washingtontimes--2020-11-21--AP FACT CHECK: Trump's flailing effort resting on mendacity

WASHINGTON ( AP ) - President Donald Trump ’ s flailing attempt to cling to office after voters decisively chose to oust him has taken the country into a dark and fictional place .
According to falsehoods being told on his behalf and embraced by him , the U.S. election was manipulated by scheming from a dead Venezuelan strongman , by a computer system capable of flipping Trump votes to Joe Biden ones across the country , and by something weird happening in Germany .
If that ’ s not enough , the communists are coming .
None of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Trump and his legal team are making poisonous allegations in hopes that state Republican legislators will shatter the foundational procedures and traditions of U.S. democracy and nullify the voters ’ will .
While this plays out , President-elect Biden continues to be denied the briefings and facilities given during presidential transitions .
An increasing number of Republican lawmakers say he should be getting that cooperation but they haven ’ t done anything to make that happen .
TRUMP : “ I WON THE ELECTION !
… I won the Election !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ - tweets Sunday , Monday and Wednesday .
THE FACTS : No , Biden won the election .
Biden achieved victory in key states such as Michigan , Wisconsin , Pennsylvania and Arizona , topping the threshold of 270 electoral votes to clinch the presidency with room to spare .
Biden also won Georgia after a recount by hand this past week .
That gives him 306 electoral votes , a total that Trump called a “ landslide ” when states delivered him that number in 2016 .
( Trump ended up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
Trump ’ s allegations of massive voting fraud have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials and an arm of his own administration ’ s Homeland Security Department .
Many of his campaign ’ s lawsuits have been thrown out of court .
A coalition of state election officials and the Trump administration ’ s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have declared that the election was the most secure in history .
Trump responded by firing the head of his agency , Chris Krebs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ short remark .
Biden won .
Needing 270 electoral votes to prevail , he has 306 and Trump has 232 .
There was no landslide .
Trump ’ s 306 electoral votes in 2016 did not make up a landslide win and Biden ’ s victory was not a landslide , either .
But it was a comfortable and unassailable victory .
And although it doesn ’ t matter in the outcome , Biden also leads the popular vote by nearly 6 million .
Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 by about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Voting Systems electoral software used in many states : “ One of ( the software ’ s ) most characteristic features is its ability to flip votes .
It can set and run an algorithm that probably ran all over the country to take a certain percentage of votes from President Trump and flip them to President Biden.
” THE FACTS : That didn ’ t happen .
There ’ s “ no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes , changed votes or was in any way compromised , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security , in the statement joined by state and electoral-industry officials .
Against that , Powell offered the baseless allegation that it “ probably ” did .
POWELL : “ The Dominion Voting Systems , the Smartmatic technology software , and the software that goes in other computerized voting systems here as well , not just Dominion , were created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez to make sure he never lost an election after one constitutional referendum came out the way he did not want it to come out.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Venezuelan government led by Hugo Chavez , which is openly hostile to the United States.
” THE FACTS : To be clear , Chavez is not leading the Venezuelan government because he is dead , He died in 2013 .
As well , Dominion does not have any ties to Venezuela , according to Eddie Perez , a voting technology expert at the OSET Institute , a nonpartisan election technology research and development nonprofit .
Dominion was founded in Canada .
The company says it is a competitor with Smartmatic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida by Venezuelan founders .
The company states on its website that it ’ s not associated with governments or political parties of any country .
POWELL : “ What we are really dealing with here and uncovering more by the day is the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela , Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.
” THE FACTS : No such communist chicanery has been uncovered .
The election security branch of Trump ’ s Homeland Security Department said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all forms of mass manipulation .
POWELL , on reports that a U.S. voting server is in Germany : “ That is true , it ’ s somehow related to this but I do not know whether good guys got it or bad guys got it.
” THE FACTS : No , it ’ s not true .
Powell is referring to a fictitious story that a server hosting evidence of voting irregularities in the Nov. 3 U.S. election was in Germany .
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas this month circulated the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” seized a server from a Frankfurt office , though he acknowledged it was something he saw on Twitter and “ I don ’ t know the truth.
” The Army said the claim was false .
Still , Powell presented the bogus story as fact .
