family benefitted from that friendship, including my father. I will always remember Bob's salute to my late dad at the Capitol, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service." — Former President George W. Bush, speaking of Dole's tribute to former President George H.W. Bush.

___

"Bob Dole was an American war hero and true patriot for our Nation. He served the Great State of Kansas with honor and the Republican Party was made stronger by his service. Our Nation mourns his passing, and our prayers are with Elizabeth and his wonderful family." — Former President Donald Trump.

___

"Senator Bob Dole was a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman — with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party. Our thoughts are with Elizabeth and the Dole family." — Former President Barack Obama.

___

"Bob Dole dedicated his entire life to serving the American people, from his heroism in World War II to the 35 years he spent in Congress. After all he gave in the war, he didn't have to give more. But he did. His example should inspire people today and for generations to come." — Former President Bill Clinton.

___

"Whatever their politics, anyone who saw Bob Dole in action had to admire his character and his profound patriotism. Those of us who were lucky to know Bob well ourselves admired him even more. A bright light of patriotic good cheer burned all the way from Bob's teenage combat heroics through his whole career in Washington through the years since. It still shone brightly, undimmed, to his last days. Bob Dole lived the kind of full, rich, and deeply honorable American life that will be impossible for any tribute today to fully capture." — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

___

"America has lost an iconic statesman and tireless veterans advocate. Bob Dole distinguished himself in combat long before becoming one of the most respected voices in Congress. His leadership and determination led to the construction and dedication of the National World War II Memorial. America is a better country as a result of this great patriot's service. The American Legion was proud to present Sen. Dole with our organization's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal in 1997. Our condolences to his wife, Elizabeth, his family and many friends." — American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard.

___

"Bob Dole was a giant of the Senate. I remember the large number of Republican and Democratic Senators gathering on the Floor to praise him when he stepped down from the Senate. Traveling with him, working with him and writing legislation with him are among my fondest memories of the Senate." — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the longest-serving sitting senator.

___

"From the battlefield to the United States Senate, he served our county with great integrity. He was a man of his word. As Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate, Senator Dole championed our men and women in uniform and the hidden heroes who care for them each day. ... From the Well of the House to the Floor of the Senate, from presidential candidate to elder statesman, he also never failed to raise his powerful voice on behalf of Americans living with disabilities. He was a force in enshrining essential protections into law with the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, and he served as an inspiration himself to millions. As we honor his life, let us resolve to live up to his challenge and carry on his mission." — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

___

"Over the last several years, I was fortunate to get to spend several Saturdays a year with Senator Dole. He made it his mission to greet fellow World War II veterans in Washington, D.C., when they came to visit the World War II Memorial, a memorial that Senator Dole helped make a reality. When Rhode Island veterans would come to Washington on Honor Flights, one of their true highlights was seeing Senator Dole. He was there to confer respect and honor upon others, and it was truly a privilege to be there at his side and see veterans and caregivers alike light up and connect with him. Senator Dole was both a great listener and storyteller and he always made sure our veterans knew: This is their memorial. It belongs to them." — Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

___

"When I was at recovering at Walter Reed, Bob Dole was a patient too. He was 81 years old then, and he had his own private room, but he always did his rehab with the rest of us — cracking jokes and sharing stories about his Army days. I'll always remember how that proud Veteran from an earlier generation took the time — during some of the most difficult moments of my life — to interact with us younger Soldiers, helping us recover from both our physical and psychological wounds. ... He was a true statesman and model of the Greatest Generation who never failed to answer the call to serve." — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq.

___

"Senator Dole was many things -- a war hero, a father, a husband, a public servant; and to Kansans, a man who embodied everything good and decent about Kansas and about America. ... He was a larger-than-life presence in our nation's politics and demonstrated a decency, a humility, and a civility that should serve as a model for those of us in public life." — Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kan.

___

"As a public servant, private citizen, and true patriot, Senator Bob Dole showed total dedication to the American experiment and its deepest ideals, answering liberty's call at every turn. A combat hero, champion for those with disabilities, congressional leader from Kansas, and presidential candidate, Dole served this nation for 79 years. He lived a life of heroism and humor, courage and consequence, leadership and legacy that every American should strive for." — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/reaction-to-bob-doles-death-from-us-dignitaries-veterans/feed/ 0 Racism plagues US military academies despite diversity gains https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/racism-plagues-us-military-academies-despite-diversity-gains/ https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/racism-plagues-us-military-academies-despite-diversity-gains/#respond Sun, 05 Dec 2021 21:37:08 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=124009

Eight years after he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Geoffrey Easterling remains astonished by the Confederate history still memorialized on the storied academy's campus – the six-foot-tall painting of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the library, the barracks dormitory named for Lee and the Lee Gate on Lee Road.As a Black student at the Army academy, he remembers feeling "devastated" when a classmate pointed out the slave also depicted in the Lee painting. "How did the only Black person who got on a wall in this entire humongous school — how is it a slave?" he recalls thinking.As a diversity admissions officer, he later traveled the country recruiting students to West Point from underrepresented communities. "It was so hard to tell people like, 'Yeah, you can trust the military,' and then their kids Google and go 'Why is there a barracks named after Lee?'" he said.The nation's military academies provide a key pipeline into the leadership of the armed services and, for the better part of the last decade, they have welcomed more racially diverse students each year. But beyond blanket anti-discrimination policies, these federally funded institutions volunteer little about how they screen for extremist or hateful behavior, or address the racial slights that some graduates of color say they faced daily.In an Associated Press story earlier this year, current and former enlistees and officers in nearly every branch of the armed services described a deep-rooted culture of racism and discrimination that stubbornly festers, despite repeated efforts to eradicate it. Less attention has been paid to the premiere institutions that produce a significant portion of the services' officer corps – the academies of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine.Some graduates of color from the nation's top military schools who endured what they describe as a hostile environment are left questioning the military maxim that all service members wearing the same uniform are equal.That includes Carlton Shelley II, who was recruited to play football for West Point from his Sarasota, Florida, high school and entered the academy in 2009. On the field, he described the team as "a brotherhood," where his skin color didn't matter. But off the field, he said, he and other Black classmates too often were treated like the stereotype of the angry Black man.Some students of color have spotlighted what they see as systemic discrimination at the academies by creating Instagram accounts — "Black at West Point," "Black at USAFA" and "Black at USNA" — to relate their personal experiences.In response to the AP's findings, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, Maj. Charlie Dietz, said the academies make it a policy to offer equal opportunities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. He said the DOD formed a team in April to advance progress on diversity, equity and inclusion across the entire department, including the academies.The latest annual defense spending bill mandated that the Defense Department survey all its military properties for references or symbols that potentially commemorate the Confederacy, including at West Point, which the commission overseeing the work picked as its first site to visit earlier this year. But the deadline to act on any recommendations is still more than two years away.Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked global protests, a group of West Point alums released a 40-page letter urging the academy to address "major failures" in combatting intolerance and racism, adding "we hold fast to the hope that our Alma Mater will take the necessary steps to champion the values it espouses."Shelley said the academy has significant work to do to retain and support students of color. In his class, he estimated about 35 Black students graduated — "some crazy low number," he said. "And we started with a lot more."West Point did not respond to repeated requests for comment, beyond reiterating the importance of diversity to its admissions process.The academies are a growing pathway to officer status for Black cadets, 2019 data from the Under Secretary of Defense shows, with about 13% of Black active-duty officers commissioned through the five institutions, compared to 19% of white active-duty officers.Most students who enroll — about 60-70% — are nominated by U.S. senators or representatives from their home states as part of a system created in the 1840s to build a geographically diverse officer corps. But today, the country's changed demographics mean the system gives disproportionate influence to rural congressional districts that tend to be whiter.Only 6% of nominations to the Army, Air Force and Naval academies made by the current members of Congress went to Black candidates, even though 15% of the population aged 18 to 24 is Black, according to a March report by the Connecticut Veterans' Legal Center. Eight percent of congressional nominations went to Hispanic students, though they make up 22% of young adults, the report said.The diversity of nominations has improved slightly in the past 25 years, but the report noted that 49 Congress members did not nominate a single Black student while in office and 31 nominated no Hispanic candidates.Curtis Harris said he was awarded one of just three nominations to West Point out of more than 300 applications to his congressman. Now, he helps review applications for a New York Congressman and visits schools to encourage young candidates of diverse backgrounds to apply.Diversifying West Point is "not going to happen by itself," he said. According to data supplied to the AP by the four schools, the Naval, Air Force, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard academies have generally become less white over the past two decades. West Point did not provide full data, but said it is increasingly welcoming diverse students, with 37% of the class of 2024 identifying as nonwhite, compared to about 25% a decade ago.While the number of Hispanic cadets increased in the past two decades at the Coast Guard and Naval academies, Black cadets showed no noticeable increase during that time. In the class of 2000, there were 73 Black midshipmen in the Naval Academy and just 77 in 2020. At the Coast Guard Academy, there were 15 Black cadets in the 2001 class. And in 2021? Merely 16.Two of the five academies -- West Point and the Air Force Academy -- now have their first Black leaders. But Easterling, the West Point graduate, noted that the faculty there remains mostly white, meaning students who "don't see themselves, and don't want to stay" can find it hard to ask for help. Greg Elliott said he often found himself in trouble while at the Merchant Marine Academy and was asked to leave without graduating. He said he didn't face overt racism, but wonders if a more diverse faculty and student body could have changed his course by making him feel he belonged.He recalls a fellow Black alum telling him to just plow through with his head down and realize the academy was "a terrible place to be at, but it's a great place to be from."___AP writers James LaPorta in Miami and Kat Stafford in Detroit and data intern Jasen Lo in Chicago contributed to this story.Wieffering is a Roy W. Howard Investigative Fellow.

Eight years after he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Geoffrey Easterling remains astonished by the Confederate history still memorialized on the storied academy's campus – the six-foot-tall painting of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the library, the barracks dormitory named for Lee and the Lee Gate on Lee Road.

As a Black student at the Army academy, he remembers feeling "devastated" when a classmate pointed out the slave also depicted in the Lee painting. "How did the only Black person who got on a wall in this entire humongous school — how is it a slave?" he recalls thinking.

As a diversity admissions officer, he later traveled the country recruiting students to West Point from underrepresented communities. "It was so hard to tell people like, 'Yeah, you can trust the military,' and then their kids Google and go 'Why is there a barracks named after Lee?'" he said.

The nation's military academies provide a key pipeline into the leadership of the armed services and, for the better part of the last decade, they have welcomed more racially diverse students each year. But beyond blanket anti-discrimination policies, these federally funded institutions volunteer little about how they screen for extremist or hateful behavior, or address the racial slights that some graduates of color say they faced daily.

In an Associated Press story earlier this year, current and former enlistees and officers in nearly every branch of the armed services described a deep-rooted culture of racism and discrimination that stubbornly festers, despite repeated efforts to eradicate it. Less attention has been paid to the premiere institutions that produce a significant portion of the services' officer corps – the academies of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine.

Some graduates of color from the nation's top military schools who endured what they describe as a hostile environment are left questioning the military maxim that all service members wearing the same uniform are equal.

That includes Carlton Shelley II, who was recruited to play football for West Point from his Sarasota, Florida, high school and entered the academy in 2009. On the field, he described the team as "a brotherhood," where his skin color didn't matter. But off the field, he said, he and other Black classmates too often were treated like the stereotype of the angry Black man.

Some students of color have spotlighted what they see as systemic discrimination at the academies by creating Instagram accounts — "Black at West Point," "Black at USAFA" and "Black at USNA" — to relate their personal experiences.

In response to the AP's findings, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, Maj. Charlie Dietz, said the academies make it a policy to offer equal opportunities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. He said the DOD formed a team in April to advance progress on diversity, equity and inclusion across the entire department, including the academies.

The latest annual defense spending bill mandated that the Defense Department survey all its military properties for references or symbols that potentially commemorate the Confederacy, including at West Point, which the commission overseeing the work picked as its first site to visit earlier this year. But the deadline to act on any recommendations is still more than two years away.

