theguardian--2020-12-09--Biden introduces vaccine pledge as US Covid cases soar past 15 million – live

Last night Idaho public health officials abruptly ended a meeting after the Boise mayor and chief of police said intense protests outside the health department building as well as outside some health officials ’ homes were threatening public safety .
The request from Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and the Boise Police Department came just a few minutes after one health board member , Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo , tearfully interrupted the online meeting to say she had to rush home from work to be with her son .
The board had been expected to vote on a four-county mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region .
“ My 12-year-old son is home alone right now and there are protestors banging outside the door , ” Lachiondo said .
Another board member , family physician Dr. Ted Epperly , said protests were “ not under control at my house , ” as well .
Protesters went to at least three board members ’ homes , the Boise Police Department said .
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Central District Health parking lot before and during the meeting .
Other groups are supportive of the proposed mask rule though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee ” gathered supportive messages from 600 area residents , putting them on yard signs delivered to the health district building several hours before the meeting was scheduled to begin .
The Associated Press reports that Central District Health Director Russ Duke interrupted the Tuesday meeting to inform board members of the mayor ’ s request .
“ I got a call from the mayor , and it sounds like the police , and she is requesting that we stop the meeting at this time because of the intense level of protesters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety and staff safety as well as the protesters that are at some of our board members ’ homes right now , ” Duke said .
The Boise Police Department later issued a statement on Twitter that said they requested the meeting adjourn “ in the interest of public safety.
” Idaho Gov .
Brad Little has repeatedly urged Idahoans to wear masks but has declined to issue a statewide mask mandate , instead leaving that decision in the hands of the regional health boards .
He condemned the protestors ’ actions at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor ’ s statewide orders require physical distancing at gatherings , limit public and private gatherings to 10 people ( except for religious or political events ) , require patrons to be seated at bars and restaurants and require masks at long term-care facilities .
Last week , regional hospital officials warned that they were so overwhelmed by high numbers of coronavirus patients and by health care staffers unable to work because they are sick that the state could be forced to implement “ crisis standards of care ” within the next month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ensure that the patients most likely to survive Covid-19 are given access to potentially life-saving treatment when there isn ’ t enough to go around .
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports that at least 113,905 Idaho residents have been infected with the virus so far , including 2,012 new cases reported on Tuesday .
So far at least 1,074 residents have died from Covid-19 .