Swenson reported from Seattle .
Associated Press writers Jude Joffe-Block in Phoenix and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report .
EDITOR ’ S NOTE - A look at the veracity of claims by political figures .

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump’s flailing attempt to cling to office after voters decisively chose to oust him has taken the country into a dark and fictional place.
According to falsehoods being told on his behalf and embraced by him, the U.S. election was manipulated by scheming from a dead Venezuelan strongman, by a computer system capable of flipping Trump votes to Joe Biden ones across the country, and by something weird happening in Germany. If that’s not enough, the communists are coming.
None of this happened. None of it is true.
But Trump and his legal team are making poisonous allegations in hopes that state Republican legislators will shatter the foundational procedures and traditions of U.S. democracy and nullify the voters’ will.
While this plays out, President-elect Biden continues to be denied the briefings and facilities given during presidential transitions. An increasing number of Republican lawmakers say he should be getting that cooperation but they haven’t done anything to make that happen.
From the past week:
THE TWEETS
TRUMP: “I WON THE ELECTION! … I won the Election! … I WON THE ELECTION!” - tweets Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
THE FACTS: No, Biden won the election.
Biden achieved victory in key states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona, topping the threshold of 270 electoral votes to clinch the presidency with room to spare.
Biden also won Georgia after a recount by hand this past week. That gives him 306 electoral votes, a total that Trump called a “landslide” when states delivered him that number in 2016. (Trump ended up with 304 electoral votes because two electors defected.)
Trump’s allegations of massive voting fraud have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials and an arm of his own administration’s Homeland Security Department. Many of his campaign’s lawsuits have been thrown out of court.
A coalition of state election officials and the Trump administration’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have declared that the election was the most secure in history. Trump responded by firing the head of his agency, Chris Krebs.
___
NEWS CONFERENCE THURSDAY
SIDNEY POWELL, Trump attorney: “President Trump won by a landslide.”
THE FACTS: Two fabrications in one short remark.
Biden won. Needing 270 electoral votes to prevail, he has 306 and Trump has 232.
There was no landslide. Trump’s 306 electoral votes in 2016 did not make up a landslide win and Biden’s victory was not a landslide, either. But it was a comfortable and unassailable victory. And although it doesn’t matter in the outcome, Biden also leads the popular vote by nearly 6 million. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 by about 3 million.
___
POWELL, on Dominion Voting Systems electoral software used in many states: “One of (the software’s) most characteristic features is its ability to flip votes. It can set and run an algorithm that probably ran all over the country to take a certain percentage of votes from President Trump and flip them to President Biden.”
THE FACTS: That didn’t happen. There’s “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised,” said the federal agency that oversees election security, in the statement joined by state and electoral-industry officials.
Against that, Powell offered the baseless allegation that it “probably” did.
___
POWELL: “The Dominion Voting Systems, the Smartmatic technology software, and the software that goes in other computerized voting systems here as well, not just Dominion, were created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez to make sure he never lost an election after one constitutional referendum came out the way he did not want it to come out.”
POWELL: “Smartmatic has been associated with the Venezuelan government led by Hugo Chavez, which is openly hostile to the United States.”
THE FACTS: To be clear, Chavez is not leading the Venezuelan government because he is dead, He died in 2013.
As well, Dominion does not have any ties to Venezuela, according to Eddie Perez, a voting technology expert at the OSET Institute, a nonpartisan election technology research and development nonprofit. Dominion was founded in Canada. The company says it is a competitor with Smartmatic, not a partner.
Smartmatic is incorporated in Florida by Venezuelan founders. The company states on its website that it’s not associated with governments or political parties of any country.
___
POWELL: “What we are really dealing with here and uncovering more by the day is the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.”
THE FACTS: No such communist chicanery has been uncovered. The election security branch of Trump’s Homeland Security Department said the election was secure against foreign interference and all forms of mass manipulation.
___
POWELL, on reports that a U.S. voting server is in Germany: “That is true, it’s somehow related to this but I do not know whether good guys got it or bad guys got it.”
THE FACTS: No, it’s not true. Powell is referring to a fictitious story that a server hosting evidence of voting irregularities in the Nov. 3 U.S. election was in Germany.
