Tag: Threat

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Health

Airborne Coronavirus Is a Risk, the C.D.C. Acknowledges

Airborne Coronavirus Is a Threat, the C.D.C. Acknowledges

The federal health authorities updated the public guidelines on the spread of the coronavirus on Friday, emphasizing that the transmission occurs through inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets and aerosolized particles, as well as through contact with sprayed droplets or by touching contaminated hands with the mouth, nose or eyes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now explicitly state – in large, bold letters – that airborne viruses can be breathed even if you are more than three feet from an infected person. The new language, released online, is a change from the agency’s previous position that most infections were acquired through “close contact, not airborne transmission”.

As the pandemic played out last year, infectious disease experts warned for months that both the CDC and the World Health Organization were overlooking research that strongly suggested the coronavirus was floating in the air in small particles. Several scientists on Friday welcomed the agency’s abolition of the term “close contact”, which they criticized as vague and which did not necessarily capture the nuances of aerosol transfer.

“Now the CDC has caught up with the latest science, got rid of some old problematic terms and thought about how the transmission happens,” said Linsey Marr, aerosol expert at Virginia Tech.

The new focus underscores the need for the federal agency for occupational safety and health to issue standards for employers to address potential hazards in the workplace, some experts said.

“They hadn’t talked much about aerosols and focused more on droplets,” said David Michaels, an epidemiologist at the George Washington School of Public Health and head of OSHA in the Obama administration.

He and other researchers expressed concern that the CDC has not yet reaffirmed its recommendations on preventing exposure to aerosolized viruses.

The new information has a significant impact on the indoor climate and especially on the workplaces, said Dr. Michaels. Virus-laden particles “retain their properties in the air for hours and accumulate in a room that is not well ventilated.”

“There’s more exposure closer,” said Dr. Michaels. “But if you are further away there is still a risk, and those particles are still in the air.”

Donald Milton, an aerosol scientist at the University of Maryland, agreed that federal officials should come up with better guidelines for workplace safety.

“We need to better focus on good breathing apparatus for people who have to be around other people for long periods of time,” said Dr. Milton. “A surgical mask, even if it’s hidden around the edges, still doesn’t give you enough protection when you’re elbow-to-elbow with other people in a meat packing facility.”

Health care workers, bus drivers, and other workers may also need respirators, said Dr. Michaels. Customers in retail stores should continue to keep their distance and wear masks, he added. Good ventilation is of the utmost importance with these settings.

Dr. Marr pointed out that an updated page on the CDC website entitled “How Covid-19 Spreads” states that inhaling the virus when people are far apart is “unusual”. The statement is “misleading and potentially harmful,” said Dr. Marr.

“If you are in a poorly ventilated area, a virus will build up in the air and everyone in that room will be exposed.”

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World News

Why India’s Outbreak Is a Menace to the World

Why India's Outbreak Is a Threat to the World

The coronavirus wave in India, where countless pyres cloud the night sky, is more than just a humanitarian disaster: Experts say uncontrolled outbreaks like India’s also threaten to prolong the pandemic by allowing more dangerous variants of the virus to spread and possibly evade Vaccinations.

The United States will start restricting travel from India later this week, but similar restrictions on air travel from China that President Trump imposed in the early days of the pandemic proved ineffective.

“We can ban any flights we want, but there is literally no way to keep these highly contagious varieties out of our country,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health.

As the coronavirus spreads among human hosts, it invariably mutates, creating opportunities for new variants that can be more transmissible or even deadly. A highly contagious variant known as B.1.1.7 knocked down the UK earlier this year and is already well entrenched in the US and Europe.

Recent estimates suggest that B.1.1.7 is about 60 percent more contagious and 67 percent more deadly than the original form of the virus. Another worrying variant, P.1, is wreaking havoc across South America.

On Friday, India recorded 401,993 new cases in a single day, a world record, despite experts say its real numbers are well above reports. Peru, Brazil, and other countries across South America are also experiencing devastating waves.

Virologists aren’t sure what is driving India’s second wave. Some have pointed to a native variant called B.1.617, but researchers outside of India say the limited data suggests that B.1.1.7 could be to blame.