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked global protests, a group of West Point alums released a 40-page letter urging the academy to address "major failures" in combatting intolerance and racism, adding "we hold fast to the hope that our Alma Mater will take the necessary steps to champion the values it espouses."

Shelley said the academy has significant work to do to retain and support students of color. In his class, he estimated about 35 Black students graduated — "some crazy low number," he said. "And we started with a lot more."

West Point did not respond to repeated requests for comment, beyond reiterating the importance of diversity to its admissions process.

The academies are a growing pathway to officer status for Black cadets, 2019 data from the Under Secretary of Defense shows, with about 13% of Black active-duty officers commissioned through the five institutions, compared to 19% of white active-duty officers.

Most students who enroll — about 60-70% — are nominated by U.S. senators or representatives from their home states as part of a system created in the 1840s to build a geographically diverse officer corps. But today, the country's changed demographics mean the system gives disproportionate influence to rural congressional districts that tend to be whiter.

Only 6% of nominations to the Army, Air Force and Naval academies made by the current members of Congress went to Black candidates, even though 15% of the population aged 18 to 24 is Black, according to a March report by the Connecticut Veterans' Legal Center. Eight percent of congressional nominations went to Hispanic students, though they make up 22% of young adults, the report said.

The diversity of nominations has improved slightly in the past 25 years, but the report noted that 49 Congress members did not nominate a single Black student while in office and 31 nominated no Hispanic candidates.

Curtis Harris said he was awarded one of just three nominations to West Point out of more than 300 applications to his congressman. Now, he helps review applications for a New York Congressman and visits schools to encourage young candidates of diverse backgrounds to apply.

Diversifying West Point is "not going to happen by itself," he said.

According to data supplied to the AP by the four schools, the Naval, Air Force, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard academies have generally become less white over the past two decades. West Point did not provide full data, but said it is increasingly welcoming diverse students, with 37% of the class of 2024 identifying as nonwhite, compared to about 25% a decade ago.

While the number of Hispanic cadets increased in the past two decades at the Coast Guard and Naval academies, Black cadets showed no noticeable increase during that time. In the class of 2000, there were 73 Black midshipmen in the Naval Academy and just 77 in 2020. At the Coast Guard Academy, there were 15 Black cadets in the 2001 class. And in 2021? Merely 16.

Two of the five academies -- West Point and the Air Force Academy -- now have their first Black leaders. But Easterling, the West Point graduate, noted that the faculty there remains mostly white, meaning students who "don't see themselves, and don't want to stay" can find it hard to ask for help.

Greg Elliott said he often found himself in trouble while at the Merchant Marine Academy and was asked to leave without graduating. He said he didn't face overt racism, but wonders if a more diverse faculty and student body could have changed his course by making him feel he belonged.

He recalls a fellow Black alum telling him to just plow through with his head down and realize the academy was "a terrible place to be at, but it's a great place to be from."

___

AP writers James LaPorta in Miami and Kat Stafford in Detroit and data intern Jasen Lo in Chicago contributed to this story.

Wieffering is a Roy W. Howard Investigative Fellow.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/12/05/racism-plagues-us-military-academies-despite-diversity-gains/feed/ 0 President Trump threatens to torpedo COVID-19 relief with new demands https://cincylink.com/2021/10/12/president-trump-threatens-to-torpedo-covid-19-relief-with-new-demands/ https://cincylink.com/2021/10/12/president-trump-threatens-to-torpedo-covid-19-relief-with-new-demands/#respond Tue, 12 Oct 2021 04:58:38 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=23577

President Donald Trump late Tuesday threatened to torpedo Congress' massive COVID-19 relief package in the midst of a raging pandemic and deep economic uncertainty, suddenly demanding changes fellow Republicans have opposed.Trump assailed the bipartisan $900 billion package in a video he tweeted out Tuesday night and suggested he may not sign the legislation. He called on lawmakers to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump in a Wednesday tweet to “sign the bill to keep government open!”Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues “the entire country knows that it is urgent for the President to sign this bill.”The final text of the more than 5,000-page bill was still being prepared by Congress and was not expected to be sent to the White House for Trump's signature before Thursday or Friday, an aide said.Following Trump’s threat, Pelosi all but dared his Republican allies in Congress to meet the demand for far higher direct payments. She said she would offer the proposal for a vote on Thursday. But it would be offered under a procedure that allows just one lawmaker to block a vote and during a so-called pro forma session, with few lawmakers expected to attend.Republicans complain Trump's proposal costs too much, but have not said if they will block it.Railing against a range of provisions in the bill, including for foreign aid, he told lawmakers to "get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill."Trump did not specifically vow to veto the bill, and there may be enough support for legislation in Congress to override him if he does. But if Trump were to upend the sprawling legislation, the consequences would be severe, including no federal aid to struggling Americans and small businesses, and no additional resources to help with vaccine distribution. In addition, because lawmakers linked the pandemic relief bill to an overarching funding measure, the government would shut down on Dec. 29. The relief package was part of a hard-fought compromise bill that includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems, an increase in food stamp benefits and about $4 billion to help other nations provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their people.Lawmakers spent months in a stalemate over pandemic relief funds, even as COVID-19 cases soared across the country. Democrats had pushed for higher payments to Americans, but compromised with Republicans to allow a deal to proceed. "At last, the President has agreed to $2,000. Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!," Pelosi said in an earlier tweet.Republicans have been reluctant to spend more on pandemic relief and only agreed to the big year-end package as time dwindled for a final deal. And Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said that "Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open," and Congress would step up for more aid after.Trump's call for changes to the legislation will test his sway with a Republican Party he has held tight control of throughout his presidency. Several Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have begun to gingerly break with Trump and acknowledge his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, a step Trump has refused to take. McConnell has also warned Republicans against disputing the election on Jan. 6, when Congress must formally affirm the results.Shortly after castigating the relief bill, Trump challenged McConnell and Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican who has also said any effort to overturn Biden's victory would be futile. Trump said he would back a primary challenge to Thune when he is up for reelection in 2022. Trump's threats to hold up the pandemic legislation could also complicate matters for Republicans in Georgia, where two runoff races to determine control of the Senate will be held in January. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have been running as ardent supporters of Trump and will now face questions about whether they will back his call for more money for Americans. Jon Ossoff, Perdue's Democratic opponent, tweeted simply on Tuesday night: "$2,000 checks now."The relief package was brought forward Monday afternoon and sped through the House and Senate in a matter of hours as lawmakers worked to close the books on the year. While many lawmakers complained about being given so little time to read the bill, they overwhelmingly voted for it as local businesses and constituents seek economic relief from the pandemicThe Senate cleared the huge relief package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by another lopsided vote, 359-53. Those votes totals would be enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.After months of partisanship and politicking about pandemic relief, the logjam broke after Biden urged his party to accept a compromise with top Republicans that is smaller than many Democrats would have liked.The relief bill Trump is criticizing would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction. Earlier in the day, Biden applauded lawmakers for their work. He described the package as far from perfect, "but it does provide vital relief at a critical time."He also said more relief would be needed in the months ahead. "We have our first hint and glimpse of bipartisanship," Biden said. "In this election, the American people made it clear they want us to reach across the aisle and work together."

President Donald Trump late Tuesday threatened to torpedo Congress' massive COVID-19 relief package in the midst of a raging pandemic and deep economic uncertainty, suddenly demanding changes fellow Republicans have opposed.

Trump assailed the bipartisan $900 billion package in a video he tweeted out Tuesday night and suggested he may not sign the legislation. He called on lawmakers to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump in a Wednesday tweet to “sign the bill to keep government open!”

Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues “the entire country knows that it is urgent for the President to sign this bill.”

The final text of the more than 5,000-page bill was still being prepared by Congress and was not expected to be sent to the White House for Trump's signature before Thursday or Friday, an aide said.

Following Trump’s threat, Pelosi all but dared his Republican allies in Congress to meet the demand for far higher direct payments. She said she would offer the proposal for a vote on Thursday. But it would be offered under a procedure that allows just one lawmaker to block a vote and during a so-called pro forma session, with few lawmakers expected to attend.

Republicans complain Trump's proposal costs too much, but have not said if they will block it.

Railing against a range of provisions in the bill, including for foreign aid, he told lawmakers to "get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill."

Trump did not specifically vow to veto the bill, and there may be enough support for legislation in Congress to override him if he does. But if Trump were to upend the sprawling legislation, the consequences would be severe, including no federal aid to struggling Americans and small businesses, and no additional resources to help with vaccine distribution. In addition, because lawmakers linked the pandemic relief bill to an overarching funding measure, the government would shut down on Dec. 29.

The relief package was part of a hard-fought compromise bill that includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems, an increase in food stamp benefits and about $4 billion to help other nations provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their people.

Lawmakers spent months in a stalemate over pandemic relief funds, even as COVID-19 cases soared across the country. Democrats had pushed for higher payments to Americans, but compromised with Republicans to allow a deal to proceed.

"At last, the President has agreed to $2,000. Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!," Pelosi said in an earlier tweet.

Republicans have been reluctant to spend more on pandemic relief and only agreed to the big year-end package as time dwindled for a final deal. And Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said that "Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open," and Congress would step up for more aid after.

Trump's call for changes to the legislation will test his sway with a Republican Party he has held tight control of throughout his presidency. Several Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have begun to gingerly break with Trump and acknowledge his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, a step Trump has refused to take. McConnell has also warned Republicans against disputing the election on Jan. 6, when Congress must formally affirm the results.

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Shortly after castigating the relief bill, Trump challenged McConnell and Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican who has also said any effort to overturn Biden's victory would be futile. Trump said he would back a primary challenge to Thune when he is up for reelection in 2022.

Trump's threats to hold up the pandemic legislation could also complicate matters for Republicans in Georgia, where two runoff races to determine control of the Senate will be held in January. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have been running as ardent supporters of Trump and will now face questions about whether they will back his call for more money for Americans.

Jon Ossoff, Perdue's Democratic opponent, tweeted simply on Tuesday night: "$2,000 checks now."

The relief package was brought forward Monday afternoon and sped through the House and Senate in a matter of hours as lawmakers worked to close the books on the year. While many lawmakers complained about being given so little time to read the bill, they overwhelmingly voted for it as local businesses and constituents seek economic relief from the pandemic

The Senate cleared the huge relief package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by another lopsided vote, 359-53. Those votes totals would be enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.

After months of partisanship and politicking about pandemic relief, the logjam broke after Biden urged his party to accept a compromise with top Republicans that is smaller than many Democrats would have liked.

The relief bill Trump is criticizing would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.

Earlier in the day, Biden applauded lawmakers for their work. He described the package as far from perfect, "but it does provide vital relief at a critical time."

He also said more relief would be needed in the months ahead. "We have our first hint and glimpse of bipartisanship," Biden said. "In this election, the American people made it clear they want us to reach across the aisle and work together."


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/10/12/president-trump-threatens-to-torpedo-covid-19-relief-with-new-demands/feed/ 0 Judge rejects $28.5 million proposed bail package for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell https://cincylink.com/2021/10/06/judge-rejects-28-5-million-proposed-bail-package-for-jeffrey-epstein-associate-ghislaine-maxwell/ https://cincylink.com/2021/10/06/judge-rejects-28-5-million-proposed-bail-package-for-jeffrey-epstein-associate-ghislaine-maxwell/#respond Wed, 06 Oct 2021 05:18:31 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=24696

A judge on Monday rejected a $28.5 million proposed bail package for Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, saying her incarceration is necessary to ensure she faces trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan rejected the proposed bail for Ghislaine Maxwell in an order. But she did not immediately release an opinion explaining her reasoning, in order to allow defense lawyers and prosecutors to propose redactions.Defense lawyers for Maxwell, who had lost a bail request shortly after her July arrest, recently offered the new bail package, saying Maxwell and her husband were offering all of their wealth — $22.5 million — and millions more in the assets of friends and family to secure bail. Maxwell's husband has not been publicly identified.Her attorneys said Maxwell would remain in a New York City residence under 24-hour guard and would submit to electronic monitoring if the judge accepted the bail package.A message seeking comment was sent to Maxwell's lawyers after Nathan ruled.Prosecutors said Maxwell still retained access to significant wealth and was a high risk to flee because of her connections abroad — in addition to U.S. citizenship, she holds citizenship in the her native United Kingdom and France.Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July at a secluded New Hampshire home and was brought to New York City.She was charged with recruiting three teenagers as young as age 14 for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She also was accused of sometimes participating in the abuse. She pleaded not guilty to an indictment.She has remained at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after Nathan concluded shortly after her arrest that there were no bail conditions that would ensure she would not flee."For substantially the same reasons as the Court determined that detention was warranted in the initial bail hearing, the Court again concludes that no conditions of release can reasonably assure the Defendant's appearance at future proceedings," Nathan wrote Monday."In reaching that conclusion, the Court considers the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged, the weight of the evidence against the Defendant, the history and characteristics of the Defendant, and the nature and seriousness of the danger that the Defendant's release would pose," the judge added.Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a Manhattan federal jail as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.