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas this month circulated the rumor that “U.S. Army forces” seized a server from a Frankfurt office, though he acknowledged it was something he saw on Twitter and “I don’t know the truth.” The Army said the claim was false.
Still, Powell presented the bogus story as fact.
___
Swenson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Jude Joffe-Block in Phoenix and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report.
___
EDITOR’S NOTE - A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
___
Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Wildlife movements offer window on climate change effects

Stephen Lewis sees a golden eagle flying over Mount Sentinel and feels the whole Arctic Circle exhale .
That eagle might be one he radio-collared while working in Alaska ’ s Denali National Park .
The collar traces the bird ’ s migration path between the Arctic and the Lower 48 states .
That trace entwines with about 50 other eagles the wildlife biologist has collared for his U.S .
Fish and Wildlife Service study .
And that study now joins hundreds of other research projects from around the planet in a new Arctic Animal Movement Archive .
When all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , wolves and other critters get their travels animated on a computer map , it looks like the whole Northern Hemisphere is breathing in and out .
“ I have a couple hundred-thousands of location points for eagles , ” Lewis , who ’ s working on a doctorate degree at the University of Montana , told the Missoulian .
“ With the archive , we have millions of locations .
Now you can ask these larger-scale questions and see bigger-scale changes .
Over generations of eagles , that really leverages what you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Archive project has 160 co-authors , including Lewis .
At the bottom of the list is UM wildlife biologist Mark Hebblewhite .
“ The first name on the publication is the lead author of the study , ” Hebblewhite explained .
“ The last author is the research group that led the work.
” What Hebblewhite , Lewis , and their 158 colleagues did was coalesce three decades ’ worth of movement studies on 86 different animals from almost every nation with Arctic wildlife research activity .
And they broke through the language @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same measuring sticks .
Meters or feet , minutes or hours , Mongolian or American , any participating researcher can go to the archive and look for planetary patterns .
The archive goes live as climate researchers find increasing evidence that the Earth ’ s polar regions are warming almost twice as fast as lower latitudes .
When the animal movements overlay climactic shifts over time , the scale of change is profound .
“ These climate-induced changes on animal movement are operating right here in Montana , ” said Hebblewhite , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a T-shirt during a record-setting November heat wave .
“ The implications of the study is : This is our future .
We need to make policy makers in the south care about impacts in the Arctic .
It seems far away , but these are the kinds of changes we ’ re about to see in Montana in 10 or 20 years.
” A lot of NASA climatic satellite research underpins the Arctic Animal Movement Archive .
Study co-author Gil Bohrer of Ohio State University helped link the space agency ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the places turning green earlier as well as the places going brown for lack of rain and snow - with an international wildlife movement database called MoveBank that he helped found .
“ These are all things we can observe from space , ” Bohrer said .
“ NASA has a very good sense of environmental conditions .
We wanted to match that with animal movements , and that can only be done with collaboration.
” Diplomatically arranging that coordination was probably harder than getting a caribou to wear a radio collar .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ involves two nations , eight wildlife management agencies and six tribal governments in the middle of one of the most controversial oil-prospecting regions of the Arctic .
Other studies come from governments that may or may not have good political relations , even as their scientists talk back and forth across the boundaries .
“ The changes we documented are old news to the people who live in the far north , ” Hebblewhite said .
“ They ’ re seeing robins and red foxes ( that never previously migrated that far north @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all you want , but you can ’ t deny when birds show up later and caribou give birth earlier that animals are changing their movements in response to climate change.
” Hebblewhite studies caribou among other things , and his records of caribou migrations across the North American Arctic are one of the biggest single data collections in the archive .
Knowing where caribou migrate has immediate practical value for analyzing something like whether the Porcupine Caribou Herd passes through a potential oil exploration site in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ solution by timing exploration activity for periods when the caribou aren ’ t moving by .
Knowing those factors over a long time period reveals more troubling changes .
Caribou populations have been crashing across the Arctic , with Quebec ’ s George River herd falling from 750,000 individuals to barely 8,000 during the study period .
One possible factor Hebblewhite has explored is the changing date when those caribou give birth to their calves .
Pregnant caribou all usually give birth within days of one another , and usually on the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
That date evolved to coincide with the burst of new plants in the spring .