10 Dec 2020 01.00 GMT Summary From Joan E Greve and me: Joe Biden formally introduced his nominee to lead the defense department, Lloyd Austin. As a recently retired general, Austin will need a waiver from Congress to be confirmed, and Biden implored lawmakers to support the waiver. “I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it. It does call for it,” Biden said.
As a recently retired general, Austin will need a waiver from Congress to be confirmed, and Biden implored lawmakers to support the waiver. “I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it. It does call for it,” Biden said. Hunter Biden said the US attorney’s office in Delaware is investigating his “tax affairs”. Biden said in a statement released by his father’s transition team, “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”
Biden said in a statement released by his father’s transition team, “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.” The House passed a spending bill to keep the government funded for another week. The bill, if it passes the Senate, will give lawmakers another week to reach a deal on an omnibus spending package and coronavirus relief.
The bill, if it passes the Senate, will give lawmakers another week to reach a deal on an omnibus spending package and coronavirus relief. The US government and a coalition of states filed parallel antirust lawsuits against Facebook. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who is leading the coalition of states bringing one of the lawsuits, said in a statement, “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.”
New York’s attorney general, who is leading the coalition of states bringing one of the lawsuits, said in a statement, “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.” Canada approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The UK has already started distributing the vaccine to its citizens, and the FDA released an analysis of the treatment yesterday that raised no safety concerns, meaning an approval is likely imminent in the US.
The UK has already started distributing the vaccine to its citizens, and the FDA released an analysis of the treatment yesterday that raised no safety concerns, meaning an approval is likely imminent in the US. The US is expecting to begin administering its first coronavirus vaccines this week. Healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first to get access.
Updated at 01.06 GMT
10 Dec 2020 00.39 GMT Report: Biden expected to pick Katherine Tai to be US trade rep The president-elect plans to nominate Katherine Tai as US trade representative, the Washington Post reports: Tai, who has been the chief trade counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee since 2017, is the lead adviser to Democrats and the committee chairman on international trade issues. Though she would be making an unusual jump to a Cabinet-level position, Tai is well regarded by both the moderate and liberal wings of the party and is backed by prominent lawmakers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). A group of 10 female House Democrats led by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.) and Judy Chu (Calif.) wrote Biden last month backing Tai as “uniquely qualified” for the job.
10 Dec 2020 00.35 GMT Google will investigate what led to AI researcher's exit, CEO says From Guardian staff and agencies: The CEO of Google has apologized for how a prominent artificial intelligence researcher’s abrupt departure last week has “seeded doubts” in the company. Sundar Pichai told Google employees in a Wednesday memo, obtained by Axios, that the tech company was beginning a review of the circumstances leading up to Timnit Gebru’s exit last week, and how Google could have “led a more respectful process”. Gebru is a top scholar of AI ethics and one of the most prominent Black scientists in her field. She said she had been fired; Google has referred to it as a resignation.
The dispute leading up to her departure concerned Google’s efforts to disassociate itself from a research paper that Gebru had co-authored, which examined the societal dangers of an AI technology used by Google. The paper contended that technology companies could do more to ensure AI systems aimed at mimicking human writing and speech did not exacerbate historical gender biases and use of offensive language, according to a draft copy seen by Reuters.
Gebru tweeted last week that she had been fired after sending an email to an internal group for women and allies working in the company’s AI unit. Her email referenced the disputed research paper but more broadly expressed frustration at Google’s diversity programs. In it, Gebru argued that “there is zero accountability” or real incentive for Google leadership to change. Her departure has prompted widespread anger within the company. More than 1,200 Google employees signed a letter of protest last Friday, accusing Google of “unprecedented research censorship”, racism and defensiveness.
Read more: Google will investigate what led to AI researcher's exit, CEO says Read more
10 Dec 2020 00.34 GMT California, the US’s most populous state, expects to begin vaccinations starting this month, according to the governor’s office. Healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first to access the vaccines. Across the US, the first doses of the vaccine could be administered this week. CA gets our first #COVID19 vaccines in the coming days & we're prepared to begin Phase 1a to health care workers & nursing home residents safely, effectively & efficiently. We also expect 672k Moderna doses this month. Wide distribution is further away but hope is on the horizon. — Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) December 9, 2020
Updated at 00.35 GMT
10 Dec 2020 00.02 GMT The Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden’s taxes involve his Chinese business dealings, the AP reports: Hunter Biden has a history of international affairs and business dealings in a number of countries. The revelation puts a renewed spotlight on the questions about his financial dealings that dogged his father’s successful White House campaign. Federal investigators served a round of subpoenas on Tuesday, including for Biden, according to another person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe. The tax investigation centers on his business dealings, the person said.
9 Dec 2020 23.56 GMT Covid vaccines: US regulator sceptical over AstraZeneca model Sarah Boseley For a man presenting landmark results from trials of a vaccine that it is hoped will save the world from a devastating pandemic, Sir Menelas Pangalos did not look cheerful on Wednesday. Pangalos, executive vice-president of biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, and his colleagues are undoubtedly exhausted, having been working round the clock on the coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University since April. But they are now dealing with a sizeable new headache – the doubts of the US regulator. It is clear that in spite of the critical need for coronavirus vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration is not going to rush to approve the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, even though the US, through its “Operation Warp Speed”, has put in substantial funding and ordered 300m doses. Unlike Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s mRNA products, the AstraZeneca vaccine is cheap, can be stored at ordinary fridge temperatures, is easy to manufacture and presents the best hope at the moment for a vaccine for the billions rather than the few.
But while the UK, the rest of Europe, and Canada and India could approve it in the coming weeks, the US, which currently has the world’s biggest epidemic, will have to wait. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been the subject of withering criticism in the US media. It has suffered by comparison with Pfizer and Moderna, whose vaccines, manufactured with a different and novel technology, have effectively scored straight As. Their vaccines have shown 95% efficacy in very large and straightforward trials involving respectively more than 40,000 and 30,000 people. Criticism of the AstraZeneca vaccine focuses on three main issues. AstraZeneca’s efficacy data relates to fewer people than the other vaccines; so far 11,636 in the UK and Brazil trials, although there are more to come, including a 30,000-strong trial in the US partly funded by Operation Warp Speed. A woman in the UK given the AstraZeneca jab developed transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder causing inflammation of the spinal cord, leading to the trials being paused worldwide in September. And the efficacy results were 62% overall, but 90% covering a sub-group of fewer than 3,000 people who were inadvertently given a lower starting dose. Researchers said that pooling the results, which they had agreed to do with regulators before they knew the outcome, gave them 70% efficacy overall. But it looked messy. One investment analyst opined at that point: “We believe that this product will never be licensed in the US.”
Read more: Covid vaccines: US regulator sceptical over AstraZeneca model Read more
9 Dec 2020 23.24 GMT Donald Trump has reportedly asked Texas senator Ted Cruz to argue a case seeking to invalidate the election results if it reaches the Supreme Court. Per the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman: The long-shot suit from attorney general Ken Paxton of Texas is seeking to challenge the electoral college outcomes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia, and describes the votes as “tainted.” Mr Trump asked Mr Cruz, Republican of Texas, if he would be willing to make oral arguments in the case should it reach the supreme court. Mr Cruz agreed. The call was the latest example of Mr Trump’s continuing efforts to try to upend the results of the election with claims of widespread fraud that his lawyers have yet to demonstrate in court. Dozens of legal challenges by the Trump campaign and Republican proxies related to the election have been tossed out by judges, including judges appointed by Mr Trump. Before he joined the Senate in 2013, Mr Cruz argued before the supreme court nine times, representing Texas in most of those cases in his role as the state’s solicitor general. Trump just tweeted, in a post flagged by Twitter: Wow! At least 17 States have joined Texas in the extraordinary case against the greatest Election Fraud in the history of the United States. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2020 But the suit makes entirely false, odd claims about absentee ballots, and claims it was illegal for Georgia to process ballots before election day, even though states that Trump won – where Trump isn’t disputing the results – also processed ballots before election day.
Updated at 23.45 GMT
9 Dec 2020 22.59 GMT The federal investigation into Hunter Biden has nothing to do with a laptop that Trump supporters alleged belonged to the younger Biden, and held up as evidence of wrongdoing. The AP reports: In the weeks before the election, Trump supporters used the existence of a laptop they said was connected to Hunter Biden – and the emergence of someone who maintains he had business discussions with him – to raise questions about Joe Biden’s knowledge of his son’s activities in Ukraine and China. The president-elect has said he did not discuss his son’s international business dealings with him and has denied having ever taken money from a foreign country. The laptop surfaced publicly in October when the New York Post reported on emails that it said had come from Hunter Biden’s laptop and that it said it received from Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer. Another person familiar with the matter told the AP that the tax investigation does not have anything to do with the laptop. The people had knowledge of the investigation but were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Updated at 23.20 GMT
9 Dec 2020 22.53 GMT 'All my plans were ruined': Covid's economic toll on young Americans Michael Sainato reports: David Little of Tampa, Florida, obtained his master’s degree in architecture and was excitedly waiting for his girlfriend to finish her degree before the couple moved to Philadelphia. The coronavirus pandemic halted those plans as they both struggled to find work matching their education. “I have no idea what I’m doing right now. My plans were completely ruined by all of this,” said Little, 26, who was working as a valet before he was laid off in April. “There are no jobs out there even nationwide for entry level architecture grads, there is no real end in sight, and with my girlfriend not having any income because she’s also in architecture, it’s causing tension that wouldn’t normally be there.” Like many young people, Little has been hit hard by the economic collapse in the wake of Covid-19. He’s uncertain of what will happen when his unemployment benefits run out at the end of this year, no longer has health insurance after turning 26 this year, and has already racked up significant credit card debt to cover bills over the past few months. Before the pandemic, younger people in America were already making substantially less money than older generations, even compared with when those older people were young. In 1989, baby boomers controlled 21% of the nation’s wealth; millennials controlled just 5% of the nation’s wealth in 2019.
And coronavirus has made life worse.
From spring 2019 to spring 2020, unemployment among adults ages 16 to 24 increased from 8.4% to 24.4%, compared with an increase of 2.8% to 11.3% for adults 25 and older. Young Black (29.6%), Hispanic (27.5%), and Asian American (29.7%) workers are experiencing even higher rates of unemployment. One-third of young Americans in the current labor market are classified as underemployed. Biden pledges ‘100m shots in 100 days’ as he introduces health teamRead more Lane Klumb, 24, of Winona, Minnesota, was furloughed from his job in retail in March 2020 and wasn’t recalled until October, for a seasonal position. “Between all the bills I accumulated during my furlough, I am still currently paying off credit cards, as I needed to max all of my cards out just to pay my bills and have food,” he said. Read more: 'All my plans were ruined': Covid's economic toll on young Americans Read more
9 Dec 2020 22.35 GMT Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and Bernie Sanders campaign surrogate, has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run for a seat that would be vacated by representative Marcia Fudge if Fudge is confirmed to serve in Biden’s cabinet. Biden is expected to name Fudge as his pick for Housing and Urban Development secretary, though he has yet to make an official announcement. Fudge would then have to be confirmed by the Senate in order to take the post. Politico first reported that Turner was eyeing a congressional seat yesterday. BREAKING - IT'S OFFICIAL: @ninaturner has filed to run for congress #OH11 https://t.co/bNni91nolJ — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) December 9, 2020
9 Dec 2020 22.23 GMT In Idaho, a virtual health board meeting on Tuesday night was cut short because protestors gathered at the homes of officials. The Idaho Statesman reports: The Central District Health Board of Health meeting Tuesday night to discuss and vote on a public health order dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was adjourned shortly after it started because of the danger posed by protesters at the CDH office and at some board members’ places of residence. Moments after a tearful Commissioner Diana Lachiondo left the virtual meeting to head to her house — where her children were home alone, and where anti-mask, anti-health-order protesters had reportedly gathered — CDH Director Russ Duke interrupted a doctor’s statements on the toll of the coronavirus to tell the board and people watching that Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee had requested that the meeting be ended for safety reasons. Dr. Ted Epperly, another board member, said protesters gathered at his house as well. He told the Statesman that about 15 people were outside his home, “beating garbage cans and flashing strobe lights through my windows. Two came up and knocked on my door during the meeting.” A motion was made to adjourn the meeting to a later date and seconded, and board members voted to adjourn shortly after Duke’s statement. “I am disappointed that we had to table the vote,” Epperly told the Statesman. As the coronavirus pandemic in the US escalates, so have protests against health orders to rein in the pandemic. In Idaho, coronavirus deaths have increased by nearly 50% over the past fortnight. Commissioner Lachinondo, teary, told her colleagues, “my 12-year-old son is home by himself right now, and there are protesters banging outside the door. I’m going to go home and make sure he’s okay.” Read more here.
Updated at 00.03 GMT
9 Dec 2020 22.14 GMT Per NBC’s Tom Winter, Hunter Biden and his former wife Kathleen Buhle also had an IRS lien against them for unpaid taxes. It remains unclear whether the lien is part of the investigation by the US attorney’s office in Delaware. MORE: Up until March 20th of this year Hunter and his former wife Kathleen Buhle had an IRS lien against them for taxes not paid in the total of $112,805.09, according to publicly available documents.
It is unknown if the tax lien is connected to the investigation. https://t.co/7BvjgaOHul — Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) December 9, 2020
Updated at 22.18 GMT
9 Dec 2020 22.00 GMT Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: Joe Biden formally introduced his nominee to lead the defense department, Lloyd Austin. As a recently retired general, Austin will need a waiver from Congress to be confirmed, and Biden implored lawmakers to support the waiver. “I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it. It does call for it,” Biden said.
As a recently retired general, Austin will need a waiver from Congress to be confirmed, and Biden implored lawmakers to support the waiver. “I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it. It does call for it,” Biden said. Hunter Biden said the US attorney’s office in Delaware is investigating his “tax affairs.” Biden said in a statement released by his father’s transition team, “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”
Biden said in a statement released by his father’s transition team, “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.” The House passed a spending bill to keep the government funded for another week. The bill, if it passes the Senate, will give lawmakers another week to reach a deal on an omnibus spending package and coronavirus relief.
The bill, if it passes the Senate, will give lawmakers another week to reach a deal on an omnibus spending package and coronavirus relief. The US government and a coalition of states filed parallel antirust lawsuits against Facebook. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who is leading the coalition of states bringing one of the lawsuits, said in a statement, “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.”
New York’s attorney general, who is leading the coalition of states bringing one of the lawsuits, said in a statement, “For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.” Canada approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The UK has already started distributing the vaccine to its citizens, and the FDA released an analysis of the treatment yesterday that raised no safety concerns, meaning an approval is likely imminent in the US. Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
9 Dec 2020 21.50 GMT House passes one-week spending bill The House has passed a bill to fund the government for another week, through 18 December, by a vote of 343 to 67. H.R. 8900 – Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2021, and Other Extensions Act passed by a vote of 343-67. — House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) December 9, 2020 If the bill is also passed by the Senate, it will allow the government to avoid a shutdown on Friday night, when funding is currently set to run out. The legislation would also give lawmakers additional time to reach an agreement on an omnibus spending bill and a coronavirus relief package. It’s still unclear whether Congress will be able to strike a deal on coronavirus relief before lawmakers leave for the holidays. There are lingering disagreements over liability protections for employers and state and local funding.
Updated at 22.05 GMT
9 Dec 2020 21.43 GMT CNN has more details on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes: After pausing in the months before the election, federal authorities are now actively investigating the business dealings of Hunter Biden, a person with knowledge of the probe says. His father the President-elect is not implicated.
Now that the election is over, the investigation is entering a new phase. Federal prosecutors in Delaware, working with the IRS Criminal Investigation agency and the FBI, are taking overt steps such as issuing subpoenas and seeking interviews, the person with knowledge says. Activity in the investigation had been largely dormant in recent months due to Justice Department guidelines prohibiting overt actions that could affect an election, the person said. ... Investigators have been examining multiple financial issues, including whether Hunter Biden and associates violated tax and money laundering laws in business dealings in foreign countries, principally China, according to two people briefed on the probe. Some of those transactions involved people who the FBI believe sparked counterintelligence concerns, a common issue when dealing with Chinese business, according to another source.
9 Dec 2020 21.33 GMT According to CNN, the investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes started in 2018 and is focused on his business dealings in China. The investigation was put on hold in the immediate run-up to the presidential election because of department policy about not affecting elections, but investigators took additional steps after the race concluded last month. Here are some more details as @evanperez reported.
- Investigation started back in 2018
- Has to do with business dealings in China.
-Investigation was put on hold around the election because of DOJ policy. -New investigative actions began after the election. — Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) December 9, 2020