NEW YORK —

A judge on Monday rejected a $28.5 million proposed bail package for Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, saying her incarceration is necessary to ensure she faces trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for the late financier to sexually abuse.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan rejected the proposed bail for Ghislaine Maxwell in an order. But she did not immediately release an opinion explaining her reasoning, in order to allow defense lawyers and prosecutors to propose redactions.

Defense lawyers for Maxwell, who had lost a bail request shortly after her July arrest, recently offered the new bail package, saying Maxwell and her husband were offering all of their wealth — $22.5 million — and millions more in the assets of friends and family to secure bail. Maxwell's husband has not been publicly identified.

Her attorneys said Maxwell would remain in a New York City residence under 24-hour guard and would submit to electronic monitoring if the judge accepted the bail package.

A message seeking comment was sent to Maxwell's lawyers after Nathan ruled.

In this July 2, 2020, file photo, Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York.

John Minchillo / AP File Photo

In this July 2, 2020, file photo, Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York.

Prosecutors said Maxwell still retained access to significant wealth and was a high risk to flee because of her connections abroad — in addition to U.S. citizenship, she holds citizenship in the her native United Kingdom and France.

Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July at a secluded New Hampshire home and was brought to New York City.

She was charged with recruiting three teenagers as young as age 14 for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She also was accused of sometimes participating in the abuse. She pleaded not guilty to an indictment.

She has remained at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after Nathan concluded shortly after her arrest that there were no bail conditions that would ensure she would not flee.

"For substantially the same reasons as the Court determined that detention was warranted in the initial bail hearing, the Court again concludes that no conditions of release can reasonably assure the Defendant's appearance at future proceedings," Nathan wrote Monday.

"In reaching that conclusion, the Court considers the nature and circumstances of the offenses charged, the weight of the evidence against the Defendant, the history and characteristics of the Defendant, and the nature and seriousness of the danger that the Defendant's release would pose," the judge added.

Epstein killed himself in August 2019 at a Manhattan federal jail as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/10/06/judge-rejects-28-5-million-proposed-bail-package-for-jeffrey-epstein-associate-ghislaine-maxwell/feed/ 0 They were experts in viruses. Now they’ve found themselves in the pitfalls of fame https://cincylink.com/2021/09/30/they-were-experts-in-viruses-now-theyve-found-themselves-in-the-pitfalls-of-fame/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/30/they-were-experts-in-viruses-now-theyve-found-themselves-in-the-pitfalls-of-fame/#respond Thu, 30 Sep 2021 05:19:26 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=25768

Related video above: Dr. Fauci says vaccines may bring normality by end of 2021Dr. Ashish Jha started 2020 thousands of miles from home, taking a sabbatical in Europe from his academic post at Harvard. Then the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the U.S.Jha, an expert on pandemic preparedness, returned to Massachusetts, and his blunt talk on the unfolding disaster was soon hard to miss on national news and social media.Jha estimates his office fielded more than 100 media requests a day at its peak. He went from a few hundred Twitter followers pre-pandemic to more than 130,000 by December."For me, the purpose of doing this was to fill a void and make sure people received credible scientific information," said Jha, who recently became dean of Brown University's School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. "I thought it would go for a week or two, but the demand never really let up."In another time, experts like Jha would have enjoyed the quiet esteem, respect and relative obscurity afforded by academia. But for better or worse, the coronavirus pandemic thrust virologists, epidemiologists and other normally low-profile scientists into the pop culture crucible.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, has been the unquestionable rock star among them. But a cadre of other scientists also rose to prominence over this past year. Many developed loyal social media followings and became regulars on the cable news circuit.For Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a Seattle-based virologist affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, her newfound notoriety hit home in July when she got into a Twitter debate with billionaire Elon Musk.Rasmussen, who was then at Columbia University, criticized the Tesla CEO's tweets questioning data on the spread of the virus. Musk, to her surprise, chimed in, challenging her to produce evidence supporting her arguments.Rasmussen tweeted back a series of graphs and other scientific data, which Musk dismissed as "cherry-picked." Twitter users following along slammed Musk for attempting to "mansplain" the pandemic to a virologist.Rasmussen, who has seen her Twitter followers explode from around 300 pre-pandemic to more than 180,000, said she'd like to avoid unnecessary Twitter beefs, which also included testy exchanges with "Dilbert" comic strip creator Scott Adams and his fans over the pandemic in recent months.But as the pandemic has worn on, she has become frustrated with the persistent misinformation from influential leaders and celebrities like Musk and Adams, and her strongly worded tweets show it."It's exhausting," Rasmussen said. "The same arguments keep coming back. It's like battling a hydra. Every time you cut one head off, another one grows back in place."Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, suggests it's an indictment of academia that misinformation and conspiracy theories thrive and that parts of American society remain deeply skeptical of true scientific work."Experts in these fields have ignored the importance of communication and bringing information to people in a way that is understandable and relatable for so long," Bristow said. "You have to put a face to something for people to be able to trust it."Bristow, 32, whose Instagram username is kinggutterbaby, has gained more than 300,000 followers posting videos answering people's questions and concerns about COVID-19.She credits her online popularity to her unfussy approach. She shoots her short videos speaking directly at the camera while sitting in her kitchen.It also helps, Bristow said, that her Instagram feed is filled with pictures of her posing with cuddly animals, riding motorcycles and other things from her daily life."Having people see me as a whole person helps remind them scientists are people with families too, and that the best interest of people is really at the heart of what we're doing," she said.Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiology professor at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, said she has sought interviews with conservative media outlets as a way to combat fear and misinformation, especially with the nationwide vaccine rollout underway."There's such a divide in society. I'd really like to reach the other side and make a difference," said Iwasaki, who was already a notable advocate of women in science and tech fields before the pandemic but has seen her Twitter following swell to more than 90,000 this year.Like other female scientists, she said that she has encountered frequent misogyny and "mansplaining," but that it has only made her more determined to continue speaking up."I have this platform, and I'm going to use it," said Iwasaki. "My priority is to get out the correct information, not respond to toxic comments."Jha, meanwhile, admitted he wasn't prepared for the level of racial animus his pandemic commentary has generated — a complaint shared by other scientists of color.A native of India who has lived in the U.S. since the 1980s, he said much of it is of the "go back to your country" variety that he simply shrugs off.But a gut check moment came in November, when Jha began receiving death threats after testifying before Congress and strongly rejecting assertions made by Trump and others that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could also protect people against COVID-19.Jha said the threats were concerning enough that he notified local police, who sent patrols past his family's Boston-area home as a precaution.Now, as 2021 dawns, he said he is looking forward to being less in the public glare.When President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Jha said, he expects federal government authorities will take their rightful role as the public face of the nation's pandemic response, after being diminished and undermined at critical times this year."That's who the American public needs to be hearing from more," he said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and experts like Fauci at other federal agencies. "I'm a poor substitute for what's needed."

Related video above: Dr. Fauci says vaccines may bring normality by end of 2021

Dr. Ashish Jha started 2020 thousands of miles from home, taking a sabbatical in Europe from his academic post at Harvard. Then the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the U.S.

Jha, an expert on pandemic preparedness, returned to Massachusetts, and his blunt talk on the unfolding disaster was soon hard to miss on national news and social media.

Jha estimates his office fielded more than 100 media requests a day at its peak. He went from a few hundred Twitter followers pre-pandemic to more than 130,000 by December.

"For me, the purpose of doing this was to fill a void and make sure people received credible scientific information," said Jha, who recently became dean of Brown University's School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. "I thought it would go for a week or two, but the demand never really let up."

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, stands for a portrait, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Newton, Mass.

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, stands for a portrait, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Newton, Mass.

In another time, experts like Jha would have enjoyed the quiet esteem, respect and relative obscurity afforded by academia. But for better or worse, the coronavirus pandemic thrust virologists, epidemiologists and other normally low-profile scientists into the pop culture crucible.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, has been the unquestionable rock star among them. But a cadre of other scientists also rose to prominence over this past year. Many developed loyal social media followings and became regulars on the cable news circuit.

For Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a Seattle-based virologist affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, her newfound notoriety hit home in July when she got into a Twitter debate with billionaire Elon Musk.

Rasmussen, who was then at Columbia University, criticized the Tesla CEO's tweets questioning data on the spread of the virus. Musk, to her surprise, chimed in, challenging her to produce evidence supporting her arguments.

Rasmussen tweeted back a series of graphs and other scientific data, which Musk dismissed as "cherry-picked." Twitter users following along slammed Musk for attempting to "mansplain" the pandemic to a virologist.

Rasmussen, who has seen her Twitter followers explode from around 300 pre-pandemic to more than 180,000, said she'd like to avoid unnecessary Twitter beefs, which also included testy exchanges with "Dilbert" comic strip creator Scott Adams and his fans over the pandemic in recent months.

Angela Rasmussen, a Seattle-based virus researcher affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., poses for a photo, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, at a school near her home in Seattle.

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

Angela Rasmussen, a Seattle-based virus researcher affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., poses for a photo, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, at a school near her home in Seattle.

But as the pandemic has worn on, she has become frustrated with the persistent misinformation from influential leaders and celebrities like Musk and Adams, and her strongly worded tweets show it.

"It's exhausting," Rasmussen said. "The same arguments keep coming back. It's like battling a hydra. Every time you cut one head off, another one grows back in place."

Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, suggests it's an indictment of academia that misinformation and conspiracy theories thrive and that parts of American society remain deeply skeptical of true scientific work.

"Experts in these fields have ignored the importance of communication and bringing information to people in a way that is understandable and relatable for so long," Bristow said. "You have to put a face to something for people to be able to trust it."

Bristow, 32, whose Instagram username is kinggutterbaby, has gained more than 300,000 followers posting videos answering people's questions and concerns about COVID-19.

She credits her online popularity to her unfussy approach. She shoots her short videos speaking directly at the camera while sitting in her kitchen.

Infectious disease researcher Laurel Bristow poses at Emory Midtown Hospital in Atlanta, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020.

John Bazemore / AP Photo

Infectious disease researcher Laurel Bristow poses at Emory Midtown Hospital in Atlanta, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020.

It also helps, Bristow said, that her Instagram feed is filled with pictures of her posing with cuddly animals, riding motorcycles and other things from her daily life.

"Having people see me as a whole person helps remind them scientists are people with families too, and that the best interest of people is really at the heart of what we're doing," she said.

Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiology professor at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, said she has sought interviews with conservative media outlets as a way to combat fear and misinformation, especially with the nationwide vaccine rollout underway.

"There's such a divide in society. I'd really like to reach the other side and make a difference," said Iwasaki, who was already a notable advocate of women in science and tech fields before the pandemic but has seen her Twitter following swell to more than 90,000 this year.

Like other female scientists, she said that she has encountered frequent misogyny and "mansplaining," but that it has only made her more determined to continue speaking up.

"I have this platform, and I'm going to use it," said Iwasaki. "My priority is to get out the correct information, not respond to toxic comments."

This Jan. 30, 2015, photo provided by Yale University shows Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at the school in New Haven, Conn.

Eddie Torres / Yale University via AP

This Jan. 30, 2015, photo provided by Yale University shows Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at the school in New Haven, Conn.