With 44 percent of adults receiving at least one dose, the United States has made great strides in vaccinating its citizens, although experts say the country is a long way from achieving what is known as herd immunity if the virus doesn’t get away easily can spread because it can. t find enough hosts. The hesitation of the vaccine remains a formidable threat to reaching that threshold.

However, vaccines are still hard to come by in much of the world, especially in poorer countries. In India, less than 2 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. “If we are to leave this pandemic behind, we cannot let the virus run wild in other parts of the world,” said Dr. Yeh.

Initial evidence suggests that the vaccines are effective against the variants, but slightly less effective against some.

“For the moment the vaccines remain effective, but there is a trend towards less effectiveness,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease doctor and epidemiologist at Bellevue Hospital in New York.

Vaccine manufacturers say they are ready to develop booster vaccines that would address particularly problematic variants, but such a solution would be of little help to poorer nations who are already struggling to get their existing vaccines. Experts say the best way to prevent dangerous variants from developing is to contain new infections and immunize most of humanity as soon as possible.

Dr. Michael Diamond, a viral immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, said the longer the coronavirus circulates, the more time it has to mutate, which could eventually threaten vaccinated people. The only way to break the cycle is to make sure countries like India get enough vaccines.

“To stop this pandemic, we have to vaccinate the whole world,” said Dr. Diamond. “There will always be new waves of infection if we don’t vaccinate worldwide.”

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Health

Covid ‘risk stays current’ WHO says at the same time as Europe’s circumstances decline

Covid 'threat remains present' WHO says even as Europe's cases decline

A boy reacts next to the body of his father, who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in a crematorium in New Delhi, India, on April 24, 2021.

Adnan Abidi | Reuters

LONDON – The threat to Europe from the coronavirus “remains,” the World Health Organization said Thursday, despite the recent drop in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the region.

“It has been 462 days since the first Covid-19 cases were reported. Based on the number of confirmed cases, 5.5% of the total European population had Covid-19, while 7% completed a full series of vaccinations,” he said WHO Regional Director for Europe, said Dr. Hans Kluge in a press conference on Thursday.

“But even if new cases, hospital stays and deaths decrease, the threat remains,” warned Kluge.

The virus still has the potential to wreak havoc, he added, noting that almost half of all reported infections in Europe since the pandemic began actually occurred in the first four months of this year.

However, as a sign of hope for the region, he added that “for the first time in two months, new cases fell significantly last week. Nevertheless, infection rates in the region remain extremely high.”

The comments are found amid a mixed picture of recovery around the world. As India grapples with a devastating surge in cases and a lack of medical care, other parts of the world are starting to reopen their economies.

In Europe, the UK is steadily lifting its lockdown and the introduction of vaccinations is progressing rapidly. To date, nearly 34 million adults in the country have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and over 13 million people have had two doses, government data shows.

In mainland Europe, according to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 133 million doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in 30 countries in the European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

The speed of vaccination programs varies widely across the EU, with some countries advancing faster than others.

WHO’s Kluge called on governments not to allow vaccination programs, public engagement for vaccines, or surveillance of the virus.

“Where vaccination rates are highest in high-risk groups, hospital admissions and death rates fall. Vaccines save lives, and they will change the course of this pandemic and ultimately help end it,” he said.

“We also need to be aware of the fact that vaccines alone will not end the pandemic.” Without informing and involving the communities, they remain exposed to the virus. Without monitoring, we cannot identify any new variants. And without tracing, governments may have to reintroduce restrictive measures. “

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Politics

Intelligence Report Calls China Greatest Menace to U.S.

Intelligence Report Calls China Biggest Threat to U.S.

China’s efforts to expand its growing influence pose one of the greatest threats to the United States, according to a major annual intelligence report released Tuesday that also warned that Beijing is capable of cyberattacks affecting the critical infrastructure in the United States Temporarily disrupt the United States.

In the report, China’s quest for “global power” ranks first on the list of threats, followed by Russia, Iran and North Korea. There are usually few general revelations in the annual reports that are a collection of approved reviews, although the ranking of intelligence threats and how they change over time can be meaningful.

“Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang have demonstrated the ability and intent to advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies despite the pandemic,” the report said. “China is increasingly a peer-to-peer competitor, challenging the US in a variety of areas – particularly economic, military, and technological – and pushing to change global norms.”