David Dinkins obituary

David Dinkins , the first black mayor of New York City , who has died aged 93 , was in many ways the right man at the wrong time .
His single term as mayor of the city he called “ a gorgeous mosaic ” , from 1990 until 1993 , was a period of chaos for New York , consumed by a then-huge deficit of $ 1.8bn , the flight of business and money , a soaring murder rate and the seeming constant provocation of racial and ethnic conflict .
Dinkins ’ political personality was that of a conciliator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starkly with his predecessor , Ed Koch , and indeed his successor , Rudy Giuliani , both of whom were as aggressive , abrasive and assertive as the population they represented .
This image had been Dinkins ’ selling point in 1989 to New York ’ s Democratic party .
But during his mayoralty , as New York ’ s melting pot became a crucible , Dinkins was unable to make the sort of crucial gesture that might have calmed the city , like John Lindsay ’ s walk through Harlem in 1968 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sparked riots in other cities .
Dinkins was born in Trenton , New Jersey , where his father , William , was a barber .
When his parents divorced , David moved to Harlem with his mother , Sally ( nee Lucy ) , a domestic worker .
Eventually he and his sister , Joyce , returned to Trenton , where he attended high school , and discovered segregation , which he had not experienced in New York – the school ’ s swimming pool was not open to black people .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corps , but found the “ negro quota ” filled .
He entered the army and managed to transfer to the Marines , becoming one of the “ Montford Point ” recruits who integrated the corps .
Discharged in 1946 , he entered Howard University in Washington , one of the elite traditionally black colleges , where he graduated with an honours degree in mathematics .
When his college sweetheart , Joyce Burrows , graduated in 1953 , they married and moved to New York .
Dinkins attended law school at Brooklyn College @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the meantime , he worked in a liquor store for his father-in-law , Daniel , a property magnate in Harlem and a powerful figure within Tammany Hall , the Democratic power structure in the city .
While Dinkins was opening a private law practice , his father-in-law introduced him to the Carver Democratic Club , run by J Raymond Jones , “ The Harlem Fox ” , under whose mentorship Dinkins became one of the so-called “ Gang of Four ” , the group of rising young black politicians that also included @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Manhattan borough president Percy Sutton and deputy mayor ( under Koch ) Basil Patterson .
In 1965 Dinkins was elected to the state assembly , but in the face of redistricting , he did not run for a second term .
Instead , he worked his way up through administrative positions .
In 1973 , he became the first black president of the city ’ s Board of Elections , and was credited with widening the voter base .
The mayor , Abe Beame , nominated him as a deputy , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed to file tax returns for four years .
This “ oversight ” was rectified , but it scuppered his nomination .
In 1975 Beame appointed him city clerk , an influential position he held until 1985 , when he won , on his third attempt , election as Manhattan ’ s borough president .
Koch had originally been elected mayor in 1978 , after running as a reformer against Tammany Hall , but in 1989 he was seeking an unprecedented fourth term following mammoth corruption scandals , and had also angered New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposition to Jesse Jackson ’ s presidential campaign .
That April the city was rocked by an attack on a white female jogger in Central Park , which led to the arrest of five black and Hispanic youths ( 13 years later their convictions were overturned when the real rapist confessed ) .
Shortly before the primary in August that would decide the Democratic candidate , Yusuf Hawkins , a black 16-year-old , was shot dead by a gang of white youths who attacked him in their Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bensonhurst .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dinkins was seen as a voice of reason , and he easily won the primary over Koch .
In the election he faced Giuliani , whose reputation as a mafia-busting US attorney led him to adopt a strong law-and-order platform .
Although Democrats held an almost five to one advantage in voter registrations , Giuliani added the endorsement of New York ’ s Liberal party , which helped him win more than half of Koch ’ s voters .
Dinkins was elected by a margin of only 46,000 votes , 51 % to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the last of America ’ s 10 largest cities to elect a black mayor .
In his inaugural address , he spoke of “ a new coalition of conscience and purpose ” .
Taking office in the middle of a recession , with 357,000 private jobs gone and federal aid cut , Dinkins had a difficult time keeping campaign promises in the face of a tightening budget , and was forced to raise city taxes .
He moved to improve public housing , and to keep libraries open while cutting other programmes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporation to help clean up Times Square , and another to keep the US Open Tennis in Queens .
With a murder rate approaching 2,000 per year , he appointed a black police commissioner , Lee Brown , who came in from Atlanta and Houston with a reputation as a reformer .
But while Dinkins waited for Brown to report , the city again exploded .
In August 1990 , a tourist attending the US Open Tennis was stabbed to death on a subway platform .
Dinkins announced a massive increase in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months later , the city was split by a black boycott of Korean-owned grocery stores , when a Korean-American owner accused a Haitian-American customer of shoplifting .
Finally , in August 1991 , the keg burst as a driver in a motorcade taking the head of a Lubavitcher Orthodox Jewish sect through Crown Heights in Brooklyn swerved on to a sidewalk and killed a seven-year-old black boy , Gavin Cato .
Hours later , a group of black youths killed an Australian rabbinical student .
The two killings prompted almost five days of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the boy ’ s death and Jewish groups claiming the police were failing to protect them .
Although an independent investigation in 1993 cleared Dinkins against charges of withholding police aid , it did criticise his relative lack of action .
By then it was too late to heal the wounds .
Giuliani turned the tables on him and took a larger percentage of the white vote and he won his rematch in the mayoralty race that November .
In 1998 Giuliani and the city settled a lawsuit against the city by Jewish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ response “ inadequate ” .
Dinkins invited Giuliani to dinner , saying : “ I extend my hand to him in brotherhood , ” but Giuliani declined this Obama-like gesture .
In his 2013 memoir , A Mayor ’ s Life : Governing New York ’ s Gorgeous Mosaic ( written with Peter Knobler ) , Dinkins called Giuliani a “ cold , unkind person who practised the politics of boundless ambition ” .
After leaving office , Dinkins was a professor in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show .
A keen tennis player , he served on the board of the US Tennis Association .
He remained active in politics , and in 2013 supported his former aide Bill de Blasio in his successful campaign for election as mayor .
Dinkins ’ wife died in October .
He is survived by his son , David , and daughter , Donna .