Hebblewhite found that warming conditions in the Arctic have melted out the caribou spring feeding grounds progressively earlier , and the caribou have responded by giving birth more than 10 days sooner than they did 20 years ago .
But that puts those vulnerable new calves on the ground before the plants have sprouted and in springtimes where newly unpredictable winter storms still occur .
“ There ’ s a risk if you ’ re born @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ If your mother migrates to summer range early and gives birth and it snows , you may die as a calf.
” Lewis said having the Arctic Animal Movement Archive was like putting a book of his study into a global library of related material .
His research on golden eagles revealed a lot about where they spend summers and winters , especially when combined with research from the international community around the Arctic Circle .
The archive has revealed that in the past 25 years , the golden eagles Lewis sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to and from the Arctic have shifted their migration schedule by two and a half weeks .
Knowing the ages of those eagles , he found that older birds have not changed their migration patterns much , while younger ones have started showing up earlier .
But those young eagles are arriving before many of their usual food sources are available to eat .
“ We think of animals as static , but everything - people included - are evolving constantly , ” Lewis said .
“ They respond to the environment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the climate is changing much faster than it would naturally , and animals are trying to adapt to that .
That can result in timing mis-matches when they ’ re breeding .
The animals are trying to keep up , like an arms race.
” This kind of animal movement research has implications far beyond the Arctic Circle .
The same week the Arctic Animal Movement Archive study was published , U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist Matt Kauffman and the University of Wyoming released a wide-ranging study of animal migration patterns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our report takes data just like the Arctic archive but for pronghorn , mule deer , moose and bison and turns it into corridor maps , ” Kauffman said from his office in Laramie , Wyoming .
“ With that map file , you can lay it next to other public land maps from the Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service and identify threats to movement like roads and fences or droughts or big ranches at risk of subdivision .
Then we can come up with conservation solutions.
” The USGS migration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , including Montana .
Observing how animals respond to forced changes can benefit human planning , according to Matt Skroch , a wildlife project director for the Pew Charitable Trusts .
“ Whether you ’ re looking at polar bears in the Arctic trying to find enough sea ice , or on the high desert of Wyoming where maybe the rain didn ’ t fall during the spring mule deer migration , we have a lot to learn about how animals migrate and what that means for us in a changing world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are incredibly adaptable and resourceful , but there are limits to our ingenuity that we are starting to come to terms with .
We see humans begin to migrate now across the landscapes as a result of climatic events .
That ’ s a very different type of migration than wildlife , but there are some similarities in how we both seek resources that benefit our lives .
”

Stephen Lewis sees a golden eagle flying over Mount Sentinel and feels the whole Arctic Circle exhale.
That eagle might be one he radio-collared while working in Alaska’s Denali National Park. The collar traces the bird’s migration path between the Arctic and the Lower 48 states. That trace entwines with about 50 other eagles the wildlife biologist has collared for his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study. And that study now joins hundreds of other research projects from around the planet in a new Arctic Animal Movement Archive.
When all those radio-collared eagles, caribou, whales, wolves and other critters get their travels animated on a computer map, it looks like the whole Northern Hemisphere is breathing in and out.
“I have a couple hundred-thousands of location points for eagles,” Lewis, who’s working on a doctorate degree at the University of Montana, told the Missoulian. “With the archive, we have millions of locations. Now you can ask these larger-scale questions and see bigger-scale changes. Over generations of eagles, that really leverages what you can do.”
The Arctic Animal Movement Archive project has 160 co-authors, including Lewis. At the bottom of the list is UM wildlife biologist Mark Hebblewhite.
“The first name on the publication is the lead author of the study,” Hebblewhite explained. “The last author is the research group that led the work.”
What Hebblewhite, Lewis, and their 158 colleagues did was coalesce three decades’ worth of movement studies on 86 different animals from almost every nation with Arctic wildlife research activity. And they broke through the language and methodological boundaries so every study uses the same measuring sticks. Meters or feet, minutes or hours, Mongolian or American, any participating researcher can go to the archive and look for planetary patterns.
The archive goes live as climate researchers find increasing evidence that the Earth’s polar regions are warming almost twice as fast as lower latitudes. When the animal movements overlay climactic shifts over time, the scale of change is profound.