The section on Iran could influence negotiations on the re-entry of the United States into the nuclear deal. It is important that the intelligence services assess that Iran “is not currently engaged in the most important nuclear weapon development activities” required to build a nuclear device. However, according to the report, Iranian leaders will most likely be reluctant to hold talks with the United States without relieving sanctions.

The intelligence rating also offered a grim assessment of Afghanistan, just days before President Biden will announce when he will be pulling the last troops out of the country. Intelligence agencies believe the prospects for a peace deal remain slim and the Taliban are likely to make profits on the battlefield, the report said. Over the past few weeks, officials who said American troops should stay longer have used the assessment to reinforce their arguments.

China’s strategy, according to the report, is to drive wedges between the United States and its allies. Beijing has also used its success in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic to promote “system superiority”.

The report predicts that China will urge the Taiwanese government to move forward with unification and will criticize the United States’ efforts to step up engagement with Taipei. However, the report did not predict any direct military conflict.

China is using its electronic surveillance and hacking capabilities not only to suppress dissent within its country, but also to intervene that affects people outside its borders, the report said. China also poses a growing threat from cyberattacks against the United States, and intelligence agencies assess that Beijing “can at least cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure in the United States.”

There are few surprises when it comes to assessing the secret service in Russia. It makes it clear that American spy agencies still view Moscow as a pre-eminent threat, despite many viewing Moscow as a declining power. They discover that a Russian supply chain hacking operation has created vulnerabilities in around 18,000 computer networks around the world. The assessment said that while Russia would avoid direct conflict with America, it would use campaigns of influence, mercenary operations, and military exercises to advance its interests and undermine those of the United States.

While the report highlights the traditional types of national security threats the nation faces, it gives a nod to the challenges of climate change and global pandemics that the Biden government has announced that intelligence agencies will investigate more closely. The threats are largely long-term, but can also have short-term effects, the report said.

“The American people should know as much as possible about the threats our nation faces and what their intelligence agencies are doing to protect them,” said Avril B. Haines, the director of the national intelligence agency whose office wrote the report published.

The new report is followed by statements from Congress by Mrs Haines; William J. Burns, the CIA director; and other senior intelligence officials on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Health

Many metrics within the U.S. are bettering, although the specter of a brand new surge nonetheless looms.

Many metrics in the U.S. are improving, though the threat of a new surge still looms.

Positive trends in pandemic statistics in the US are easy to distrust. After all, the country saw two false dawns last year, in late spring and then again in late summer, as declines tapered if reports came even darker days ahead. Each time, the apparently good news led to relaxations and reopenings that added to the next wave.

It is therefore not surprising that public health experts are concerned about the recent flattening of the pandemic curve, from the sharp drop in cases in late January and February to a plateau or slight drop more recently. With contagious variants of the virus becoming more prevalent, they fear the good news will end and a fourth wave may emerge.

Even so, there are positive signs:

  • Daily death reports, which remained stubbornly high long after the surge after the holidays, ended up plummeting sharply to levels not seen since mid-November. As of Monday, the nation had recorded an average of 1,051 newly reported Covid deaths per day for the past week. The average was 3,000 for weeks over the winter.

  • Some recent hotspots have made great strides – particularly Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti said on CBS Sunday that he “hasn’t felt that optimism in 12 months”. The city and surrounding county, where cases jumped 450 percent in some areas during the holidays and hospitals were so overcrowded that some ambulances were turned away, now have a positive test rate of about 1.9 percent, and in one important shift, new case reports have fallen among people affected by homelessness.

  • Vaccinations are becoming more accessible week by week as states receive more doses and open up authorization, in some cases to all adult residents as well. The number of daily doses given daily is increasing, and the country surpassed President Biden’s original target of 100 million shots by March 19, nearly six weeks ahead of schedule.

The question now is which one will prevail: the positive effects of such trends or the negative effects of relaxed behavior and the development of the virus into more dangerous forms?

It is still “a race between vaccinations and variants,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, on Twitter. Like other experts, he warned: “Opening too quickly helps the variants.”