David Dinkins, the first black mayor of New York City, who has died aged 93, was in many ways the right man at the wrong time. His single term as mayor of the city he called “a gorgeous mosaic”, from 1990 until 1993, was a period of chaos for New York, consumed by a then-huge deficit of $1.8bn, the flight of business and money, a soaring murder rate and the seeming constant provocation of racial and ethnic conflict. Dinkins’ political personality was that of a conciliator, cautious and dignified, which contrasted starkly with his predecessor, Ed Koch, and indeed his successor, Rudy Giuliani, both of whom were as aggressive, abrasive and assertive as the population they represented.
This image had been Dinkins’ selling point in 1989 to New York’s Democratic party. But during his mayoralty, as New York’s melting pot became a crucible, Dinkins was unable to make the sort of crucial gesture that might have calmed the city, like John Lindsay’s walk through Harlem in 1968 after Martin Luther King’s assassination sparked riots in other cities.
Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, where his father, William, was a barber. When his parents divorced, David moved to Harlem with his mother, Sally (nee Lucy), a domestic worker. Eventually he and his sister, Joyce, returned to Trenton, where he attended high school, and discovered segregation, which he had not experienced in New York – the school’s swimming pool was not open to black people.
After graduation he wanted to join the Marine Corps, but found the “negro quota” filled. He entered the army and managed to transfer to the Marines, becoming one of the “Montford Point” recruits who integrated the corps.
Discharged in 1946, he entered Howard University in Washington, one of the elite traditionally black colleges, where he graduated with an honours degree in mathematics. When his college sweetheart, Joyce Burrows, graduated in 1953, they married and moved to New York. Dinkins attended law school at Brooklyn College, getting his degree in 1956. In the meantime, he worked in a liquor store for his father-in-law, Daniel, a property magnate in Harlem and a powerful figure within Tammany Hall, the Democratic power structure in the city.
While Dinkins was opening a private law practice, his father-in-law introduced him to the Carver Democratic Club, run by J Raymond Jones, “The Harlem Fox”, under whose mentorship Dinkins became one of the so-called “Gang of Four”, the group of rising young black politicians that also included the future US congressman Charles Rangel, the Manhattan borough president Percy Sutton and deputy mayor (under Koch) Basil Patterson.
David Dinkins reflecting on New York’s problems after leaving office as mayor
In 1965 Dinkins was elected to the state assembly, but in the face of redistricting, he did not run for a second term. Instead, he worked his way up through administrative positions. In 1973, he became the first black president of the city’s Board of Elections, and was credited with widening the voter base. The mayor, Abe Beame, nominated him as a deputy, which led to the revelation that Dinkins had failed to file tax returns for four years. This “oversight” was rectified, but it scuppered his nomination. In 1975 Beame appointed him city clerk, an influential position he held until 1985, when he won, on his third attempt, election as Manhattan’s borough president.
Koch had originally been elected mayor in 1978, after running as a reformer against Tammany Hall, but in 1989 he was seeking an unprecedented fourth term following mammoth corruption scandals, and had also angered New York’s black community with his opposition to Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign.
That April the city was rocked by an attack on a white female jogger in Central Park, which led to the arrest of five black and Hispanic youths (13 years later their convictions were overturned when the real rapist confessed). Shortly before the primary in August that would decide the Democratic candidate, Yusuf Hawkins, a black 16-year-old, was shot dead by a gang of white youths who attacked him in their Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bensonhurst.
In the face of massive racial tension, Dinkins was seen as a voice of reason, and he easily won the primary over Koch. In the election he faced Giuliani, whose reputation as a mafia-busting US attorney led him to adopt a strong law-and-order platform. Although Democrats held an almost five to one advantage in voter registrations, Giuliani added the endorsement of New York’s Liberal party, which helped him win more than half of Koch’s voters. Dinkins was elected by a margin of only 46,000 votes, 51% to 48%, and New York became the last of America’s 10 largest cities to elect a black mayor. In his inaugural address, he spoke of “a new coalition of conscience and purpose”.
David Dinkins, left, after losing the 1993 New York mayoral election to Rudy Giuliani, on the steps of City Hall. Photograph: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
Taking office in the middle of a recession, with 357,000 private jobs gone and federal aid cut, Dinkins had a difficult time keeping campaign promises in the face of a tightening budget, and was forced to raise city taxes. He moved to improve public housing, and to keep libraries open while cutting other programmes. He did a deal with the Disney corporation to help clean up Times Square, and another to keep the US Open Tennis in Queens. With a murder rate approaching 2,000 per year, he appointed a black police commissioner, Lee Brown, who came in from Atlanta and Houston with a reputation as a reformer. But while Dinkins waited for Brown to report, the city again exploded.
In August 1990, a tourist attending the US Open Tennis was stabbed to death on a subway platform. Dinkins announced a massive increase in the number of uniformed police. A few months later, the city was split by a black boycott of Korean-owned grocery stores, when a Korean-American owner accused a Haitian-American customer of shoplifting.
Finally, in August 1991, the keg burst as a driver in a motorcade taking the head of a Lubavitcher Orthodox Jewish sect through Crown Heights in Brooklyn swerved on to a sidewalk and killed a seven-year-old black boy, Gavin Cato. Hours later, a group of black youths killed an Australian rabbinical student. The two killings prompted almost five days of rioting, with black citizens protesting over the boy’s death and Jewish groups claiming the police were failing to protect them.
Although an independent investigation in 1993 cleared Dinkins against charges of withholding police aid, it did criticise his relative lack of action. By then it was too late to heal the wounds. Giuliani turned the tables on him and took a larger percentage of the white vote and he won his rematch in the mayoralty race that November.
In 1998 Giuliani and the city settled a lawsuit against the city by Jewish organisations, with the mayor calling Dinkins’ response “inadequate”. Dinkins invited Giuliani to dinner, saying: “I extend my hand to him in brotherhood,” but Giuliani declined this Obama-like gesture. In his 2013 memoir, A Mayor’s Life: Governing New York’s Gorgeous Mosaic (written with Peter Knobler), Dinkins called Giuliani a “cold, unkind person who practised the politics of boundless ambition”.
After leaving office, Dinkins was a professor in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and hosted a radio talk show. A keen tennis player, he served on the board of the US Tennis Association. He remained active in politics, and in 2013 supported his former aide Bill de Blasio in his successful campaign for election as mayor.
Dinkins’ wife died in October. He is survived by his son, David, and daughter, Donna.


theguardian--2020-12-09--After the Trump years, how will Biden help the 140 million Americans in poverty? | Mary O'Hara

After four punch-drunk years of Donald Trump , the weeks since the November presidential election have presented a chance , despite his machinations to overturn the result , to reflect on what might come next for the tens of millions of Americans struggling to get by .
What lies around the corner after the departure of an administration that brought so much destruction matters to the lives of the least well-off and marginalised people ?
President-elect Joe Biden sought to reassure people that he was on the case when he announced his top economic team last week .
“ Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this : help is on the way , ” he said , offering a steady economic hand to a weary public rattled by the virus and an unprecedented economic crisis .
Many people are simply so relieved that Biden and Harris won that they talk about “ getting back to normal ” after the chaos .
That ’ s an understandable reaction given all that ’ s transpired .
However , getting back to normal isn ’ t an option .
Nor should it be the goal .
When Trump took power , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or on low incomes even without a pandemic – a staggering proportion .
For decades the wages of those at the top soared while paychecks for those at the bottom flatlined .
Gender and racial income and wealth disparities endure .
Despite widespread support for boosting minimum earnings , the federal minimum wage of $ 7.25 hasn ’ t been increased since 2009 .
Roughly 60 % of wealth in the US is estimated to be inherited .
And , as if this wasn ’ t enough to contend with , in 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the start of the pandemic .
The Institute for Policy Studies ( IPS ) calculates that the wealth of Amazon ’ s Jeff Bezos alone leapt by almost $ 70bn to a colossal $ 188.3bn as the year draws to a close .
Over the past four years I asked myself frequently what another term of the Trump wrecking ball would mean for the people at the sharp end of regressive policies and a reckless disregard for the most vulnerable in society .
Thankfully , that is no longer the question .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carnage , what next ?
So far , indications are that Biden and his team recognise that as well as confronting the gargantuan challenges unleashed by Covid-19 , longstanding inequities can not be left unchecked .
The presidential campaign was calibrated to highlight this , including around racial injustices .
Overtures have been made , for example , on areas championed by progressives such as forgiving loan debt for many students and expanding access to Medicare .
Biden has also pledged to strengthen unions and , well before the pandemic during his first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minimum wage to $ 15 .
Even in the face of unparalleled challenges – and while a lot rides on a Democratic win in the two Georgia Senate run-offs in January – Biden could and should “ use all the tools ” at a president ’ s disposal to shift the dial quickly , says Sarah Anderson , director of the Global Economy Project at the IPS .
Examples include placing conditions on workers ’ pay for companies bidding for federal contracts and leveraging the presidential “ bully pulpit ” to try to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hike through the Senate .
There is also a genuine opportunity for the new administration to spearhead a concerted focus on policies affecting more than 61 million Americans who are disabled – a group all too often ignored in presidential campaigns and sidelined in policy .
Biden ’ s disability plan makes for a comprehensive read .
Off the bat , if the new administration takes steps to overturn the “ abject neglect of disability rights enforcement ” under Trump in areas ranging from education to housing it would be off to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the disability justice initiative at the Center for American Progress .
The pandemic is the most pressing challenge facing the incoming administration .
However , structural inequalities , the people lining up at food banks , the children going hungry or homeless , historic injustices and the out-of-control concentration of wealth , must also be priorities .
Right now , the US at least has a chance to finally put some of this right .
However in the UK , with the end of the Brexit transition period looming and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that another dose of austerity isn ’ t on the way , it ’ s a whole different story .
The lessons in both countries from past mistakes – ones that harm those most in need – must be learned .
• Mary O ’ Hara is a journalist and author .
Her latest book , The Shame Game : Overturning the toxic poverty narrative , is published by Policy Press .
She was named best foreign columnist 2020 by the Southern California Journalism Awards