“These climate-induced changes on animal movement are operating right here in Montana,” said Hebblewhite, who last week was hunting elk in a T-shirt during a record-setting November heat wave. “The implications of the study is: This is our future. We need to make policy makers in the south care about impacts in the Arctic. It seems far away, but these are the kinds of changes we’re about to see in Montana in 10 or 20 years.”
A lot of NASA climatic satellite research underpins the Arctic Animal Movement Archive. Study co-author Gil Bohrer of Ohio State University helped link the space agency’s records of change in the Arctic - the places turning green earlier as well as the places going brown for lack of rain and snow - with an international wildlife movement database called MoveBank that he helped found.
“These are all things we can observe from space,” Bohrer said. “NASA has a very good sense of environmental conditions. We wanted to match that with animal movements, and that can only be done with collaboration.”
Diplomatically arranging that coordination was probably harder than getting a caribou to wear a radio collar. The data on just one particular herd involves two nations, eight wildlife management agencies and six tribal governments in the middle of one of the most controversial oil-prospecting regions of the Arctic. Other studies come from governments that may or may not have good political relations, even as their scientists talk back and forth across the boundaries.
“The changes we documented are old news to the people who live in the far north,” Hebblewhite said. “They’re seeing robins and red foxes (that never previously migrated that far north). You can wave your arms all you want, but you can’t deny when birds show up later and caribou give birth earlier that animals are changing their movements in response to climate change.”
Caribou research
Hebblewhite studies caribou among other things, and his records of caribou migrations across the North American Arctic are one of the biggest single data collections in the archive. Knowing where caribou migrate has immediate practical value for analyzing something like whether the Porcupine Caribou Herd passes through a potential oil exploration site in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Knowing when they migrate might provide a solution by timing exploration activity for periods when the caribou aren’t moving by.
Knowing those factors over a long time period reveals more troubling changes. Caribou populations have been crashing across the Arctic, with Quebec’s George River herd falling from 750,000 individuals to barely 8,000 during the study period. One possible factor Hebblewhite has explored is the changing date when those caribou give birth to their calves.
Pregnant caribou all usually give birth within days of one another, and usually on the same day of the year their mothers produced them. That date evolved to coincide with the burst of new plants in the spring.
Hebblewhite found that warming conditions in the Arctic have melted out the caribou spring feeding grounds progressively earlier, and the caribou have responded by giving birth more than 10 days sooner than they did 20 years ago. But that puts those vulnerable new calves on the ground before the plants have sprouted and in springtimes where newly unpredictable winter storms still occur.
“There’s a risk if you’re born too early,” Hebblewhite said. “If your mother migrates to summer range early and gives birth and it snows, you may die as a calf.”
Lewis said having the Arctic Animal Movement Archive was like putting a book of his study into a global library of related material. His research on golden eagles revealed a lot about where they spend summers and winters, especially when combined with research from the international community around the Arctic Circle.
The archive has revealed that in the past 25 years, the golden eagles Lewis sometimes sees flying through Missoula on their way to and from the Arctic have shifted their migration schedule by two and a half weeks. Knowing the ages of those eagles, he found that older birds have not changed their migration patterns much, while younger ones have started showing up earlier. But those young eagles are arriving before many of their usual food sources are available to eat.
“We think of animals as static, but everything - people included - are evolving constantly,” Lewis said. “They respond to the environment. We just can’t see it. But the climate is changing much faster than it would naturally, and animals are trying to adapt to that. That can result in timing mis-matches when they’re breeding. The animals are trying to keep up, like an arms race.”
This kind of animal movement research has implications far beyond the Arctic Circle. The same week the Arctic Animal Movement Archive study was published, U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist Matt Kauffman and the University of Wyoming released a wide-ranging study of animal migration patterns in the Lower 48 States.
“Our report takes data just like the Arctic archive but for pronghorn, mule deer, moose and bison and turns it into corridor maps,” Kauffman said from his office in Laramie, Wyoming. “With that map file, you can lay it next to other public land maps from the Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service and identify threats to movement like roads and fences or droughts or big ranches at risk of subdivision. Then we can come up with conservation solutions.”