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World News

North Korean Risk Forces Biden Into Balancing Act With China

North Korean Threat Forces Biden Into Balancing Act With China

SEOUL – As the Biden government finishes its first high-level diplomatic tour of Asia on Thursday, it counts on international alliances in the region to contain the growing threat posed by North Korea’s ballistic missiles and nuclear capabilities.

But the country perhaps best placed to influence Pyongyang has increasingly seen President Biden as an adversary: ​​China.

After meetings in South Korea and Japan this week, the government is facing a diplomatic stalemate that irritated former President Barack Obama and led former President Donald J. Trump to declare his love for Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea , in a manic but ultimately foiled urge for a breakthrough.

At stake is the risk posed by North Korea’s weapon systems and its repressive domestic policy with surveillance, torture and prison camps. Recent attempts by the Biden administration to open a communication line have been rejected by North Korea, so American officials have urged their partners in the region to join a pressure campaign against Pyongyang.

“With respect to North Korea, the most important contact or engagement is our partners and allies – that is a big part of the reason we are here,” Foreign Secretary Antony J. Blinken told reporters Thursday after talks in Seoul with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and the South Korean Foreign and Defense Ministers.

He said the Biden administration was in close consultation with the governments of South Korea, Japan and other allied nations “who are concerned about the actions North Korea is taking”.

But China is North Korea’s foremost financial and political benefactor, and Blinken acknowledged that Beijing “plays a crucial role” in all diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang. He suggested China was also concerned about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

“China has a real interest in helping,” said Blinken. “So we are looking to Beijing to play a role in developing what I believe is in everyone’s interest.”

Whether the United States can recruit Beijing to attend will become clearer after talks later Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, when China’s two top diplomats meet with Mr Blinken and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. American officials have billed the talks as a blunt exchange of political views.

How North Korea can be contained is discussed in Anchorage, among other places. It is one of the few areas where American officials believe they can work with China as the Biden government continues to face Beijing’s military expansionism, crackdown on democracy, and economic coercion in the Indo-Pacific region.

Mr Blinken previously referred to China as America’s “greatest geopolitical test of the 21st century,” and the Biden administration has issued stern warnings and financial sanctions against Beijing, including on Wednesday, in response to some of its actions.

“Given its political and economic ties with North Korea and its overall strength in the region, it makes sense to enlist China’s support,” said Frank Aum, North Korea expert at the US Peace Institute in Washington.

However, Mr. Aum also noted that China has no control over a number of demands North Korea has made in return for disarmament, including lifting US sanctions and ending joint US-South Korean military exercises.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is keen to see the United States resume diplomatic talks with North Korea and other regional powers. He has repeatedly argued that a nuclear weapons-free Korean peninsula is possible, and has insisted that Mr Kim is willing to give up his arms and focus on economic growth should Washington provide the right incentives.

After meeting with the US envoy, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said he hoped for a “resumption of dialogue” between the United States and North Korea and that the Seoul government would continue to support Washington’s efforts to establish a diplomatic mission. Contact with Pyongyang.

He also suggested that Mr. Trump’s direct diplomatic approach provided “basic principles” for achieving denuclearization and peace in the Korean Peninsula.

“Our experience over the past three years has shown that it is possible to solve the nuclear problem if North Korea is persistent on the basis of close cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” said Chung.

It’s been more than a year since North Korea spoke directly to American officials, Blinken said in Tokyo. And this week’s Seoul meeting was the first between South Korean foreign and defense ministers and their American counterparts in five years.

Mr. Moon’s political portfolio rose when he helped bring Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim together for two summit meetings. But after the second, in 2019, ended abruptly without reaching an agreement on easing American sanctions or the pace of North Korean disarmament, Mr Moon sought to regain its relevance in the negotiations. In June last year, North Korea blew up the joint inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border. This was the first in a series of measures that threatened to reverse a fragile détente.

Officials in North Korea will reject Washington’s attempts to enter into dialogue “unless the US resets its hostile policies,” said Choe Son-hui, the country’s first deputy foreign minister, on Thursday. “That is why we will continue to ignore such an attempt by the USA in the future.”

Ms. Choe cited military exercises the United States had conducted with South Korea and spoke in Washington of imposing more sanctions on the North than examples of this hostility. In a diatribe released hours after the senior US envoy landed in Tokyo earlier this week, North Korea warned the Biden government not to “cause a stink”.