After four punch-drunk years of Donald Trump, the weeks since the November presidential election have presented a chance, despite his machinations to overturn the result, to reflect on what might come next for the tens of millions of Americans struggling to get by. What lies around the corner after the departure of an administration that brought so much destruction matters to the lives of the least well-off and marginalised people?
President-elect Joe Biden sought to reassure people that he was on the case when he announced his top economic team last week. “Our message to everybody struggling right now is this: help is on the way,” he said, offering a steady economic hand to a weary public rattled by the virus and an unprecedented economic crisis.
Many people are simply so relieved that Biden and Harris won that they talk about “getting back to normal” after the chaos. That’s an understandable reaction given all that’s transpired. However, getting back to normal isn’t an option. Nor should it be the goal. When Trump took power, around 140 million Americans were either poor or on low incomes even without a pandemic – a staggering proportion.
For decades the wages of those at the top soared while paychecks for those at the bottom flatlined. Gender and racial income and wealth disparities endure. Despite widespread support for boosting minimum earnings, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 hasn’t been increased since 2009. Roughly 60% of wealth in the US is estimated to be inherited. And, as if this wasn’t enough to contend with, in 2020 billionaire wealth surged past $1tn since the start of the pandemic. The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) calculates that the wealth of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos alone leapt by almost $70bn to a colossal $188.3bn as the year draws to a close.
Over the past four years I asked myself frequently what another term of the Trump wrecking ball would mean for the people at the sharp end of regressive policies and a reckless disregard for the most vulnerable in society. Thankfully, that is no longer the question. The question now is: after all the carnage, what next?
So far, indications are that Biden and his team recognise that as well as confronting the gargantuan challenges unleashed by Covid-19, longstanding inequities cannot be left unchecked. The presidential campaign was calibrated to highlight this, including around racial injustices. Overtures have been made, for example, on areas championed by progressives such as forgiving loan debt for many students and expanding access to Medicare. Biden has also pledged to strengthen unions and, well before the pandemic during his first campaign speech, endorsed increasing the federal minimum wage to $15.
Even in the face of unparalleled challenges – and while a lot rides on a Democratic win in the two Georgia Senate run-offs in January – Biden could and should “use all the tools” at a president’s disposal to shift the dial quickly, says Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the IPS. Examples include placing conditions on workers’ pay for companies bidding for federal contracts and leveraging the presidential “bully pulpit” to try to push proposals such as a minimum wage hike through the Senate.
There is also a genuine opportunity for the new administration to spearhead a concerted focus on policies affecting more than 61 million Americans who are disabled – a group all too often ignored in presidential campaigns and sidelined in policy. Biden’s disability plan makes for a comprehensive read. Off the bat, if the new administration takes steps to overturn the “abject neglect of disability rights enforcement” under Trump in areas ranging from education to housing it would be off to a good start, argues Rebecca Cokley, director of the disability justice initiative at the Center for American Progress.
The pandemic is the most pressing challenge facing the incoming administration. However, structural inequalities, the people lining up at food banks, the children going hungry or homeless, historic injustices and the out-of-control concentration of wealth, must also be priorities. Right now, the US at least has a chance to finally put some of this right. However in the UK, with the end of the Brexit transition period looming and the chancellor under pressure to fend off accusations that another dose of austerity isn’t on the way, it’s a whole different story. The lessons in both countries from past mistakes – ones that harm those most in need – must be learned.


theguardian--2020-12-10--Hunter Biden says US attorney’s office is investigating his ‘tax affairs’

President-elect Joe Biden ’ s son , Hunter Biden , said on Wednesday that the US attorney ’ s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “ tax affairs ” .
Hunter Biden , who has long been a target of Donald Trump and his allies , said he had learned about the federal investigation on Tuesday from his lawyer , who was informed of the matter by the US attorney ’ s office earlier that day .
“ I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legally and appropriately , including with the benefit of professional tax advisers , ” Hunter Biden said in a statement released by the president-elect ’ s transition office .
Trump and his allies have sought to tarnish his political opponent Joe Biden with unproven corruption charges involving his son .
Trump ’ s early pursuit of these unsubstantiated allegations resulted in his impeachment , after he pressured the newly elected president of Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden ’ s work in the country while his father was vice-president .
Nevertheless , the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign season , aided by his personal lawyer , Rudy Giuliani , and his Republican supporters on Capitol Hill .
A Senate investigation into the allegations led by Trump ’ s allies found no evidence of improper influence or wrongdoing by the former vice-president , concluding only that Hunter Biden had leveraged his family name to secure lucrative business deals .
In the final weeks of the campaign , Giuliani claimed a laptop recovered from a repair shop in Delaware and belonged to Hunter Biden documented his foreign business dealings .
With Giuliani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published by the New York Post to buttress the baseless claim that Biden shaped American foreign policy in Ukraine to benefit his son .
The Biden campaign categorically denied the story and many of the key details were disputed .
On Wednesday , the Associated Press reported that , according to a person familiar with the matter , the tax investigation into Hunter Biden concerned some of his Chinese business dealings , among other financial transactions , and “ does not have anything to do with the laptop ” ; the Guardian has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the investigation comes as Joe Biden is assembling his cabinet in advance of his inauguration , which will take place on 20 January despite Trump ’ s refusal to concede the election .
Biden has yet to announce his pick for attorney general , a role that could have oversight of the investigation into his son ’ s taxes .
The US attorney ’ s office in Delaware is led by David Weiss , who was appointed by Trump and sworn into the position in February 2018 .
A spokesperson for the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to comment , citing the ongoing nature of the investigation .
Though Hunter Biden ’ s businesses dealings and his years-long struggle with addiction provided ample political ammunition for Trump , Joe Biden continued to defend him publicly .
Hunter Biden is the president-elect ’ s only living son , after the death of his eldest child , Beau Biden , of brain cancer in 2015 .
The Biden-Harris transition team said in a separate statement : “ President-elect Biden is deeply proud of his son , who has fought through difficult challenges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent months , only to emerge stronger .
”

President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said on Wednesday that the US attorney’s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “tax affairs”.
Hunter Biden, who has long been a target of Donald Trump and his allies, said he had learned about the federal investigation on Tuesday from his lawyer, who was informed of the matter by the US attorney’s office earlier that day.
“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers,” Hunter Biden said in a statement released by the president-elect’s transition office.
Trump and his allies have sought to tarnish his political opponent Joe Biden with unproven corruption charges involving his son. Trump’s early pursuit of these unsubstantiated allegations resulted in his impeachment, after he pressured the newly elected president of Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden’s work in the country while his father was vice-president.
Nevertheless, the president remained fixated on Hunter Biden throughout the campaign season, aided by his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his Republican supporters on Capitol Hill. A Senate investigation into the allegations led by Trump’s allies found no evidence of improper influence or wrongdoing by the former vice-president, concluding only that Hunter Biden had leveraged his family name to secure lucrative business deals.
In the final weeks of the campaign, Giuliani claimed a laptop recovered from a repair shop in Delaware and belonged to Hunter Biden documented his foreign business dealings. With Giuliani as a conduit, the allegations were published by the New York Post to buttress the baseless claim that Biden shaped American foreign policy in Ukraine to benefit his son. The Biden campaign categorically denied the story and many of the key details were disputed.
On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that, according to a person familiar with the matter, the tax investigation into Hunter Biden concerned some of his Chinese business dealings, among other financial transactions, and “does not have anything to do with the laptop”; the Guardian has not confirmed this.
The disclosure about the investigation comes as Joe Biden is assembling his cabinet in advance of his inauguration, which will take place on 20 January despite Trump’s refusal to concede the election. Biden has yet to announce his pick for attorney general, a role that could have oversight of the investigation into his son’s taxes.
The US attorney’s office in Delaware is led by David Weiss, who was appointed by Trump and sworn into the position in February 2018. A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Delaware declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Though Hunter Biden’s businesses dealings and his years-long struggle with addiction provided ample political ammunition for Trump, Joe Biden continued to defend him publicly. Hunter Biden is the president-elect’s only living son, after the death of his eldest child, Beau Biden, of brain cancer in 2015.
The Biden-Harris transition team said in a separate statement: “President-elect Biden is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”


theguardian--2020-12-10--Biden presents new defense chief as son Hunter reveals his taxes are being investigated – as it happ

Biden presents new defense chief as son Hunter reveals his taxes are being investigated – as it happened

For a man presenting landmark results from trials of a vaccine that it is hoped will save the world from a devastating pandemic , Sir Menelas Pangalos did not look cheerful on Wednesday .
Pangalos , executive vice-president of biopharmaceuticals R & D at AstraZeneca , and his colleagues are undoubtedly exhausted , having been working round the clock on the coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University since April .
But they are now dealing with a sizeable new headache – the doubts of the US regulator .
It is clear that in spite of the critical need for coronavirus vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not going to rush to approve the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca , even though the US , through its “ Operation Warp Speed ” , has put in substantial funding and ordered 300m doses .
Unlike Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna ’ s mRNA products , the AstraZeneca vaccine is cheap , can be stored at ordinary fridge temperatures , is easy to manufacture and presents the best hope at the moment for a vaccine for the billions rather than the few .
But while the UK , the rest of Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it in the coming weeks , the US , which currently has the world ’ s biggest epidemic , will have to wait .
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been the subject of withering criticism in the US media .
It has suffered by comparison with Pfizer and Moderna , whose vaccines , manufactured with a different and novel technology , have effectively scored straight As .
Their vaccines have shown 95 % efficacy in very large and straightforward trials involving respectively more than 40,000 and 30,000 people .
Criticism of the AstraZeneca vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s efficacy data relates to fewer people than the other vaccines ; so far 11,636 in the UK and Brazil trials , although there are more to come , including a 30,000-strong trial in the US partly funded by Operation Warp Speed .
A woman in the UK given the AstraZeneca jab developed transverse myelitis , a neurological disorder causing inflammation of the spinal cord , leading to the trials being paused worldwide in September .
And the efficacy results were 62 % overall , but 90 % covering a sub-group of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given a lower starting dose .
Researchers said that pooling the results , which they had agreed to do with regulators before they knew the outcome , gave them 70 % efficacy overall .
But it looked messy .
One investment analyst opined at that point : “ We believe that this product will never be licensed in the US .
”

Maanvi Singh (now), Joan E Greve  and Martin Belam (earlier)


theguardian--2020-12-10--Joe Biden reportedly set to nominate Katherine Tai as top US trade envoy

Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top US trade envoy , according to two people familiar with his plans .
Tai , who is the chief trade counsel for the House ways and means committee , will be tapped as the US trade representative , according to the two people , who spoke on the condition of anonymity .
The role is a cabinet position , and the Senate will vote on whether to confirm Tai for the position .
Biden ’ s selection of Tai , who is Asian American , reflects his promise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the makeup of the country .
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese , Tai earlier oversaw China trade enforcement for the office of the US trade representative , setting US strategy in trade disputes with China .
Biden ’ s trade representative will inherit a trade war with China , put on pause by an interim trade pact in January that left many of the hardest issues unresolved and US taxes remaining on $ 360bn in Chinese imports .
As the top trade staffer at ways and means , Tai handled negotiations last year with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American trade deal .
Under pressure from congressional Democrats , Trump ’ s trade team agreed to strengthen the pact to make it easier for Mexican workers to form independent unions and demand better pay and benefits – decreasing the incentives for US firms to move south of the border to take advantage of cheap and compliant labor .
The administration also dropped from the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement ( USMCA ) what Democrats considered a giveaway to pharmaceutical companies that could have kept drug prices high .
Tai is considered a problem-solving pragmatist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down into an ideological divide between free traders and protectionists .
In a letter to Biden on 24 November , the California Democratic representative Judy Chu , the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus , and nine other female House members praised Tai ’ s “ experience and diplomatic abilities ’ ’ and said she is “ uniquely qualified ’ ’ to deal with Canada and Mexico on the USMCA and with US-China trade tensions .
Senator Ron Wyden , the ranking member on the finance committee , called Tai “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Ms Tai has the experience she needs to succeed as USTR , and her record of getting wins for American workers demonstrates she knows how to champion the values that matter to US families , ” Wyden said .
“ She worked closely with me and my staff to craft the strongest ever protections for American workers in a trade agreement , and pass them into law with bipartisan support.
” He urged Senate Republicans to quickly confirm her .

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Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top US trade envoy, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Tai, who is the chief trade counsel for the House ways and means committee, will be tapped as the US trade representative, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The role is a cabinet position, and the Senate will vote on whether to confirm Tai for the position. Biden’s selection of Tai, who is Asian American, reflects his promise to choose a diverse cabinet that reflects the makeup of the country.
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Tai earlier oversaw China trade enforcement for the office of the US trade representative, setting US strategy in trade disputes with China. Biden’s trade representative will inherit a trade war with China, put on pause by an interim trade pact in January that left many of the hardest issues unresolved and US taxes remaining on $360bn in Chinese imports.
As the top trade staffer at ways and means, Tai handled negotiations last year with the Trump administration over a revamped North American trade deal. Under pressure from congressional Democrats, Trump’s trade team agreed to strengthen the pact to make it easier for Mexican workers to form independent unions and demand better pay and benefits – decreasing the incentives for US firms to move south of the border to take advantage of cheap and compliant labor.
The administration also dropped from the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) what Democrats considered a giveaway to pharmaceutical companies that could have kept drug prices high.
Tai is considered a problem-solving pragmatist on trade policy, which often breaks down into an ideological divide between free traders and protectionists. In a letter to Biden on 24 November, the California Democratic representative Judy Chu, the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and nine other female House members praised Tai’s “experience and diplomatic abilities’’ and said she was “uniquely qualified’’ to deal with Canada and Mexico on the USMCA and with US-China trade tensions.
Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the finance committee, called Tai “an inspired choice” for the position.
“Ms Tai has the experience she needs to succeed as USTR, and her record of getting wins for American workers demonstrates she knows how to champion the values that matter to US families,” Wyden said. “She worked closely with me and my staff to craft the strongest ever protections for American workers in a trade agreement, and pass them into law with bipartisan support.”
He urged Senate Republicans to quickly confirm her.


theguardian--2020-12-09--Lloyd Austin: retired army general nominated as Biden defense secretary

Joe Biden on Wednesday formally nominated Lloyd Austin , a retired four-star army general and the former commander of the American military effort in Iraq , to be his defense secretary , casting him as uniquely qualified to lead a diverse military at a particularly challenging moment for the nation and the world .
If confirmed by the US Senate , Austin , 67 , would make history as the first African American to lead the Pentagon , overseeing the 1.3 million active duty men and women who make up the nation ’ s military .
But his nomination has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they weigh their commitment to civilian control of the military against a desire to elevate a history-making nominee to the role .
“ In my judgment , there is no question that he is the right person for this job at the right moment , leading the department of defense at this moment in our nation ’ s history , ” Biden said at an event in Wilmington , Delaware , on Wednesday afternoon .
He called Austin the “ definition of duty , honor and country ” and a leader “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respected by our allies ” .
Biden said Austin would help renew America ’ s relationship with allies , frayed by the Trump administration , and orient the defense department to confront threats ranging from pandemics to the climate emergency to refugee crises .
Yet Austin faces resistance on Capitol Hill , where members of Congress have long warned against nominating a former commander to lead the Pentagon in a nation that prides itself on civilian control of the military .
Federal law requires a seven-year waiting period between active duty military service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Austin retired in 2016 , after a decorated 41-year military career .
As such , Congress would have to grant a waiver for him to serve as defense secretary .
In his remarks , Biden said he respected the need to draw a clear line between the military and civilian leadership , but urged Congress to grant Austin a waiver , as it did for retired marine general Jim Mattis to become Donald Trump ’ s defense secretary in 2017 .
“ I would not be asking for this exception if I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history didn ’ t call for it.
” he said .
“ It does call for it.
” Speaking after Biden , Austin sought to allay concerns over his recent service , vowing to approach the role as a “ civilian leader ” with “ deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military ” .
“ I recognize that being a member of the president ’ s cabinet requires a different perspective and unique responsibilities from a career in uniform , ” Austin said .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forefront of my mind.
” During Mattis ’ confirmation hearing , many Democrats spoke about the need for civilian control of the military , including four current members of the Senate armed services committee who opposed granting the waiver .
Among them was the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren , who told reporters on Tuesday that she would oppose a waiver for Austin .
“ I have great respect for General Austin – his career has been exemplary , and I look forward to meeting him and talking to him more , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiver for General Mattis , and I will oppose a waiver for General Austin.
” Anticipating the objections from members of his own party , Biden took the unusual step of defending his choice for defense secretary in an op-ed published by the Atlantic on Tuesday .
“ Austin also knows that the secretary of defense has a different set of responsibilities than a general officer and that the civil-military dynamic has been under great stress these past four years , ” Biden wrote .
“ He will work tirelessly to get it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senator Jack Reed , the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee , who said after supporting a waiver for Mattis that he would not support approving one for future nominees , signaled that he was open to the possibility .
“ In all fairness , you have to give the opportunity to the nominee to explain himself or herself , ” he told reporters on Tuesday .
Austin is also facing scrutiny over his ties to the defense contractor Raytheon Technologies , where he serves on the board .
The selection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden not to name a defense secretary with ties to weapons manufacturers .
From Wilmington , Biden recounted their working relationship , forged in hotspots across the Middle East , when he was the vice-president .
Austin oversaw the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and subsequently overseeing US military operations throughout the Middle East as head of Central Command .
The Congressional Black Caucus pressured Biden to select an African American to lead the Pentagon .
Biden said it was “ past time the department had leadership that reflects that diversity ” .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ troops are people of color .
Yet the most senior ranks of the military remain dominated by white men .
During the course of his career , Austin was one of the few Black men to reach the upper echelons of military command , and became the first African American to command an entire theater of war .
If confirmed , Austin would lead the Pentagon at a moment when the military , like the rest of the country , is confronting its own legacy of racism and calls for institutional change .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Military Times , taken after the death of George Floyd sparked a nationwide protest movement for racial justice , found that roughly 31 % of those polled and 57 % of minority service members had seen examples of white nationalism or racism among the troops .
In the wake of the protests , top military leaders vowed to address racism within their ranks and expressed support for removing Confederate names from American military bases .
At this moment of national unrest , compounded by a pandemic and new security threats , America needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform of the United States ” , said Kamala Harris , the vice-president-elect .
“ General Austin is that leader .
”