Jha, meanwhile, admitted he wasn't prepared for the level of racial animus his pandemic commentary has generated — a complaint shared by other scientists of color.

A native of India who has lived in the U.S. since the 1980s, he said much of it is of the "go back to your country" variety that he simply shrugs off.

But a gut check moment came in November, when Jha began receiving death threats after testifying before Congress and strongly rejecting assertions made by Trump and others that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could also protect people against COVID-19.

Jha said the threats were concerning enough that he notified local police, who sent patrols past his family's Boston-area home as a precaution.

Now, as 2021 dawns, he said he is looking forward to being less in the public glare.

When President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Jha said, he expects federal government authorities will take their rightful role as the public face of the nation's pandemic response, after being diminished and undermined at critical times this year.

"That's who the American public needs to be hearing from more," he said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and experts like Fauci at other federal agencies. "I'm a poor substitute for what's needed."


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/30/they-were-experts-in-viruses-now-theyve-found-themselves-in-the-pitfalls-of-fame/feed/ 0 Pelosi narrowly reelected as House speaker, faces difficult 2021 https://cincylink.com/2021/09/29/pelosi-narrowly-reelected-as-house-speaker-faces-difficult-2021/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/29/pelosi-narrowly-reelected-as-house-speaker-faces-difficult-2021/#respond Wed, 29 Sep 2021 04:58:50 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=26024

Nancy Pelosi was narrowly reelected Sunday as speaker, giving her the reins of Democrats' slender House majority as President-elect Joe Biden sets a challenging course of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic, revive the economy and address other party priorities.The California Democrat, who has led her party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, had been widely expected to retain her post. Pelosi received 216 votes to 209 for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who again will be the chamber's minority leader.To gain her victory, Pelosi had to overcome some Democratic grumbling about her longevity, a slim 222-211 edge over Republicans after November's elections, and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus. There were two vacancies in the 435-member House, and whatever happens Democrats will have the smallest House majority in two decades.The new Congress convened Sunday, just two days after lawmakers ended their contentious previous session and with COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and face coverings for House members. There was widespread mask-wearing and far fewer lawmakers and guests in the chamber than usual, an unimaginable tableau when the last Congress commenced two years ago, before the pandemic struck. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., formally nominated Pelosi for the job, calling her "a notorious negotiator and a legendary legislator for such a time as this." Jeffries, a member of House leadership who's expected to contend for the speakership whenever Pelosi steps aside, said that as Pelosi prepares to work with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, "Brighter days are ahead in the United States of America. This is the day of great renewal in the House of Representatives."To be reelected, Pelosi needed a majority of votes cast for specific candidates and could afford to lose only a handful of Democratic votes. House rules give her a bit of wiggle room because lawmakers who are absent or who vote "present" are not counted in the total number of those voting. Sunday's vote was expected to last perhaps three hours as lawmakers voted in groups of around 72 each to minimize exposure to the virus. With every vote at a premium, workers had constructed an enclosure in a balcony overlooking the House chamber so lawmakers exposed to or testing positive for the coronavirus could more safely vote. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, voted from there. Two Democrats who tested positive for the virus last month and say they have recovered voted for Pelosi from the House floor: Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore and Washington state Rep. Rick Larsen. In a positive sign for Pelosi, newly elected progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., voted for her. "Our country needs stability right now, and it's really important for the Democratic Party to come together," Bowman told a reporter. Pelosi won plaudits from many Democrats for two years of leading their opposition to President Donald Trump, largely keeping her party's moderates and progressives united on their joint goal of defeating him and raising mountains of campaign funds. No Democrat has stepped forward to challenge her, underscoring the perception that she would be all but impossible to topple.But Pelosi is 80 years old, and ambitious younger members continue chafing at the longtime hold she and other older top leaders have had on their jobs. Democrats were also angry and divided after an Election Day that many expected would to mean added House seats for the party but instead saw a dozen incumbents lose, without defeating a single GOP representative. Pelosi recently suggested anew that these would be her final two years as speaker, referencing a statement she made two years ago in which she said she would step aside after this period.The speaker's election was coming 17 days before Biden is inaugurated. Yet rather than a fresh start for him and Pelosi, there were issues and undercurrents that will be carrying over from Trump's tempestuous administration.Though Congress enacted — and Trump finally signed — a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package late last month, Biden and many Democrats say they consider that measure a down payment. They say more aid is needed to bolster efforts to vaccinate the public, curb the virus and restore jobs and businesses lost to the pandemic.Many Democrats, with the unlikely support of Trump, wanted to boost that bill's $600 per person direct payments to $2,000 but were blocked by Republicans. Democrats want additional money to help state and local governments struggling to maintain services and avoid layoffs. Biden's priorities also include efforts on health care and the environment. Guiding such legislation through the House will be a challenge for Pelosi because her party's narrow majority means just a handful of defectors could be fatal. In addition, cooperation with Republicans could be made more difficult as many in the GOP are continuing to demonstrate fealty to the divisive Trump, backing his unfounded claims that his reelection loss was tainted by fraud. Congress will meet Wednesday to officially affirm Biden's clear Electoral College victory over Trump. Many House and Senate Republicans say they will contest the validity of some of those votes, but their efforts that are certain to fail.There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country, as well as Trump's former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden's victory, have also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices.Meanwhile, it's not clear which party will control the Senate, which Republicans will hold unless Democrats win both Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday.In the House, one race in New York is still being decided and there is a vacancy in Louisiana after GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, 41, died after contracting COVID-19.

WASHINGTON —

Nancy Pelosi was narrowly reelected Sunday as speaker, giving her the reins of Democrats' slender House majority as President-elect Joe Biden sets a challenging course of producing legislation to tackle the pandemic, revive the economy and address other party priorities.

The California Democrat, who has led her party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, had been widely expected to retain her post. Pelosi received 216 votes to 209 for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who again will be the chamber's minority leader.

To gain her victory, Pelosi had to overcome some Democratic grumbling about her longevity, a slim 222-211 edge over Republicans after November's elections, and a handful of absences because of the coronavirus. There were two vacancies in the 435-member House, and whatever happens Democrats will have the smallest House majority in two decades.

The new Congress convened Sunday, just two days after lawmakers ended their contentious previous session and with COVID-19 guidelines requiring testing and face coverings for House members. There was widespread mask-wearing and far fewer lawmakers and guests in the chamber than usual, an unimaginable tableau when the last Congress commenced two years ago, before the pandemic struck.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., formally nominated Pelosi for the job, calling her "a notorious negotiator and a legendary legislator for such a time as this."

Jeffries, a member of House leadership who's expected to contend for the speakership whenever Pelosi steps aside, said that as Pelosi prepares to work with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, "Brighter days are ahead in the United States of America. This is the day of great renewal in the House of Representatives."

To be reelected, Pelosi needed a majority of votes cast for specific candidates and could afford to lose only a handful of Democratic votes. House rules give her a bit of wiggle room because lawmakers who are absent or who vote "present" are not counted in the total number of those voting.

Sunday's vote was expected to last perhaps three hours as lawmakers voted in groups of around 72 each to minimize exposure to the virus.

With every vote at a premium, workers had constructed an enclosure in a balcony overlooking the House chamber so lawmakers exposed to or testing positive for the coronavirus could more safely vote. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, voted from there.

Two Democrats who tested positive for the virus last month and say they have recovered voted for Pelosi from the House floor: Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore and Washington state Rep. Rick Larsen.

In a positive sign for Pelosi, newly elected progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., voted for her. "Our country needs stability right now, and it's really important for the Democratic Party to come together," Bowman told a reporter.

Pelosi won plaudits from many Democrats for two years of leading their opposition to President Donald Trump, largely keeping her party's moderates and progressives united on their joint goal of defeating him and raising mountains of campaign funds. No Democrat has stepped forward to challenge her, underscoring the perception that she would be all but impossible to topple.

But Pelosi is 80 years old, and ambitious younger members continue chafing at the longtime hold she and other older top leaders have had on their jobs. Democrats were also angry and divided after an Election Day that many expected would to mean added House seats for the party but instead saw a dozen incumbents lose, without defeating a single GOP representative.

Pelosi recently suggested anew that these would be her final two years as speaker, referencing a statement she made two years ago in which she said she would step aside after this period.

The speaker's election was coming 17 days before Biden is inaugurated. Yet rather than a fresh start for him and Pelosi, there were issues and undercurrents that will be carrying over from Trump's tempestuous administration.

Though Congress enacted — and Trump finally signed — a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package late last month, Biden and many Democrats say they consider that measure a down payment. They say more aid is needed to bolster efforts to vaccinate the public, curb the virus and restore jobs and businesses lost to the pandemic.

Many Democrats, with the unlikely support of Trump, wanted to boost that bill's $600 per person direct payments to $2,000 but were blocked by Republicans. Democrats want additional money to help state and local governments struggling to maintain services and avoid layoffs.

Biden's priorities also include efforts on health care and the environment.

Guiding such legislation through the House will be a challenge for Pelosi because her party's narrow majority means just a handful of defectors could be fatal.

In addition, cooperation with Republicans could be made more difficult as many in the GOP are continuing to demonstrate fealty to the divisive Trump, backing his unfounded claims that his reelection loss was tainted by fraud. Congress will meet Wednesday to officially affirm Biden's clear Electoral College victory over Trump. Many House and Senate Republicans say they will contest the validity of some of those votes, but their efforts that are certain to fail.

There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country, as well as Trump's former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden's victory, have also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-nominated justices.

Meanwhile, it's not clear which party will control the Senate, which Republicans will hold unless Democrats win both Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday.

In the House, one race in New York is still being decided and there is a vacancy in Louisiana after GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, 41, died after contracting COVID-19.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/29/pelosi-narrowly-reelected-as-house-speaker-faces-difficult-2021/feed/ 0 How will voting objections play out in Congress? https://cincylink.com/2021/09/26/how-will-voting-objections-play-out-in-congress/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/26/how-will-voting-objections-play-out-in-congress/#respond Sun, 26 Sep 2021 04:48:35 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=26507

On Wednesday, the latest extraordinary development in an extraordinary election will unfold.In a joint session of Congress designed as a ceremonial affirmation to President-elect Joe Biden's victory, some Republicans — but hardly all of them — are vowing to object to voting results in one or more states. Despite no evidence, they accuse the elections of being fraudulent.Though their actions — at least outwardly — are designed to aid President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, the efforts face near-certain failure even as they carve an even deeper divide in the American public sphere. Lisa Mascaro, congressional correspondent for The Associated Press, has been covering Congress since 2010 and is waist-deep in the current, extraordinary saga. Here, she breaks down exactly what's going to happen Wednesday — and why it is highly unlikely to change anything related to Biden's impending inauguration.___WHY WON'T IT WORK? This effort is all but certain to fail. The main reason is that there's a robust bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate to accept the results of the election as they've been certified by the states.So the challenge that's being mounted comes from about a dozen Republican senators — I think we're up to 13 now — and as many as 100 House Republicans. But there are a total of 535 members of Congress (minus a few vacancies). Those are the numbers. Democrats have the majority in the house. They will almost certainly agree with the results from the states that Biden won the election. Republicans are very split over this effort. Trump's efforts to challenge the results has splintered the party in ways we have not seen. The votes Wednesday will show that. This really is a time unlike any other in the Capitol.HOW DID WE GET HERE?Under the Constitution, the Electoral College is the way the votes are counted. Laws have been enacted to govern this process — and a joint session of Congress is sort of the final confirmation.We don't have a national election. The states confirm the results and the states determine the electors and then send that tally up to Washington. So the House and Senate will convene for this session at 1 p.m. — all the lawmakers gathered in the House chamber to confirm the election results. And that's that Joe Biden won. Even William Barr, Trump's attorney general until last month, has said he found no evidence of fraud on a wide scale that could change the outcome. The outcomes have been repeatedly certified by state officials.That said, a number of Republicans are taking the president's challenge and splitting the party on this issue.WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS CONVENES? There are about six states that the Republicans concerned about the elections want to challenge.What's going to happen is that results from the states will be brought in in envelopes, and Vice President Mike Pence will open them and read the tallies. As he does, any member can object. And some will. But for any challenge to have currency, it has to have a member of the House and a member of the Senate join in writing.Right now, we have only a few senators saying they will join any of this in writing. One of the first states to be challenged is expected to be Arizona. A number of House Republicans will challenge that. And Ted Cruz, a senator on the Republican side, has said he will challenge it. If there's a challenge, the proceedings come to a halt.The senators will go back to the Senate and deliberate, and the House members will stay in the house and deliberate. Each will have two hours of deliberation. And then they'll vote and they'll come back together and explain their vote. So this is expected to be a very long day.WHY SO LONG? In the Senate, the Republicans are split. So even though they have a majority, they're not all part of this group of a dozen or so who are willing to challenge the election.When the lawmakers come back in the joint session, we'll see that the challenge for Arizona is likely to fail. And we'll see this over and over through the day — Arizona, Pennsylvania, possibly Georgia, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin.The only other state we know for sure there'll be a challenge in is Pennsylvania. Sen. Josh Hawley has said he'll challenge it. But the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, has said he will not challenge it.If all these states are challenged, that's many hours of debate. The leadership is expected to try to make certain there's an outcome — that they stay until the process is finished, even if that means working through the night and coming back the next day. The leadership is set to make sure this gets finished.WHAT'S THE PRECEDENT FOR THIS? Other vice presidents have also had to preside over their own defeats.Vice President Al Gore was presiding over the chamber in 2001 over the disputed 2000 election. He, too, had to sign off on the tally that essentially prevented him from becoming president. Lawmakers have made challenges before, but nothing on the scope we expect to see this time. So we're in extraordinary, unprecedented times here.