North Korea has not conducted any weapons tests since short-range missiles were launched in March last year. However, during a military parade in October, a new untested ICBM was unveiled that looked larger and more powerful than the ICBM it tested in late 2017, before Mr Kim began diplomacy with Mr Trump.

At a party conference in January, Mr Kim promised to further develop his country’s nuclear capabilities and stated that it would build new solid fuel ICBMs and make its nuclear warheads lighter and more precise.

Analysts said Pyongyang was closely following Mr. Blinken and Mr. Austin’s trips to Tokyo and Seoul this week for clues about the Biden government’s approach. It is expected that, after observing Washington, North Korea will decide whether to resume weapons testing and create a new cycle of tension for leverage.

Mr. Moon is anxious to save his once proud diplomacy over North Korea. His meeting with Mr Blinken and Mr Austin on Thursday should “send a strong message and call for the United States to be more flexible to include North Korea in the dialogue,” said Lee Byong-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University institute for Far East studies in Seoul.

“North Korea’s sentiment towards Moon Jae-in is disappointing,” said Lee. “Moon has been in a difficult position since talks between North Korea and the United States collapsed.”

Mr Blinken said the American stance on North Korea would include a mixture of regional pressure options and the potential for future diplomacy when the current policy review of the Biden administration is completed as early as next month.

Mr Aum, the North Korea expert at the U.S. Peace Institute, said the policy could include forcing China to do more to contain North Korea, possibly by deploying additional weapon systems in the region or conducting major military exercises with South Korea – both would irritate Beijing.

China has largely urged North Korea and the United States to solve the impasse on their own, despite calling for sanctions easing and a break in American military exercises with Seoul in exchange for Pyongyang freezing its nuclear and missile tests.

“All parties should work together to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this week. “China will continue to play a constructive role in this process.”

Steven Lee Myers and John Ismay reported from Seoul.

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Politics

Home Terrorism Risk Is ‘Metastasizing’ in U.S., F.B.I. Director Says

Domestic Terrorism Threat Is ‘Metastasizing’ in U.S., F.B.I. Director Says

WASHINGTON – The FBI director warned Senators Tuesday that domestic terrorism “is metastasizing across the country” and reiterated the threat from racially motivated extremists while largely avoiding tough questions about the bureau’s actions prior to the Capitol sieges Has.

Director Christopher A. Wray, largely out of public view since the January 6 riot, condemned supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, who raided the Capitol, resulting in five deaths and numerous police injuries led.

“That attack, that siege was pure and simple criminal behavior, and we, the FBI, consider it domestic terrorism,” Wray said. “It has no place in our democracy.”

He also revealed that the FBI’s domestic terrorism investigations had risen to 2,000 since he became its director in 2017. The Capitol uprising was part of a wider threat that had grown significantly in recent years, Wray said.

He didn’t break the investigation down an ideological divide, but the New York Times reported that agents opened more than 400 domestic terrorism investigations over the past year when racial justice protests broke out, including about 40 cases against possible ones Supporters of the far left anti-fascist movement known as Antifa and another 40 in the Boogaloo, a right-wing extremist movement that wants to start a civil war. The FBI also investigated white supremacists suspected of threatening protesters.

Mr. Wray’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was his first before Congress since the attack on the Capitol. It was free of the drama, according to similar statements last year, when Mr Trump – who named Mr Wray to his post – attacked him for detailing the threat posed by right-wing extremists and fomenting a false narrative that anti-fascists were the real danger. In contrast, the Biden government has made the fight against domestic terrorism a priority.

As a result of last year’s violence, the FBI and the Justice Department decided to increase the threat from anti-government and anti-authority extremists such as militias and anarchists. Still, the bureau officials said the threat is one level below that portrayed by racially motivated violent extremists such as neo-Nazis.

The FBI and Justice Department base these determinations on violent attacks like shootings or bombings and use the levels to decide where to concentrate resources.

Mr Wray pointed to another alarming trend: the number of white supremacists arrested in 2020 had nearly tripled since he headed the FBI three years earlier.

White supremacists have killed dozens of people in the United States since 2015, opened fires at a black church in South Carolina and synagogues in Pittsburgh and California, and targeted Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in Texas.