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Joe Biden on Wednesday formally nominated Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star army general and the former commander of the American military effort in Iraq, to be his defense secretary, casting him as uniquely qualified to lead a diverse military at a particularly challenging moment for the nation and the world.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Austin, 67, would make history as the first African American to lead the Pentagon, overseeing the 1.3 million active duty men and women who make up the nation’s military.
But his nomination has put some Democrats in a bind, as they weigh their commitment to civilian control of the military against a desire to elevate a history-making nominee to the role.
“In my judgment, there is no question that he is the right person for this job at the right moment, leading the Department of Defense at this moment in our nation’s history,” Biden said at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday afternoon. He called Austin the “definition of duty, honor and country” and a leader “feared by our adversaries, known and respected by our allies”.
Biden said Austin would help renew America’s relationship with allies, frayed by the Trump administration, and orient the defense department to confront threats ranging from pandemics to the climate emergency to refugee crises.
Yet Austin faces resistance on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress have long warned against nominating a former commander to lead the Pentagon in a nation that prides itself on civilian control of the military. Federal law requires a seven-year waiting period between active duty military service and serving as the secretary of defense.
Austin retired in 2016, after a decorated 41-year military career. As such, Congress would have to grant a waiver for him to serve as defense secretary. In his remarks, Biden said he respected the need to draw a clear line between the military and civilian leadership, but urged Congress to grant Austin a waiver, as it did for retired marine general Jim Mattis to become Donald Trump’s defense secretary in 2017.
“I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it.” he said. “It does call for it.”
Speaking after Biden, Austin sought to allay concerns over his recent service, vowing to approach the role as a “civilian leader” with “deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military”.
“I recognize that being a member of the president’s cabinet requires a different perspective and unique responsibilities from a career in uniform,” Austin said. “And I intend to keep this at the forefront of my mind.”
Austin faces resistance on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress have long warned against nominating a former commander to lead the Pentagon. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
During Mattis’s confirmation hearing, many Democrats spoke about the need for civilian control of the military, including four current members of the Senate armed services committee who opposed granting the waiver. Among them was the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who told reporters on Tuesday that she would oppose a waiver for Austin.
“I have great respect for General Austin – his career has been exemplary, and I look forward to meeting him and talking to him more,” she said. “But I opposed a waiver for General Mattis, and I will oppose a waiver for General Austin.”
Anticipating the objections from members of his own party, Biden took the unusual step of defending his choice for defense secretary in an op-ed published by the Atlantic on Tuesday.
“Austin also knows that the secretary of defense has a different set of responsibilities than a general officer and that the civil-military dynamic has been under great stress these past four years,” Biden wrote. “He will work tirelessly to get it back on track.”
The Rhode Island senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, who said after supporting a waiver for Mattis that he would not support approving one for future nominees, signaled that he was open to the possibility. “In all fairness, you have to give the opportunity to the nominee to explain himself or herself,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
Austin is also facing scrutiny over his ties to the defense contractor Raytheon Technologies, where he serves on the board. The selection has particularly concerned progressives, who implored Biden not to name a defense secretary with ties to weapons manufacturers.
From Wilmington, Biden recounted their working relationship, forged in hotspots across the Middle East, when he was the vice-president. Austin oversaw the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and subsequently overseeing US military operations throughout the Middle East as head of Central Command.
The Congressional Black Caucus pressured Biden to select an African American to lead the Pentagon. Biden said it was “past time the department had leadership that reflects that diversity”.
Roughly 43% of the active duty troops are people of color. Yet the most senior ranks of the military remain dominated by white men. During the course of his career, Austin was one of the few Black men to reach the upper echelons of military command, and became the first African American to command an entire theater of war.
If confirmed, Austin would lead the Pentagon at a moment when the military, like the rest of the country, is confronting its own legacy of racism and calls for institutional change.
A survey of active-duty subscribers to the Military Times, taken after the death of George Floyd sparked a nationwide protest movement for racial justice, found that roughly 31% of those polled and 57% of minority service members had seen examples of white nationalism or racism among the troops.
In the wake of the protests, top military leaders vowed to address racism within their ranks and expressed support for removing Confederate names from American military bases.
At this moment of national unrest, compounded by a pandemic and new security threats, America needs a “leader who will honor the service and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform of the United States”, said Kamala Harris, the vice-president-elect. “General Austin is that leader.”


theguardian--2020-12-09--‘Will he ever concede?’: Trump keeps GOP leaders in endless political limbo

First Republicans in Congress gave Donald Trump a week to admit he lost the presidential election .
Then they called for the lame duck president to have his day in court , where the Trump campaign amassed a 1-51 win-loss record in challenging Democrat Joe Biden ’ s victory .
Next Republicans pointed to the so-called “ safe harbor ” deadline of 8 December , when states would certify their respective results , as the date when Trump would surely be forced to admit his loss .
But that deadline came and went on Tuesday , seemingly unnoticed by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beginning to dawn on some members of the Republican leadership that Trump is working on a calendar all his own , and that the political limbo they now inhabit – unable to take the basic step , as elected officials in the United States of America , of recognizing the rightful winner of a free and fair election – might never end , assuming they will not summon the courage to contradict Trump .
“ I don ’ t know that he ’ s ever gon na concede , ” John Thune , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Wednesday .
More than 200 Republicans in Congress – about 90 % of the total – will not say publicly who won the presidential election , the Washington Post found .
The Republican silence has given Trump a window to expand his attacks on US democracy .
The president ’ s tweeted lies about fake election fraud have escalated in the last month to include the simple message on Twitter “ # OVERTURN ” .
The majority of Republican voters who think the election was fraudulent , despite findings to the contrary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no supporting evidence , is still growing .
The high stakes are plain .
As Trump himself put it on Wednesday : “ How can you have a presidency when a vast majority think the election was RIGGED ?
” Some Republicans cling to hopes that upcoming events in the transfer of power – future dates on the election calendar – will cause Trump to change course , and relax the pressure on them .
Next Monday , 14 December , the electoral college meets to cast votes based on state certifications of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice-President Mike Pence , in his capacity as president of the US Senate , is to preside over a ceremonial meeting of a joint session of Congress at which the electoral votes are added up and Joe Biden is formally declared the next president .
Representative Alex Mooney , a Republican from West Virginia who introduced a House resolution on Tuesday that encourages neither Trump nor Biden to concede until all the investigations are completed , expressed faith that the congressional count would convince Trump and end the silence of his colleagues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ call is put up here , ” Mooney told the Associated Press .
But the five weeks since the election are littered with flawed speculation by Republicans about the supposedly imminent moment when Trump would admit reality and they could safely follow suit .
“ I think the goal here is to give the president and his campaign team some space to demonstrate there is real evidence to support any claims of voter fraud , ” one senior Senate Republican aide told Reuters on 10 November .
“ If there is , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not , we ’ ll all move on.
” “ At some point this has to give , ” a second aide told Reuters at the time .
“ And I give it a week or two.
” The result is a risky standoff like none other in US history .
The refusal to agree upon the facts of the election – which was called for Biden by the leading media decision desks , including the Associated Press and , thereby , the Guardian , on 7 November , threatens to undermine voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Biden ’ s presidency and re-stack civic norms .
Trump sent his party down this unprecedented path by claiming the election was “ rigged ” , but Republican leadership has enabled doubts to swell through their past four weeks of silence .
The president has personally called on some local elected officials to reconsider the results .
Now , the disputed election has taken on a political life of its own that the party ’ s leadership may not be able to squash , even as Trump ’ s legal challenges crumble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it the most secure election in US history .
Republicans say it makes little political sense at this point for them to counter Trump ’ s views lest they risk a backlash from his supporters – their own constituents – back home .
They are relying on Trump voters to power the Georgia runoff elections on 5 January that will determine control of the Senate .
And while some GOP lawmakers have acknowledged Biden ’ s victory , most prefer to keep quiet , letting the process play out “ organically ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ January .
But election experts warn of long-term damage to the long-cherished American system .
“ It clearly hurts confidence in the elections , ” said Trey Grayson , the Republican former secretary of state for Kentucky and a past president of the National Association of Secretaries of State .
“ My hope , ” he said , is by 14 December “ there will be some more voices , but my gut is it won ’ t be until the 6th ” ( of January ) .
Edward Foley , an elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State University , said it was true that the election winner is not officially the president-elect until the Congress declares it so with its vote on 6 January to accept the electoral college results .
“ I ’ m less concerned about the timing , but that it happens , ” he said .
For Americans to “ have faith ” in the elections , the losing side has to accept defeat .
“ It ’ s very , very dangerous if the losing side can ’ t get to that , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential for the parties to play by that ethos – even if one individual , Mr Trump , can ’ t do it , the party has to do it , ” he said .
“ What ’ s so disturbing about the dynamic that has developed since election day is that the party has been incapable of conveying that message because they ’ re taking their cues from Trump .
”