On Wednesday, the latest extraordinary development in an extraordinary election will unfold.

In a joint session of Congress designed as a ceremonial affirmation to President-elect Joe Biden's victory, some Republicans — but hardly all of them — are vowing to object to voting results in one or more states. Despite no evidence, they accuse the elections of being fraudulent.

Though their actions — at least outwardly — are designed to aid President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, the efforts face near-certain failure even as they carve an even deeper divide in the American public sphere.

Lisa Mascaro, congressional correspondent for The Associated Press, has been covering Congress since 2010 and is waist-deep in the current, extraordinary saga. Here, she breaks down exactly what's going to happen Wednesday — and why it is highly unlikely to change anything related to Biden's impending inauguration.

___

WHY WON'T IT WORK?

This effort is all but certain to fail. The main reason is that there's a robust bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate to accept the results of the election as they've been certified by the states.

So the challenge that's being mounted comes from about a dozen Republican senators — I think we're up to 13 now — and as many as 100 House Republicans. But there are a total of 535 members of Congress (minus a few vacancies). Those are the numbers.

Democrats have the majority in the house. They will almost certainly agree with the results from the states that Biden won the election. Republicans are very split over this effort. Trump's efforts to challenge the results has splintered the party in ways we have not seen. The votes Wednesday will show that. This really is a time unlike any other in the Capitol.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Under the Constitution, the Electoral College is the way the votes are counted. Laws have been enacted to govern this process — and a joint session of Congress is sort of the final confirmation.

We don't have a national election. The states confirm the results and the states determine the electors and then send that tally up to Washington.

So the House and Senate will convene for this session at 1 p.m. — all the lawmakers gathered in the House chamber to confirm the election results. And that's that Joe Biden won. Even William Barr, Trump's attorney general until last month, has said he found no evidence of fraud on a wide scale that could change the outcome. The outcomes have been repeatedly certified by state officials.

That said, a number of Republicans are taking the president's challenge and splitting the party on this issue.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS CONVENES?

There are about six states that the Republicans concerned about the elections want to challenge.

What's going to happen is that results from the states will be brought in in envelopes, and Vice President Mike Pence will open them and read the tallies. As he does, any member can object. And some will. But for any challenge to have currency, it has to have a member of the House and a member of the Senate join in writing.

Right now, we have only a few senators saying they will join any of this in writing.

One of the first states to be challenged is expected to be Arizona. A number of House Republicans will challenge that. And Ted Cruz, a senator on the Republican side, has said he will challenge it. If there's a challenge, the proceedings come to a halt.

The senators will go back to the Senate and deliberate, and the House members will stay in the house and deliberate. Each will have two hours of deliberation. And then they'll vote and they'll come back together and explain their vote. So this is expected to be a very long day.

WHY SO LONG?

In the Senate, the Republicans are split. So even though they have a majority, they're not all part of this group of a dozen or so who are willing to challenge the election.

When the lawmakers come back in the joint session, we'll see that the challenge for Arizona is likely to fail. And we'll see this over and over through the day — Arizona, Pennsylvania, possibly Georgia, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The only other state we know for sure there'll be a challenge in is Pennsylvania. Sen. Josh Hawley has said he'll challenge it. But the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, has said he will not challenge it.

If all these states are challenged, that's many hours of debate. The leadership is expected to try to make certain there's an outcome — that they stay until the process is finished, even if that means working through the night and coming back the next day. The leadership is set to make sure this gets finished.

WHAT'S THE PRECEDENT FOR THIS?

Other vice presidents have also had to preside over their own defeats.

Vice President Al Gore was presiding over the chamber in 2001 over the disputed 2000 election. He, too, had to sign off on the tally that essentially prevented him from becoming president. Lawmakers have made challenges before, but nothing on the scope we expect to see this time. So we're in extraordinary, unprecedented times here.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/26/how-will-voting-objections-play-out-in-congress/feed/ 0 The day my 'second home,' the Capitol, was overtaken by mob https://cincylink.com/2021/09/20/the-day-my-second-home-the-capitol-was-overtaken-by-mob/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/20/the-day-my-second-home-the-capitol-was-overtaken-by-mob/#respond Mon, 20 Sep 2021 05:38:44 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=27403

Wednesday was supposed to be a busy, historic day on Capitol Hill, but it quickly turned into something entirely different when a mob struck and the Senate was evacuated.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/20/the-day-my-second-home-the-capitol-was-overtaken-by-mob/feed/ 0 Georgia certifies Democrats Warnock and Ossoff’s Senate wins https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/georgia-certifies-democrats-warnock-and-ossoffs-senate-wins/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/georgia-certifies-democrats-warnock-and-ossoffs-senate-wins/#respond Thu, 09 Sep 2021 05:28:23 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=28905

Georgia's secretary of state certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections Tuesday, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber.They'll take office just as the Senate considers whether to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial for inciting the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol and as President-elect Joe Biden seeks to jump-start his agenda after inauguration. The two men are set to be sworn in to office Wednesday afternoon shortly after Biden's inauguration, according to news releases issued by each. The certification by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger officially seals Warnock and Ossoff's victories over their Republican opponents in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both incumbents, conceded days after the election. Shortly after certification by Raffensperger, Gov. Brian Kemp signed off on their certificates of election.Official results from the secretary of state show Warnock beating Loeffler by about 93,000 votes out of nearly 4.5 million cast, or about 2%, while Ossoff beat Perdue by about 55,000 votes, or 1.2%. Both margins are larger than the .5% required to ask for a recount under Georgia law.Once Warnock and Ossoff are sworn in, there will be a 50-50 partisan divide in the Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote.Warnock will be the first African American senator from Georgia, while Ossoff will be the state's first Jewish senator and the Senate's youngest sitting member. Their wins bookend a divisive and drawn-out election cycle that brought seismic shifts to Georgia politics and made the once reliably red state a key battleground.Biden in November became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992, while Warnock and Ossoff are the first Democrats to win a U.S. Senate election in Georgia since 2000.During their nationally watched overtime races, Warnock and Ossoff benefited from Trump's continued false attacks on Georgia's election results, which contributed to lower GOP turnout, as well as intense mobilization efforts by Democratic organizers. Perdue, who served one term after being elected in 2014, and Loeffler, who took office last year after being appointed to replace retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson, were among Trump's closest allies in the Senate. The Democrats, who essentially ran as a team during the runoffs, head to Washington at a time of tumult but also opportunity for their party.In addition to considering whether to convict Trump in the impeachment trial, the Senate will also begin considering confirmation of Biden appointments and early legislative proposals from the new administration. Biden recently unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan that aims to administer 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration and deliver another round of economic aid.Loeffler gave a farewell speech from the Senate floor Tuesday, where she thanked her supporters and wished Warnock well. She also took parting shots at her detractors, slamming what she called "cancel culture" and news media coverage of her campaign.Perdue's term ended Jan. 3, while Loeffler remains in the Senate until Warnock is sworn in because she was appointed to fill Isakson's unexpired term.

ATLANTA —

Georgia's secretary of state certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections Tuesday, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber.

They'll take office just as the Senate considers whether to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial for inciting the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol and as President-elect Joe Biden seeks to jump-start his agenda after inauguration.

The two men are set to be sworn in to office Wednesday afternoon shortly after Biden's inauguration, according to news releases issued by each.

The certification by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger officially seals Warnock and Ossoff's victories over their Republican opponents in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both incumbents, conceded days after the election. Shortly after certification by Raffensperger, Gov. Brian Kemp signed off on their certificates of election.

Official results from the secretary of state show Warnock beating Loeffler by about 93,000 votes out of nearly 4.5 million cast, or about 2%, while Ossoff beat Perdue by about 55,000 votes, or 1.2%. Both margins are larger than the .5% required to ask for a recount under Georgia law.

Once Warnock and Ossoff are sworn in, there will be a 50-50 partisan divide in the Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote.

Warnock will be the first African American senator from Georgia, while Ossoff will be the state's first Jewish senator and the Senate's youngest sitting member. Their wins bookend a divisive and drawn-out election cycle that brought seismic shifts to Georgia politics and made the once reliably red state a key battleground.

President-elect Joe Biden campaigns in Atlanta, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, for Senate candidates Raphael Warnock, center, and Jon Ossoff, left.

Carolyn Kaster / AP Photo

President-elect Joe Biden campaigns in Atlanta, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, for Senate candidates Raphael Warnock, center, and Jon Ossoff, left.

Biden in November became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992, while Warnock and Ossoff are the first Democrats to win a U.S. Senate election in Georgia since 2000.

During their nationally watched overtime races, Warnock and Ossoff benefited from Trump's continued false attacks on Georgia's election results, which contributed to lower GOP turnout, as well as intense mobilization efforts by Democratic organizers.

Perdue, who served one term after being elected in 2014, and Loeffler, who took office last year after being appointed to replace retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson, were among Trump's closest allies in the Senate.

The Democrats, who essentially ran as a team during the runoffs, head to Washington at a time of tumult but also opportunity for their party.

In addition to considering whether to convict Trump in the impeachment trial, the Senate will also begin considering confirmation of Biden appointments and early legislative proposals from the new administration. Biden recently unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan that aims to administer 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration and deliver another round of economic aid.

Loeffler gave a farewell speech from the Senate floor Tuesday, where she thanked her supporters and wished Warnock well. She also took parting shots at her detractors, slamming what she called "cancel culture" and news media coverage of her campaign.