The political implications of the threats at the hearing. While Republicans condemned the attack on the Capitol, some were quick to draw attention to riots in Portland, Oregon and other cities over the past year, emphasizing property destruction and attacks on the police. In an attack of violence, an avowed Antifa supporter shot and killed a pro-Trump protester in Portland in August.

Still, it was the first murder in more than 20 years that the office classifies as an “anarchist violent extremist”.

Mr Wray repeatedly responded to questions from Democratic senators that people connected to Antifa were not involved in the storming of the Capitol and that the rioters were true Trump supporters and did not falsely pretend to be them.

Illinois Senator Richard J. Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the committee, accused the Trump administration of downplaying the threat posed by white supremacists while fueling a narrative that left anarchists like those who identify with Antifa are at greater risk for the country represented.

Mr Durbin rattled off the litany of mass shootings, adding, “Let’s stop pretending that the threat from Antifa equals the threat from the white supremacists.”

The Capitol Police have largely assumed the blame for the January 6 attack. Its acting chief, Yogananda D. Pittman, has acknowledged to Congress that the authorities have not done enough to thwart the “terrorist attack.”

In fact, as of January 6, there were several indicators of the potential for violence. Federal law enforcement officials knew members of militias like the Oath Guards and far-right groups like the Proud Boys were planning to travel to Washington, some possibly with guns. Many supporters of QAnon, a dangerous conspiracy theory that has been identified as a potential threat to domestic terrorism, should also attend a protest rally where Mr Trump spoke prior to the attack.

In addition, the day before the FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia office released a report warning of possible violence and mentioned people sharing a map of tunnels in the Capitol complex. The information was not verified, however, and part of it citing a warning of an impending “war” appeared to have come from a single online thread.

The FBI forwarded the report to the Capitol Police, though its former boss, Steven A. Sund, said it never made it.

Mr Wray said FBI officers leaked the Norfolk information to other law enforcement agencies at least three times. He said that he only saw the report after the uprising, but that the handling of it was typical of such intelligence agencies.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked what Capitol Police leaders should have done after seeing the January 5 report.

“I really want to be careful not to be a chair quarterback,” said Mr. Wray. He later said he did not have a “good answer” as to why Mr Sund did not receive the report.

With the signs of violence or worse on Jan. 6, Connecticut Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal pressed Mr. Wray on why the FBI “did not raise the alarm in a more visible and ringing way.”

Mr Wray said the office had been publishing intelligence reports related to domestic terrorism – some specifically related to the elections – publicly and to other law enforcement agencies such as the Capitol Police for months.

He said the office was reviewing his actions but agreed that the uprising was not an “acceptable outcome”.

“We want to hit a thousand,” said Mr. Wray.

It was clear, however, that on Jan. 6, federal law enforcement agencies underestimated the potential for violence among Trump supporters, many of whom posed as law enforcement supporters.

The focus on Antifa with Mr Trump and some of his cabinet officials and the relocation of law enforcement agencies this past spring and summer may have helped the FBI fail to peak the growing anger among Mr Trump’s supporters over false allegations of electoral fraud that were culminating When he stormed the Capitol, current and former law enforcement officials have said. Mr. Trump himself had promoted this conspiracy theory and influenced his followers with the unfounded notion that the election had been stolen.

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Business

Home terrorism has outdated the specter of worldwide terrorism, warns ex-NYC police commissioner

Domestic terrorism has superseded the threat of international terrorism, warns ex-NYC police commissioner

Former New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton warned CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith that domestic terrorism has superseded the threat of international terrorism in the United States.

“For the past 20 years our greatest concern has been international terrorism – ISIS, Al-Qaeda,” Bratton said in an interview on Friday evening. “Now it is here, and it is us, and it is the citizens of the United States, some of whom are rebelling against everything we have believed in for the past 300 to 400 years.”

Former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism officer Nate Snyder reiterated Bratton’s views on The News with Shepard Smith.

“When you talk about the lethality of the threat, domestic terrorism – that is, violent white supremacists, neo-Nazis, sovereign citizens, militia movements – has been the deadliest threat in the last decade compared to Al Qaeda and ISIS-inspired threats,” said Snyder.