First Republicans in Congress gave Donald Trump a week to admit he lost the presidential election. Then they called for the lame duck president to have his day in court, where the Trump campaign amassed a 1-51 win-loss record in challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Next Republicans pointed to the so-called “safe harbor” deadline of 8 December, when states would certify their respective results, as the date when Trump would surely be forced to admit his loss. But that deadline came and went on Tuesday, seemingly unnoticed by the White House.
Now, it is beginning to dawn on some members of the Republican leadership that Trump is working on a calendar all his own, and that the political limbo they now inhabit – unable to take the basic step, as elected officials in the United States of America, of recognizing the rightful winner of a free and fair election – might never end, assuming they will not summon the courage to contradict Trump.
“I don’t know that he’s ever gonna concede,” John Thune, the Senate majority whip, told Politico on Wednesday. More than 200 Republicans in Congress – about 90% of the total – will not say publicly who won the presidential election, the Washington Post found.
The Republican silence has given Trump a window to expand his attacks on US democracy. The president’s tweeted lies about fake election fraud have escalated in the last month to include the simple message on Twitter “#OVERTURN”.
The majority of Republican voters who think the election was fraudulent, despite findings to the contrary by Trump’s own administration and no supporting evidence, is still growing.
The high stakes are plain. As Trump himself put it on Wednesday: “How can you have a presidency when a vast majority think the election was RIGGED?”
Some Republicans cling to hopes that upcoming events in the transfer of power – future dates on the election calendar – will cause Trump to change course, and relax the pressure on them. Next Monday, 14 December, the electoral college meets to cast votes based on state certifications of the result.
On 6 January, Vice-President Mike Pence, in his capacity as president of the US Senate, is to preside over a ceremonial meeting of a joint session of Congress at which the electoral votes are added up and Joe Biden is formally declared the next president.
Representative Alex Mooney, a Republican from West Virginia who introduced a House resolution on Tuesday that encourages neither Trump nor Biden to concede until all the investigations are completed, expressed faith that the congressional count would convince Trump and end the silence of his colleagues.
“The end is when the roll call is put up here,” Mooney told the Associated Press.
But the five weeks since the election are littered with flawed speculation by Republicans about the supposedly imminent moment when Trump would admit reality and they could safely follow suit.
“I think the goal here is to give the president and his campaign team some space to demonstrate there is real evidence to support any claims of voter fraud,” one senior Senate Republican aide told Reuters on 10 November. “If there is, then they will be litigated quickly. If not, we’ll all move on.”
“At some point this has to give,” a second aide told Reuters at the time. “And I give it a week or two.”
The result is a risky standoff like none other in US history. The refusal to agree upon the facts of the election – which was called for Biden by the leading media decision desks, including the Associated Press and, thereby, the Guardian, on 7 November, threatens to undermine voter confidence, chisel away at the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency and re-stack civic norms.
Trump sent his party down this unprecedented path by claiming the election was “rigged”, but Republican leadership has enabled doubts to swell through their past four weeks of silence.
The president has personally called on some local elected officials to reconsider the results. Now, the disputed election has taken on a political life of its own that the party’s leadership may not be able to squash, even as Trump’s legal challenges crumble and state and national level officials declared it the most secure election in US history.
Republicans say it makes little political sense at this point for them to counter Trump’s views lest they risk a backlash from his supporters – their own constituents – back home.
They are relying on Trump voters to power the Georgia runoff elections on 5 January that will determine control of the Senate. And while some GOP lawmakers have acknowledged Biden’s victory, most prefer to keep quiet, letting the process play out “organically”, as one aide put it, into January.
But election experts warn of long-term damage to the long-cherished American system.
“It clearly hurts confidence in the elections,” said Trey Grayson, the Republican former secretary of state for Kentucky and a past president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
“My hope,” he said, is by 14 December “there will be some more voices, but my gut is it won’t be until the 6th” (of January).
Edward Foley, an elections expert and constitutional law professor at Ohio State University, said it was true that the election winner is not officially the president-elect until the Congress declares it so with its vote on 6 January to accept the electoral college results.
“I’m less concerned about the timing, but that it happens,” he said.
For Americans to “have faith” in the elections, the losing side has to accept defeat. “It’s very, very dangerous if the losing side can’t get to that,” he said.
“It’s essential for the parties to play by that ethos – even if one individual, Mr Trump, can’t do it, the party has to do it,” he said.
“What’s so disturbing about the dynamic that has developed since election day is that the party has been incapable of conveying that message because they’re taking their cues from Trump.”


theguardian--2020-12-09--Kamala Harris named world's third most powerful woman on Forbes list

Kamala Harris has become the third most powerful woman in the world by virtue of being elected as America ’ s next vice-president , according to the latest rankings of a popular annual power list .
The Democratic senator from California was catapulted right into the No 3 spot for her debut on Forbes magazine ’ s world ’ s 100 most powerful women list .
She appears just below Christine Lagarde , president of the European Central Bank , and the German chancellor , Angela Merkel , who made the top spot for the 10th straight year , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forbes highlighted Harris ’ s victory as Joe Biden ’ s running mate in the Democratic win over Donald Trump and his vice-president , Mike Pence , in the November race for the White House , noting she will be America ’ s first female vice-president and the first person of color in that role .
Harris , who was the attorney general of California before being elected to the US Senate , will be the first Black American and first Asian American to be elected vice-president .
She made a speech after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that she may be the first but she will not be the last woman in that role , and Forbes pointed to the break-out moment in her debate against Pence before the election when she confidently and calmly blocked Pence ’ s repeated interruptions by declaring : “ Mr Vice-President , I ’ m speaking.
” That riposte “ launched a thousand memes ( and even a handful of T-shirts ) , but it also became a rallying cry for women across America ” , Forbes noted .
Beyond the stand-out moment for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list prominently featured female leaders who have earned accolades on the world stage for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
Women from prime ministers to corporate executives earned spots in the list for their achievements helping mitigate and control the deadly contagious virus , which has infected more than 67 million people and caused 1.54 million deaths , Forbes said .
New Zealand ’ s prime minister , Jacinda Ardern , Taiwan ’ s president , Tsai Ing-wen , Finland ’ s prime minister , Sanna Marin , Lagarde , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the Tokyo governor , Yuriko Koike , were particularly effective , it said .
“ Where they differ in age , nationality and job description , they are united in the ways they have been using their platforms to address the unique challenges of 2020 , ” Forbes said on its website .
It quoted Norway ’ s prime minister , Erna Solberg , also on the list , who said recently that “ countries where human rights are respected and where women are able to reach top positions in society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best-equipped to handle crises by Covid-19 ” .
New Zealand eliminated coronavirus infections with a strict lockdown , reporting just over 2,000 cases of the virus and 25 deaths .
Taiwan kept the pandemic under control after instituting strict restrictions and largely closing its borders in January , long before western countries , limiting cases of the virus to just over 700 and seven deaths , it said .
Of the 17 newcomers to the Forbes list , Carol Tomé , chief executive of United Parcel Service , where delivery volumes soared during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executive of Clorox , which boosted production of cleaning goods as demand ballooned amid the surging virus , were noted for their work .
At CVS Health , also in the US , Karen Lynch , who becomes chief executive in February , took over the pharmacy giant ’ s Covid response and extensive network of testing sites .
In 2021 , she will be responsible for overseeing vaccine distribution at the company ’ s nearly 10,000 US pharmacy locations .
Stacey Cunningham , the first woman to head the New York stock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to shut down in-person trading as the virus was spreading in March , it said .
Britain ’ s Queen Elizabeth was just 46th on the list .

Kamala Harris has become the third most powerful woman in the world by virtue of being elected as America’s next vice-president, according to the latest rankings of a popular annual power list.
The Democratic senator from California was catapulted right into the No 3 spot for her debut on Forbes magazine’s world’s 100 most powerful women list. She appears just below Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who made the top spot for the 10th straight year, in the 2020 list published this week.
Forbes highlighted Harris’s victory as Joe Biden’s running mate in the Democratic win over Donald Trump and his vice-president, Mike Pence, in the November race for the White House, noting she will be America’s first female vice-president and the first person of color in that role.
Harris, who was the attorney general of California before being elected to the US Senate, will be the first Black American and first Asian American to be elected vice-president.
She made a speech after the election victory in which she noted that she may be the first but she will not be the last woman in that role, and Forbes pointed to the break-out moment in her debate against Pence before the election when she confidently and calmly blocked Pence’s repeated interruptions by declaring: “Mr Vice-President, I’m speaking.”
That riposte “launched a thousand memes (and even a handful of T-shirts), but it also became a rallying cry for women across America”, Forbes noted.
Beyond the stand-out moment for Harris and US politics, the 2020 list prominently featured female leaders who have earned accolades on the world stage for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Women from prime ministers to corporate executives earned spots in the list for their achievements helping mitigate and control the deadly contagious virus, which has infected more than 67 million people and caused 1.54 million deaths, Forbes said.
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, Lagarde, who was previously head of the International Monetary Fund, and the Tokyo governor, Yuriko Koike, were particularly effective, it said.
“Where they differ in age, nationality and job description, they are united in the ways they have been using their platforms to address the unique challenges of 2020,” Forbes said on its website.
It quoted Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, also on the list, who said recently that “countries where human rights are respected and where women are able to reach top positions in society are also the countries that are the best-equipped to handle crises by Covid-19”.
New Zealand eliminated coronavirus infections with a strict lockdown, reporting just over 2,000 cases of the virus and 25 deaths.
Taiwan kept the pandemic under control after instituting strict restrictions and largely closing its borders in January, long before western countries, limiting cases of the virus to just over 700 and seven deaths, it said.
Of the 17 newcomers to the Forbes list, Carol Tomé, chief executive of United Parcel Service, where delivery volumes soared during lockdowns, and Linda Rendle, chief executive of Clorox, which boosted production of cleaning goods as demand ballooned amid the surging virus, were noted for their work.
At CVS Health, also in the US, Karen Lynch, who becomes chief executive in February, took over the pharmacy giant’s Covid response and extensive network of testing sites. In 2021, she will be responsible for overseeing vaccine distribution at the company’s nearly 10,000 US pharmacy locations.
Stacey Cunningham, the first woman to head the New York stock exchange, made the “swift” decision to shut down in-person trading as the virus was spreading in March, it said.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was just 46th on the list.
Reuters contributed reporting


theguardian--2020-12-09--After the Trump years, how will Biden help the millions of Americans in poverty? | Mary O'Hara


theguardian--2020-12-09--'A civilian leader': Lloyd Austin nominated as Biden's defense secretary – video

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have formally introduced Lloyd Austin as the nominee to become US defense secretary .
The @ @ @ @ @ be the first African American to steer the Pentagon , said he appreciated 'the prevailing @ @ @ @ @ of the US military

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have formally introduced Lloyd Austin as the nominee to become US defense secretary.
The retired general, who will be the first African American to steer the Pentagon, said he appreciated 'the prevailing wisdom of civilian control' of the US military


theguardian--2020-12-10--Hunter Biden says US attorney’s office is investigating his tax affairs