Perdue's term ended Jan. 3, while Loeffler remains in the Senate until Warnock is sworn in because she was appointed to fill Isakson's unexpired term.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/georgia-certifies-democrats-warnock-and-ossoffs-senate-wins/feed/ 0 Moving on from QAnon? Experts say these tips could help https://cincylink.com/2021/08/28/moving-on-from-qanon-experts-say-these-tips-could-help/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/28/moving-on-from-qanon-experts-say-these-tips-could-help/#respond Sat, 28 Aug 2021 04:49:41 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=30546

Related video above: How responsible is social media for the U.S. Capitol riots?Donald Trump's departure from the White House shattered the hopes of some QAnon conspiracy theorists who said they believed he would expose a worldwide cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles.While some have clung to the faith even after the reality of Trump's election loss set in, others have abandoned the movement.Experts and former QAnon believers interviewed by The Associated Press offer several tips for individuals looking to move on from the conspiracy theory, or for those wondering how to talk to a loved one consumed by it. LISTEN, DON'T PREACH: Believers in conspiracy theories aren't likely to be swayed by people who mock their views. Instead of lecturing, listen and ask questions about why they got into the conspiracy theory, or where they get their information. Whenever possible, have the conversation offline.CHANGE THE SUBJECT: Bring up shared experiences and interests to help the person focus on personal, offline connections. If someone dwells on the conspiracy theory, politely say you'd rather talk about something else.UNPLUG: Social media has allowed conspiracy theories and misinformation to spread farther and faster than ever before. Taking occasional breaks from social media can help people refresh, whether they believe in QAnon or not, especially during a pandemic that has only led to more screen time.EXERCISE: It's not just good for physical heath but can also help former believers deal with the anxiety that comes from leaving QAnon behind. One former believer told the AP that yoga helped her move on.VOLUNTEER: Mental health experts and former QAnon believers say finding local volunteer opportunities can help current and former adherents redirect their energy and concern in a positive way. Did QAnon open your eyes to the problem of child sex trafficking? Experts say helping out with local nonprofits that serve children or combat poverty is far a more effective solution than posting on social media.EXPAND YOUR SOURCES: Checking a variety of sources and relying on legitimate news is one way to avoid falling for misinformation and conspiracy theories in the first place. If loved ones are curious about QAnon and growing more interested, encourage them to check out fact-based resources that might help them understand the truth.REACH OUT: Conspiracy theories create online communities, and renouncing them can leave people feeling alone, humiliated or confused. Former believers looking to move on from QAnon say talking about their feelings helps. Some turned to therapy while others joined online forums for ex-believers on platforms like Reddit and Telegram.

Related video above: How responsible is social media for the U.S. Capitol riots?

Donald Trump's departure from the White House shattered the hopes of some QAnon conspiracy theorists who said they believed he would expose a worldwide cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles.

While some have clung to the faith even after the reality of Trump's election loss set in, others have abandoned the movement.

Experts and former QAnon believers interviewed by The Associated Press offer several tips for individuals looking to move on from the conspiracy theory, or for those wondering how to talk to a loved one consumed by it.

LISTEN, DON'T PREACH: Believers in conspiracy theories aren't likely to be swayed by people who mock their views. Instead of lecturing, listen and ask questions about why they got into the conspiracy theory, or where they get their information. Whenever possible, have the conversation offline.

CHANGE THE SUBJECT: Bring up shared experiences and interests to help the person focus on personal, offline connections. If someone dwells on the conspiracy theory, politely say you'd rather talk about something else.

UNPLUG: Social media has allowed conspiracy theories and misinformation to spread farther and faster than ever before. Taking occasional breaks from social media can help people refresh, whether they believe in QAnon or not, especially during a pandemic that has only led to more screen time.

EXERCISE: It's not just good for physical heath but can also help former believers deal with the anxiety that comes from leaving QAnon behind. One former believer told the AP that yoga helped her move on.

VOLUNTEER: Mental health experts and former QAnon believers say finding local volunteer opportunities can help current and former adherents redirect their energy and concern in a positive way. Did QAnon open your eyes to the problem of child sex trafficking? Experts say helping out with local nonprofits that serve children or combat poverty is far a more effective solution than posting on social media.

EXPAND YOUR SOURCES: Checking a variety of sources and relying on legitimate news is one way to avoid falling for misinformation and conspiracy theories in the first place. If loved ones are curious about QAnon and growing more interested, encourage them to check out fact-based resources that might help them understand the truth.

REACH OUT: Conspiracy theories create online communities, and renouncing them can leave people feeling alone, humiliated or confused. Former believers looking to move on from QAnon say talking about their feelings helps. Some turned to therapy while others joined online forums for ex-believers on platforms like Reddit and Telegram.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/28/moving-on-from-qanon-experts-say-these-tips-could-help/feed/ 0 A 97-year-old World War II veteran reunited with Italians he saved as children https://cincylink.com/2021/08/24/a-97-year-old-world-war-ii-veteran-reunited-with-italians-he-saved-as-children/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/24/a-97-year-old-world-war-ii-veteran-reunited-with-italians-he-saved-as-children/#respond Tue, 24 Aug 2021 04:08:15 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=84699

For more than seven decades, Martin Adler treasured a back-and-white photo of himself as a young American soldier with a broad smile with three impeccably dressed Italian children he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944.On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II veteran met the three siblings — now octogenarians themselves — in person for the first time since the war. Adler held out his hand to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion at Bologna's airport after a 20-hour journey from Boca Raton, Florida. Then, just as he did as a 20-year-old soldier in their village of Monterenzio, he handed out bars of American chocolate."Look at my smile," Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made possible by the reach of social media. It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have been a tragedy. The very first time the soldier and the children saw each other, in 1944, the three faces peeked out of a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as soldiers approached. Adler thought the house was empty, so he trained his machine gun on the basket when he heard a sound, thinking a German soldier was hiding inside. "The mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me (from) shooting," Adler recalled. "She put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, 'Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!' pounding my chest," Adler recalled. "That was a real hero, the mother, not me. The mother was a real hero. Can you imagine you standing yourself in front of a gun and screaming 'Children! No!'" he said. Adler still trembles when he remembers that he was only seconds away from opening fire on the basket. And after all these decades, he still suffers nightmares from the war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley. The children, aged 3 to 6 when they met, were a happy memory. His company stayed on in the village for a while and he would come by and play with them. Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three with any recollection of the event. She recalls climbing out of the basket and seeing Adler and another U.S. soldier, who has since died."They were laughing," Naldi, now 80, remembers. "They were happy they didn't shoot." She, on the other hand, didn't quite comprehend the close call. "We weren't afraid for anything," she said. She also remembers the soldier's chocolate, which came in a blue and white wrapper. "We ate so much of that chocolate,'' she laughed.Donley decided during the COVID-19 lockdown to use social media to try to track down the children in the old black-and-white photo, starting with veterans' groups in North America.Eventually the photo was spotted by an Italian journalist who had written a book on World War II. He was able to track down Adler's regiment and where it had been stationed from a small detail in another photograph. The smiling photo was then published in a local newspaper, leading to the discovery of the identities of the three children, who by then were grandparents themselves. They shared a video reunion in December, and waited until the easing of pandemic travel rules made the trans-Atlantic trip possible."I am so happy and so proud of him. Because things could have been so different in just a second. Because he hesitated, there have been generations of people," Donley said. The serendipity isn't lost on Giuliana Naldi's 30-year-old granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, one of six children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who descended from the three children hidden in the wicker basket. "Knowing that Martin could have shot and that none of my family would exist is something very big," Fontana said. "It is very emotional."During his stay in Italy, Adler will spend some time in the village where he was stationed, before traveling on to Florence, Naples and Rome, where he hopes to meet Pope Francis."My dad really wants to meet the pope," Donley said. "He wants to share his message of peace and love. My dad is all about peace."

BOLOGNA, Italy —

For more than seven decades, Martin Adler treasured a back-and-white photo of himself as a young American soldier with a broad smile with three impeccably dressed Italian children he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944.

On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II veteran met the three siblings — now octogenarians themselves — in person for the first time since the war.

Adler held out his hand to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion at Bologna's airport after a 20-hour journey from Boca Raton, Florida. Then, just as he did as a 20-year-old soldier in their village of Monterenzio, he handed out bars of American chocolate.

"Look at my smile," Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made possible by the reach of social media.

It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have been a tragedy.

The very first time the soldier and the children saw each other, in 1944, the three faces peeked out of a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as soldiers approached. Adler thought the house was empty, so he trained his machine gun on the basket when he heard a sound, thinking a German soldier was hiding inside.

Retired American soldier Martin Adler, right, is welcomed upon his arrival by Giulio Mafalda Giuliana Naldi that he saved during a WWII at Bologna's airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Antonio Calanni / AP Photo

Retired American soldier Martin Adler, right, is welcomed upon his arrival by Giulio Mafalda Giuliana Naldi that he saved during a WWII at Bologna’s airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

"The mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me (from) shooting," Adler recalled. "She put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, 'Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!' pounding my chest," Adler recalled.

"That was a real hero, the mother, not me. The mother was a real hero. Can you imagine you standing yourself in front of a gun and screaming 'Children! No!'" he said.

Adler still trembles when he remembers that he was only seconds away from opening fire on the basket. And after all these decades, he still suffers nightmares from the war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley.

The children, aged 3 to 6 when they met, were a happy memory. His company stayed on in the village for a while and he would come by and play with them.

Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three with any recollection of the event. She recalls climbing out of the basket and seeing Adler and another U.S. soldier, who has since died.

"They were laughing," Naldi, now 80, remembers. "They were happy they didn't shoot."

Retired American soldier Martin Adler holds Giuliana Naldi's hand that he saved during a WWII, at Bologna's airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Antonio Calanni / AP Photo

Retired American soldier Martin Adler holds Giuliana Naldi’s hand that he saved during a WWII, at Bologna’s airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

She, on the other hand, didn't quite comprehend the close call.

"We weren't afraid for anything," she said.

She also remembers the soldier's chocolate, which came in a blue and white wrapper.

"We ate so much of that chocolate,'' she laughed.

Donley decided during the COVID-19 lockdown to use social media to try to track down the children in the old black-and-white photo, starting with veterans' groups in North America.

Eventually the photo was spotted by an Italian journalist who had written a book on World War II. He was able to track down Adler's regiment and where it had been stationed from a small detail in another photograph. The smiling photo was then published in a local newspaper, leading to the discovery of the identities of the three children, who by then were grandparents themselves.

They shared a video reunion in December, and waited until the easing of pandemic travel rules made the trans-Atlantic trip possible.

"I am so happy and so proud of him. Because things could have been so different in just a second. Because he hesitated, there have been generations of people," Donley said.

Retired American soldier Martin Adler poses with Giulio, left, Mafalda, right, and Giuliana Naldi that he saved during a WWII at Bologna's airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Antonio Calanni / AP Photo

Retired American soldier Martin Adler poses with Giulio, left, Mafalda, right, and Giuliana Naldi that he saved during a WWII at Bologna’s airport, Italy, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

The serendipity isn't lost on Giuliana Naldi's 30-year-old granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, one of six children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who descended from the three children hidden in the wicker basket.

"Knowing that Martin could have shot and that none of my family would exist is something very big," Fontana said. "It is very emotional."

During his stay in Italy, Adler will spend some time in the village where he was stationed, before traveling on to Florence, Naples and Rome, where he hopes to meet Pope Francis.

"My dad really wants to meet the pope," Donley said. "He wants to share his message of peace and love. My dad is all about peace."