State capitals across the country are at risk of violence in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. FBI Director Christopher Wray urged state officials to take any extremist threat seriously during an inauguration safety briefing on Friday at FEMA headquarters.

“If we discover that a person poses a violent threat, we and our partners will use every legitimate authority and method to interrupt any attempt or attack,” Wray said. “Our attitude is aggressive; It will stay that way with the initiation. “

Wray said the agency was following “extensive” online chatter, including calls for armed protests. Some internet extremists have ignored President Trump’s call for peace, citing the fact that, according to Politico, he has still not officially admitted. There are also some extremists on the Telegram instant messaging platform who, according to the Washington Post, are calling for surprise attacks across the country.

Bratton told host Shepard Smith that it was “much, much more difficult” to fight domestic terrorism and that the US lacks the “tools to fight domestic terrorism” as it does in fighting international terrorism is. Snyder criticized the detrimental impact of the Trump administration’s policies on weakening the country’s ability to counter threats posed by neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and sovereign citizens.

“Unfortunately, during this administration, there has been a systematic atrophy of these efforts, not just from my previous office, but also from analysts in the department’s intelligence and analysis department who would focus primarily on tracking these threats,” said Snyder.

The National Park Service has closed the National Mall due to widespread safety concerns. The Army confirmed Friday that up to 25,000 National Guard troops will be in DC to ensure safety for Biden’s inauguration. That’s roughly five times the number of troops the US currently has in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bratton said there should be more transparency when it comes to law enforcement providing information to U.S. citizens to keep them informed and keep them safe.

“I hope that after January 20th we will return to a situation where we can become more transparent and open and where American law enforcement can be where they need to be, on these podiums rather than with you speak some of us, ex-law enforcement officers, “Bratton said.

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Business

Theaters, live performance venues left ready for assist after Trump risk

Theaters, concert venues left waiting for help after Trump threat

The $ 900 billion coronavirus aid package includes a long-awaited move to send aid to struggling independent theaters and music venues.

But now these cultural centers and small businesses are waiting for help again.

The measure was supposed to become law this week, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to blow up the deal, the result of months of controversial negotiations. It is not clear whether the president intends to veto the bill or not to sign it for the remaining weeks of his presidency.

The law provides $ 15 billion in grants to facilities including museums and zoos. It’s a multi-month push for the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan plan to promote small arts and entertainment venues that have come under pressure during the pandemic health restrictions.

Private, small performing arts venues, cinemas, museums and zoos could receive grants from the Small Business Administration – starting with those where revenues are down more than 90% year over year. Companies can use the money on expenses such as rent or mortgage, utilities, payroll, insurance, and maintenance to help them meet public health guidelines.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who first co-sponsored the bill in July with Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, said the plan would send targeted aid to businesses that usually closed first and last will belong open.

“These are some of the companies and phases that have been hurt the most and that have literally been all but closed,” she told CNBC on Tuesday. The interview came just hours before Trump, who was expected to sign the bill, called it a “disgrace” and asked lawmakers to change it.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the entertainment industry. Live shows have been canceled for nearly nine months and dozens of blockbuster films have been postponed to 2021. This has cracked the bottom line and threatened to bankrupt businesses large and small.

However, it is only the smallest companies that could benefit from Klobuchar’s and Cornyn’s plan. Venues seeking help cannot fall into more than two of the following groups:

  • Listed companies
  • Multinational companies
  • Companies that operate in more than 10 states
  • Companies with more than 500 full-time employees
  • Companies that have received at least 10% of their revenue from government sources

These reservations mean that national theater chains such as AMC, Cinemark and Regal owned by Cineworld, as well as many regional chains, would not be eligible to apply for grants.

“The larger chains like AMC and Regal had easy access to funding that some of the smaller operators don’t,” said Doug Calidas, Klobuchar’s legislative director. “Even if the worst-case scenario comes up and they don’t make it, they usually get bought out and stay, while many of these very small theaters, if they close their doors, would be.”

The bill would provide relief to hundreds of independent cinemas that the National Association of Theater Owners has warned could close permanently if not supported.

“This act will help us survive until the vaccines are widely distributed,” said Brock Bagby, executive vice president of B & B Theaters, a family-owned company with 48 theaters in eight states.

While movie theaters in most states have been able to operate with limited capacity, live entertainment centers like Broadway in New York City are still closed.

The Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents around 51,000 stage actors and managers in the live theater industry, said more than 1,100 actors and managers lost their jobs on Broadway during the pandemic.

The theater industry in New York City supports more than 96,000 local jobs, according to the Broadway League. This includes those involved in productions and those who work in the Broadway area such as retailers, taxi drivers, and restaurant owners.

“We are grateful for this bipartisan deal that is immediate relief and a lifeline for the future in our industry,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League after lawmakers closed the deal – but before Trump got the deal after it Conclusion ripped passage in Congress.

The group declined to provide additional comments when CNBC asked for a response to Trump’s subsequent attack on the Covid relief bill.

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Trump’s risk to veto $900 billion Covid reduction invoice places main local weather laws in danger

Trump's threat to veto $900 billion Covid relief bill puts major climate legislation at risk

Patrick Pleul / Image Alliance via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s opposition to a $ 900 billion coronavirus bailout package, largely passed by U.S. lawmakers late Monday, jeopardizes the first major climate change piece of legislation to have received Congress approval in about a decade.

Trump has threatened a veto of the stimulus package, which includes $ 600 direct checks for individuals and $ 35 billion to fund clean energy projects, and plans to reduce the use of chemicals to warm the planet.

The climate regulations included in the deal come after the Trump administration slashed more than 80 key environmental regulations in four years and just before President-elect Joe Biden took office.

Biden plans to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and use executive orders to expose many of Trump’s environmental setbacks. He’s also pushing for a $ 2 trillion plan, which needs Congressional approval, to move the country from fossil fuels to clean energy and green jobs. Trump officially withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement in November.

Although Biden’s legislation is likely to face immense hurdles if the GOP controls the Senate, which will be decided with two crucial runoff elections in Georgia in January, policy experts and environmental groups say the bipartite-backed climate action in the stimulus package signals that Biden can achieve this could make significant strides in combating global warming. It is also a sign that the US will join a wider global effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions to warm the planet.

“The spending bill just passed by Congress, with support from both Democrats and Republicans, points the way ahead,” said Michael Mann, climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University. “It’s a positive sign that 2020 could be the year we turned around the corner on climate action in the US.”

The stimulus plan will cut the production and consumption of fluorocarbons (HFCs), which warm the planet, by 85% in the US over a 15 year period.

The ozone-depleting chemicals are often found in air conditioners and refrigerators. While they make up a smaller percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, fluorocarbons pack 1000 times the heat storage capacity of carbon dioxide.

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Rethinking Stimulus: How Covid’s Economic Recovery Can Combat Climate Change
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HFCs are used by nations around the world in a targeted manner to curb global warming. In October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, a landmark agreement was reached by delegates from 197 nations around the world to phase out HFCs.

So far 72 countries have ratified the Kigali Agreement. Despite the support of US manufacturers and chemical companies, the Trump administration did not accept the pact and instead proposed to reset the Obama-era standards to reduce the use of HFCs.

The stimulus package also includes bipartisan renewable energy legislation, which will provide approximately $ 35 billion in government funding for clean energy projects.

“This bill is the most important step we have taken to improve the climate of this Congress, and its passage is strong evidence that both parties support cooperation in creating climate solutions and investing in advanced energy technologies, while at the same time the our country’s most vulnerable citizens are cared for, “Senator Chris Coons, D-Del. said in a statement earlier this week.

The legislation includes tax credits for solar and wind power that would fuel Biden’s plan to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. The broader bill also includes investments for more sustainable transport and re-approves a program that provides funding for low-income homeowners to upgrade equipment, heat pumps and other household items to clean energy products.

The stimulus package also includes measures to capture and store carbon from production and power plants, reduce diesel emissions from some vehicles, and finance oil exploration projects.

“Congress has made an unprecedented downside to tackling climate change in this legislation by agreeing to phase out effective HFCs, invest in renewables and extend much-needed tax incentives for wind and solar,” said Grant Carlisle, senior Policy Advisor at Natural Resource Defense Council.

“But that’s just a start,” said Carlisle. “In order to cope with the climate crisis, the federal government must accelerate its efforts to convert our economy to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels.”