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/24/a-97-year-old-world-war-ii-veteran-reunited-with-italians-he-saved-as-children/feed/ 0 Peace Corps plots return to world after pandemic hiatus in program’s 60th anniversary year https://cincylink.com/2021/08/21/peace-corps-plots-return-to-world-after-pandemic-hiatus-in-programs-60th-anniversary-year/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/21/peace-corps-plots-return-to-world-after-pandemic-hiatus-in-programs-60th-anniversary-year/#respond Sat, 21 Aug 2021 04:28:21 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=83434

More than a year after COVID-19 began sweeping the world, abruptly cutting short her Peace Corps stint, Cameron Beach is once again living in rural Malawi — this time on her own dime.The Peace Corps, a U.S. government program marking its 60th anniversary this year, boasted 7,000 volunteers in 62 countries in March 2020. They were given little time to pack before being put on a plane and sent back to the United States that month."It was especially painful for me because I was given 24 hours to leave a place that I'd called home for almost two years," Beach said during a recent video call from her home in Malawi, a landlocked country in southern Africa.Beach was trained to speak Chichewa and had been teaching English at the Mkomera Community Day Secondary School in Dedza, located in a compound about 25 miles southeast of the capital, Lilongwe. The 25-year-old Greenville, South Carolina, native paid her own way back to her post nine months after evacuation and is living on savings, but says she would "absolutely" rejoin the Peace Corps if it became possible.It might be: The organization hopes to begin returning volunteers to the field late this year or early next year.While Peace Corps volunteers would be required to be vaccinated, sending them back will depend on the situation in individual countries. Initially, about 2,400 evacuated volunteers expressed interest in going back and there are about 10,000 applications on file, Acting Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn told The Associated Press."Immediately after the evacuation we had tremendous interest from volunteers who were evacuated in returning to their country of service," Spahn said. "Clearly, as time goes on, you know, people do move on with their lives, but I will say we have a robust pipeline of both people who were evacuated as well as those who were invited, but were unable to go and those who are expressing new interest."How soon they can be sent overseas depends on the worldwide fight against the virus, complicated by the recent emergence of the more transmissible delta variant and the slow rollout of vaccines in developing countries — many of which host Peace Corps programs.Spahn estimates it will be several years before the Peace Corps is back to its full strength. After all, while volunteers in select countries had been evacuated before, March 2020 marked the first time since the organization was founded by President John F. Kennedy that it had to evacuate all its volunteers at the same time.Since its creation in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in scores of countries. The goal is to help the countries meet their development needs with a wide variety of programs — from education to health and agriculture programs — while helping promote a better understanding of Americans.Typical service lasts two years after a training period, the length of which depends on the country and the program. During the pandemic, most Peace Corps staff, both U.S. citizens and local hires, remained in place and, in some cases, kept up some programs. Some former volunteers even worked remotely on development projects from the United States, receiving a small stipend for their work.Heading back overseas is nonetheless a daunting undertaking between the required training and rebuilding of programs. Areas that have few returning volunteers will also lose the institutional, cross-cultural and local knowledge typically passed on by departing volunteers to their successors.It's not just the Peace Corps that has had to recall thousands from remote reaches of the globe and navigate the aftermath.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had to send home about 26,000 missionaries tasked with recruiting new members to the faith known widely as the Mormon church. Many pivoted to doing missions in their home countries with a focus on online work.In November, the church began sending missionaries back into the field and, in June of this year, the church reopened its missionary training centers in Utah, the Philippines and Mexico.All missionaries from the United States who serve overseas are required to be vaccinated, said church spokesperson Sam Penrod. Missionaries who do not want to be vaccinated will be assigned to missions in their home countries."The church is taking a careful approach when assigning missionaries outside of their home country, based upon local conditions and following the guidance of government and health officials," he said in an email.As time goes by, potential recruits and returnees are moving on.Cullen O'Donnell, 25, originally from Mentor, Ohio, served two years with the Peace Corps in Ecuador teaching English and then extended for a third year. He was planning another year, working on the Galapagos Islands, when COVID-19 hit.He'd still like to go back — "then again with Peace Corps it's very vague: 'Yeah we're hoping to get back to the field,' but it keeps getting pushed back."So he's getting on with his life. He now has a fulfilling job at a school for at-risk students in Pennsylvania and was just accepted to graduate school.The Peace Corps has been accepting new applications throughout the pandemic, but in June the agency began planning for a return to Belize after the government there asked for volunteers who could help local schools recover from the pandemic's disruptions. But there is no indication when the first trainees would be sent to the tiny country tucked between Mexico and Guatemala.A few volunteers refused to be evacuated but their Peace Corps service was ended, Spahn said. Despite their truncated service, volunteers are eligible for the variety of benefits typically afforded those who complete the two years — including resettlement payments, preferred hiring status for federal jobs and special scholarships.But those former volunteers — like Beach — could help seed the revived Peace Corps, Spahn said.Beach hadn't been able to say goodbye. Her students had missed her."The time when Madam Beach left Malawi, lots of things went wrong especially in our class," said Aness Leman Filimoni, who is in her last year of high school. "Madam Beach was teaching us English, but when she left, the school could not find a suitable replacement."Beach is now teaching her usual two classes a day, five days a week. She's also helping finish up a girls' dormitory built in part with a Peace Corps grant.Just before the pandemic, there were 108 volunteers in Malawi. Peace Corps Malawi Director Amber Lucero-Dwyer, who stayed, has seen a handful of former volunteers return on their own — although she thought most were visiting, not staying indefinitely as Beach is."We have tried to be as creative as possible to determine what can we do, what core Peace Corps work can we do in the absence of volunteers," Lucero-Dwyer said.Beach was originally sent to Malawi just weeks after her college graduation, and was scheduled to complete her service in August 2020; if she's able to return to service, she doesn't know how long the stint would last.Regardless, she's found her niche."It's what I feel I'm meant to do," Beach said of what she sees as the calling that drew her to the Peace Corps and ultimately Malawi. "It wasn't a very windy road."___Ring reported from Stowe, Vermont.

DEDZA, Malawi —

More than a year after COVID-19 began sweeping the world, abruptly cutting short her Peace Corps stint, Cameron Beach is once again living in rural Malawi — this time on her own dime.

The Peace Corps, a U.S. government program marking its 60th anniversary this year, boasted 7,000 volunteers in 62 countries in March 2020. They were given little time to pack before being put on a plane and sent back to the United States that month.

"It was especially painful for me because I was given 24 hours to leave a place that I'd called home for almost two years," Beach said during a recent video call from her home in Malawi, a landlocked country in southern Africa.

Beach was trained to speak Chichewa and had been teaching English at the Mkomera Community Day Secondary School in Dedza, located in a compound about 25 miles southeast of the capital, Lilongwe. The 25-year-old Greenville, South Carolina, native paid her own way back to her post nine months after evacuation and is living on savings, but says she would "absolutely" rejoin the Peace Corps if it became possible.

Cameron Beach, left, sieves maize flour as she helps prepare a meal, in Dedza, near Lilongwe, Malawi, Friday, July 23, 2021. Beach, a former Peace Corps volunteer, is living in rural Malawi teaching English at a rural high school where she had been sent by the United States government 18 months before COVID-19 began sweeping the world.

Roy Nkosi / AP Photo

Cameron Beach, left, sieves maize flour as she helps prepare a meal, in Dedza, near Lilongwe, Malawi, Friday, July 23, 2021.

It might be: The organization hopes to begin returning volunteers to the field late this year or early next year.

While Peace Corps volunteers would be required to be vaccinated, sending them back will depend on the situation in individual countries. Initially, about 2,400 evacuated volunteers expressed interest in going back and there are about 10,000 applications on file, Acting Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn told The Associated Press.

"Immediately after the evacuation we had tremendous interest from volunteers who were evacuated in returning to their country of service," Spahn said. "Clearly, as time goes on, you know, people do move on with their lives, but I will say we have a robust pipeline of both people who were evacuated as well as those who were invited, but were unable to go and those who are expressing new interest."

How soon they can be sent overseas depends on the worldwide fight against the virus, complicated by the recent emergence of the more transmissible delta variant and the slow rollout of vaccines in developing countries — many of which host Peace Corps programs.

Spahn estimates it will be several years before the Peace Corps is back to its full strength. After all, while volunteers in select countries had been evacuated before, March 2020 marked the first time since the organization was founded by President John F. Kennedy that it had to evacuate all its volunteers at the same time.

Since its creation in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in scores of countries. The goal is to help the countries meet their development needs with a wide variety of programs — from education to health and agriculture programs — while helping promote a better understanding of Americans.

Typical service lasts two years after a training period, the length of which depends on the country and the program. During the pandemic, most Peace Corps staff, both U.S. citizens and local hires, remained in place and, in some cases, kept up some programs. Some former volunteers even worked remotely on development projects from the United States, receiving a small stipend for their work.

Heading back overseas is nonetheless a daunting undertaking between the required training and rebuilding of programs. Areas that have few returning volunteers will also lose the institutional, cross-cultural and local knowledge typically passed on by departing volunteers to their successors.

It's not just the Peace Corps that has had to recall thousands from remote reaches of the globe and navigate the aftermath.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had to send home about 26,000 missionaries tasked with recruiting new members to the faith known widely as the Mormon church. Many pivoted to doing missions in their home countries with a focus on online work.

In November, the church began sending missionaries back into the field and, in June of this year, the church reopened its missionary training centers in Utah, the Philippines and Mexico.

All missionaries from the United States who serve overseas are required to be vaccinated, said church spokesperson Sam Penrod. Missionaries who do not want to be vaccinated will be assigned to missions in their home countries.

"The church is taking a careful approach when assigning missionaries outside of their home country, based upon local conditions and following the guidance of government and health officials," he said in an email.

As time goes by, potential recruits and returnees are moving on.

Cullen O'Donnell, 25, originally from Mentor, Ohio, served two years with the Peace Corps in Ecuador teaching English and then extended for a third year. He was planning another year, working on the Galapagos Islands, when COVID-19 hit.

He'd still like to go back — "then again with Peace Corps it's very vague: 'Yeah we're hoping to get back to the field,' but it keeps getting pushed back."

So he's getting on with his life. He now has a fulfilling job at a school for at-risk students in Pennsylvania and was just accepted to graduate school.

The Peace Corps has been accepting new applications throughout the pandemic, but in June the agency began planning for a return to Belize after the government there asked for volunteers who could help local schools recover from the pandemic's disruptions. But there is no indication when the first trainees would be sent to the tiny country tucked between Mexico and Guatemala.

A few volunteers refused to be evacuated but their Peace Corps service was ended, Spahn said. Despite their truncated service, volunteers are eligible for the variety of benefits typically afforded those who complete the two years — including resettlement payments, preferred hiring status for federal jobs and special scholarships.

But those former volunteers — like Beach — could help seed the revived Peace Corps, Spahn said.

Beach hadn't been able to say goodbye. Her students had missed her.

"The time when Madam Beach left Malawi, lots of things went wrong especially in our class," said Aness Leman Filimoni, who is in her last year of high school. "Madam Beach was teaching us English, but when she left, the school could not find a suitable replacement."

Beach is now teaching her usual two classes a day, five days a week. She's also helping finish up a girls' dormitory built in part with a Peace Corps grant.

Cameron Beach, sits with fellow teachers during a break at a school in Dedza, near Lilongwe, Malawi, Friday, July 23, 2021.

Roy Nkosi / AP Photo

Cameron Beach, sits with fellow teachers during a break at a school in Dedza, near Lilongwe, Malawi, Friday, July 23, 2021.

Just before the pandemic, there were 108 volunteers in Malawi. Peace Corps Malawi Director Amber Lucero-Dwyer, who stayed, has seen a handful of former volunteers return on their own — although she thought most were visiting, not staying indefinitely as Beach is.

"We have tried to be as creative as possible to determine what can we do, what core Peace Corps work can we do in the absence of volunteers," Lucero-Dwyer said.

Beach was originally sent to Malawi just weeks after her college graduation, and was scheduled to complete her service in August 2020; if she's able to return to service, she doesn't know how long the stint would last.

Regardless, she's found her niche.

"It's what I feel I'm meant to do," Beach said of what she sees as the calling that drew her to the Peace Corps and ultimately Malawi. "It wasn't a very windy road."

___

Ring reported from Stowe, Vermont.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/21/peace-corps-plots-return-to-world-after-pandemic-hiatus-in-programs-60th-anniversary-year/feed/ 0 Mystery metal monolith turns out to be Turkish government gimmick https://cincylink.com/2021/08/18/mystery-metal-monolith-turns-out-to-be-turkish-government-gimmick/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/18/mystery-metal-monolith-turns-out-to-be-turkish-government-gimmick/#respond Wed, 18 Aug 2021 04:38:18 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=32257

Video above: Mystery metal monoliths pop up around the worldA metal monolith that mysteriously appeared and disappeared on a field in southeast Turkey turned out to be a publicity gimmick before a government event Tuesday during which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a space program for the country.The about 10-foot-high metal slab bearing an ancient Turkic script, was found Friday by a farmer in Sanliurfa province. It was discovered near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gobekli Tepe, which is home to megalithic structures dating to the 10th millennium B.C., thousands of years before Stonehenge.However, the shiny structure that bore the inscription "Look at the sky, you will see the moon" in the ancient Turkic Gokturk alphabet, was reported gone Tuesday morning, adding to the mystery.An image of the monolith was later projected on a screen as Erdogan presented Turkey's space program during a televised event. "I now present to you Turkey's 10-year vision, strategy and aims and I say: 'look at the sky, you will see the moon,'" Erdogan said.Earlier, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted the field's owner as saying he was baffled by both its appearance and disappearance."We don't know if it was placed on my field for marketing purposes or as an advertisement," Anadolu quoted Fuat Demirdil as saying. "We saw that the metal block was no longer at its place. Residents cannot solve the mystery of the metal block either."The agency also quoted local resident Hasan Yildiz as saying the block was still at the field Monday evening, but had disappeared by the morning.Other mysterious monoliths have similarly appeared and some have disappeared in numerous countries in recent months.Gobekli Tepe was the setting of the Turkish Netflix mystery series, "The Gift."

Video above: Mystery metal monoliths pop up around the world

A metal monolith that mysteriously appeared and disappeared on a field in southeast Turkey turned out to be a publicity gimmick before a government event Tuesday during which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a space program for the country.

The about 10-foot-high metal slab bearing an ancient Turkic script, was found Friday by a farmer in Sanliurfa province. It was discovered near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gobekli Tepe, which is home to megalithic structures dating to the 10th millennium B.C., thousands of years before Stonehenge.

However, the shiny structure that bore the inscription "Look at the sky, you will see the moon" in the ancient Turkic Gokturk alphabet, was reported gone Tuesday morning, adding to the mystery.

An image of the monolith was later projected on a screen as Erdogan presented Turkey's space program during a televised event.

"I now present to you Turkey's 10-year vision, strategy and aims and I say: 'look at the sky, you will see the moon,'" Erdogan said.

Turkish police officers guard a monolith, found on an open field near Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.

Bekir Seyhanli/IHA via AP

Turkish police officers guard a monolith, found on an open field near Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.

Earlier, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted the field's owner as saying he was baffled by both its appearance and disappearance.

"We don't know if it was placed on my field for marketing purposes or as an advertisement," Anadolu quoted Fuat Demirdil as saying. "We saw that the metal block was no longer at its place. Residents cannot solve the mystery of the metal block either."

The agency also quoted local resident Hasan Yildiz as saying the block was still at the field Monday evening, but had disappeared by the morning.

Other mysterious monoliths have similarly appeared and some have disappeared in numerous countries in recent months.

Gobekli Tepe was the setting of the Turkish Netflix mystery series, "The Gift."


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/18/mystery-metal-monolith-turns-out-to-be-turkish-government-gimmick/feed/ 0 At least 10 passengers injured in stabbings on Tokyo train https://cincylink.com/2021/08/07/at-least-10-passengers-injured-in-stabbings-on-tokyo-train/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/07/at-least-10-passengers-injured-in-stabbings-on-tokyo-train/#respond Sat, 07 Aug 2021 04:08:45 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=78798

A man with a knife stabbed at least 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo on Friday and was captured by police after fleeing, fire department officials and news reports said.NHK public television said one passenger was seriously injured. It said the suspect left his knife behind as he fled and later gave himself up at a convenience store. The Japanese capital is currently hosting the Olympics, which end Sunday. The Tokyo Fire Department said nine of the 10 injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals, while the tenth was able to walk away. All of those injured were conscious, fire department officials said. A witness at a nearby station where the train stopped said passengers were rushing out of the carriages and shouting that there was a stabbing and asking for first aid. Another witness told NHK that he saw passengers smeared with blood come out of the train, as an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels. Dozens of paramedics and police arrived at the station, one of the witnesses said.NHK said the suspect later walked into a convenience store and identified himself as the suspect on the news and said he was tired of running away. The store manager called police after seeing blood stains on the man's shirt. Police were questioning the man as they prepared his arrest, NHK said. The stabbing occurred near Seijogakuen station, according to railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway Co. Police declined to comment and no other details were immediately available.While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile killings with knives in recent years. In 2019, a man carrying two knives attacked a group of schoolgirls waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo, killing two people and injuring 17 before killing himself. In 2018, a man killed a passenger and injuring two others in a knife attack on a bullet train. In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled allegedly killed 19 people and injured more than 20.___AP journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

TOKYO, Tokyo —

A man with a knife stabbed at least 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo on Friday and was captured by police after fleeing, fire department officials and news reports said.

NHK public television said one passenger was seriously injured. It said the suspect left his knife behind as he fled and later gave himself up at a convenience store. The Japanese capital is currently hosting the Olympics, which end Sunday.

The Tokyo Fire Department said nine of the 10 injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals, while the tenth was able to walk away. All of those injured were conscious, fire department officials said.

A witness at a nearby station where the train stopped said passengers were rushing out of the carriages and shouting that there was a stabbing and asking for first aid. Another witness told NHK that he saw passengers smeared with blood come out of the train, as an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels.

Dozens of paramedics and police arrived at the station, one of the witnesses said.

NHK said the suspect later walked into a convenience store and identified himself as the suspect on the news and said he was tired of running away. The store manager called police after seeing blood stains on the man's shirt. Police were questioning the man as they prepared his arrest, NHK said.

The stabbing occurred near Seijogakuen station, according to railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway Co.

Police declined to comment and no other details were immediately available.

While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile killings with knives in recent years.

In 2019, a man carrying two knives attacked a group of schoolgirls waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo, killing two people and injuring 17 before killing himself. In 2018, a man killed a passenger and injuring two others in a knife attack on a bullet train. In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled allegedly killed 19 people and injured more than 20.

___

AP journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/07/at-least-10-passengers-injured-in-stabbings-on-tokyo-train/feed/ 0 How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine compare to other coronavirus vaccines? 4 questions answered https://cincylink.com/2021/07/31/how-does-the-johnson-johnson-vaccine-compare-to-other-coronavirus-vaccines-4-questions-answered/ https://cincylink.com/2021/07/31/how-does-the-johnson-johnson-vaccine-compare-to-other-coronavirus-vaccines-4-questions-answered/#respond Sat, 31 Jul 2021 05:07:59 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=35545

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in adults.Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this third authorized vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines that are already in use.1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work?The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what's called a viral vector vaccine.To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.After this modified adenovirus is injected into someone's arm, it enters the person's cells. The cells then read the genetic instructions needed to make the spike protein and the vaccinated cells make and present the spike protein on their own surface. The person's immune system then notices these foreign proteins and makes antibodies against them that will protect the person if they are ever exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the future.The adenovirus vector vaccine is safe because the adenovirus can't replicate in human cells or cause disease, and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can't cause COVID–19 without the rest of the coronavirus.This approach is not new. Johnson & Johnson used a similar method to make its Ebola vaccine, and the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is also an adenovirus viral vector vaccine. 2. How effective is it?The FDA's analysis found that, in the U.S., the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was 72% effective at preventing all COVID-19 and 86% effective at preventing severe cases of the disease. While there is still a chance a vaccinated person could get sick, this suggests they would be much less likely to need hospitalization or to die from COVID-19.A similar trial in South Africa, where a new, more contagious variant is dominant, produced similar results. Researchers found the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be slightly less effective at preventing all illness there – 64% overall – but was still 82% effective at preventing severe disease. The FDA report also indicates that the vaccine protects against other variants from Britain and Brazil too.3. How is it different from other vaccines?The most basic difference is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine, while the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are both mRNA vaccines. Messenger RNA vaccines use genetic instructions from the coronavirus to tell a person's cells to make the spike protein, but these don't use another virus as a vector. There are many practical differences, too.Both of the mRNA-based vaccines require two shots. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose. This is key when vaccines are in short supply.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be stored at much warmer temperatures than the mRNA vaccines. The mRNA vaccines must be shipped and stored at below–freezing or subzero temperatures and require a complicated cold chain to safely distribute them. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored for at least three months in a regular refrigerator, making it much easier to use and distribute.As for efficacy, it is difficult to directly compare the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with the mRNA vaccines due to differences in how the clinical trials were designed. While the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are reported to be approximately 95% effective at preventing illness from COVID–19, the trials were done over the summer and fall of 2020, before newer more contagious variants were circulating widely. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines might not be as effective against the new variants, and Johnson & Johnson trials were done more recently and take into account the vaccine's efficacy against these new variants.4. Should I choose one vaccine over another?Although the overall efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is higher than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you should not wait until you have your choice of vaccine – which is likely a long way off anyway. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is nearly as good as the mRNA-based vaccines at preventing serious disease, and that's what really matters.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine and other viral-vector vaccines like the one from AstraZeneca are particularly important for the global vaccination effort. From a public health perspective, it's important to have multiple COVID-19 vaccines, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a very welcome addition to the vaccine arsenal. It doesn't require a freezer, making it much easier to ship and store. It's a one-shot vaccine, making logistics much easier compared with organizing two doses per person.As many people as possible need to be vaccinated as quickly as possible to limit the development of new coronavirus variants. Johnson & Johnson is expected to ship out nearly four million doses as soon as the FDA grants emergency use authorization. Having a third authorized vaccine in the U.S. will be a big step towards meeting vaccination demand and stopping this pandemic.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in adults.

Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this third authorized vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines that are already in use.

1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work?

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what's called a viral vector vaccine.

To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

After this modified adenovirus is injected into someone's arm, it enters the person's cells. The cells then read the genetic instructions needed to make the spike protein and the vaccinated cells make and present the spike protein on their own surface. The person's immune system then notices these foreign proteins and makes antibodies against them that will protect the person if they are ever exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the future.

The adenovirus vector vaccine is safe because the adenovirus can't replicate in human cells or cause disease, and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can't cause COVID–19 without the rest of the coronavirus.

This approach is not new. Johnson & Johnson used a similar method to make its Ebola vaccine, and the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is also an adenovirus viral vector vaccine.

A healthcare worker holds a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus as South Africa proceeds with its inoculation campaign at the Klerksdorp Hospital on Feb. 18, 2021.

PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images

A healthcare worker holds a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus as South Africa proceeds with its inoculation campaign at the Klerksdorp Hospital on Feb. 18, 2021.

2. How effective is it?

The FDA's analysis found that, in the U.S., the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was 72% effective at preventing all COVID-19 and 86% effective at preventing severe cases of the disease. While there is still a chance a vaccinated person could get sick, this suggests they would be much less likely to need hospitalization or to die from COVID-19.

A similar trial in South Africa, where a new, more contagious variant is dominant, produced similar results. Researchers found the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be slightly less effective at preventing all illness there – 64% overall – but was still 82% effective at preventing severe disease. The FDA report also indicates that the vaccine protects against other variants from Britain and Brazil too.

3. How is it different from other vaccines?

The most basic difference is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine, while the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are both mRNA vaccines. Messenger RNA vaccines use genetic instructions from the coronavirus to tell a person's cells to make the spike protein, but these don't use another virus as a vector. There are many practical differences, too.

Both of the mRNA-based vaccines require two shots. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose. This is key when vaccines are in short supply.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be stored at much warmer temperatures than the mRNA vaccines. The mRNA vaccines must be shipped and stored at below–freezing or subzero temperatures and require a complicated cold chain to safely distribute them. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored for at least three months in a regular refrigerator, making it much easier to use and distribute.

As for efficacy, it is difficult to directly compare the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with the mRNA vaccines due to differences in how the clinical trials were designed. While the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are reported to be approximately 95% effective at preventing illness from COVID–19, the trials were done over the summer and fall of 2020, before newer more contagious variants were circulating widely. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines might not be as effective against the new variants, and Johnson & Johnson trials were done more recently and take into account the vaccine's efficacy against these new variants.

4. Should I choose one vaccine over another?

Although the overall efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is higher than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you should not wait until you have your choice of vaccine – which is likely a long way off anyway. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is nearly as good as the mRNA-based vaccines at preventing serious disease, and that's what really matters.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine and other viral-vector vaccines like the one from AstraZeneca are particularly important for the global vaccination effort. From a public health perspective, it's important to have multiple COVID-19 vaccines, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a very welcome addition to the vaccine arsenal. It doesn't require a freezer, making it much easier to ship and store. It's a one-shot vaccine, making logistics much easier compared with organizing two doses per person.

As many people as possible need to be vaccinated as quickly as possible to limit the development of new coronavirus variants. Johnson & Johnson is expected to ship out nearly four million doses as soon as the FDA grants emergency use authorization. Having a third authorized vaccine in the U.S. will be a big step towards meeting vaccination demand and stopping this pandemic.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.


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