The USGS migration mapping project will soon encompass 11 western states, including Montana. Observing how animals respond to forced changes can benefit human planning, according to Matt Skroch, a wildlife project director for the Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Whether you’re looking at polar bears in the Arctic trying to find enough sea ice, or on the high desert of Wyoming where maybe the rain didn’t fall during the spring mule deer migration, we have a lot to learn about how animals migrate and what that means for us in a changing world,” Skroch said.
“Humans are incredibly adaptable and resourceful, but there are limits to our ingenuity that we are starting to come to terms with. We see humans begin to migrate now across the landscapes as a result of climatic events. That’s a very different type of migration than wildlife, but there are some similarities in how we both seek resources that benefit our lives.”


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Bodies of man and his slave unearthed from ashes at Pompeii

ROME ( AP ) - The skeletal remains of what are believed to have been a rich man and his male slave fleeing the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago have been discovered in Pompeii , officials at the archaeological park said Saturday .
The partial skeletons were found during excavation of an elegant villa on the outskirts of the ancient Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption in 79 A.D.
It ’ s the same area where a stable with the remains of three harnessed horses was excavated in 2017 .
Pompeii officials said the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ash , then succumbed to a powerful volcanic blast that took place the following day .
Casts were created of the entire skeletons , taking advantage of the impressions the shape of the victims made in the hardened ash .
Judging by cranial bones and skull , one of the victims was a youth , likely aged 18 to 25 , with a spinal column with compressed discs .
That finding led archaeologists to hypothesize that the young man did manual labor , like that of a slave .
The other victim , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structure , especially in his chest area , and probably was about 30 to 40 years old , the Pompeii officials said .
Both skeletons were found in a corridor , which led to a staircase to the upper level of the villa .
Based on the impression of fabric folds left in the ash layer , it appeared the younger man was wearing a short , pleated tunic , possibly of wool .
The older victim , in addition to wearing a tunic , appeared to have had a mantle over his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the site near Naples , tourists are currently barred from the archaeological park under national anti-COVID-19 measures .

ROME (AP) - Skeletal remains of what are believed to have been a rich man and his male slave attempting to escape death from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago have been discovered in Pompeii, officials at the archaeological park in Italy said Saturday.
Parts of the skulls and bones of the two men were found during excavation of the ruins from what was once an elegant villa with a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea on the outskirts of the ancient Roman city destroyed by the volcano eruption in 79 A.D. It’s the same area where a stable with the remains of three harnessed horses were excavated in 2017.
Pompeii officials said the men apparently escaped the initial fall of ash from Mount Vesuvius then succumbed to a powerful volcanic blast that took place the next morning. The later blast “apparently invaded the area from many points, surrounding and burying the victims in ash,” Pompeii officials said in a statement.
The remains of the two victims, lying next to each other on their backs, were found in a layer of gray ash at least 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep, they said.
As has been done when other remains have been discovered at the Pompeii site, archaeologists poured liquid chalk into the cavities, or void, left by the decaying bodies in the ash and pumice that rained down from the volcano near modern-day Naples and demolished the upper levels of the villa.
The technique, pioneered in the 1800s, gives the image not only of the shape and position of the victims in the throes of death, but makes the remains “seem like statues,” said Massimo Osanna, an archaeologist who is director general of the archaeological park operated under the jurisdiction of the Italian Culture Ministry.
Judging by cranial bones and teeth, one of the men was young, likely aged 18 to 25, with a spinal column with compressed discs. That finding led archaeologists to hypothesize that he was a young man who did manual labor, like that of a slave.
The other man had a robust bone structure, especially in his chest area, and died with his hands on his chest and his legs bent and spread apart. He was estimated to have been 30- to 40-years-old, Pompeii officials said. Fragments of white paint were found near the man’s face, probably remnants of a collapsed upper wall, the officials said.
Both skeletons were found in a side room along an underground corridor, or passageway, known in ancient Roman times as a cryptoporticus, which led to to the upper level of the villa.
“The victims were probably looking for shelter in the cryptoporticus, in this underground space, where they thought they were better protected,” said Osanna.
Instead, on the morning of Oct. 25, 79 A.D., a “blazing cloud (of volcanic material) arrived in Pompeii and…killed anyone it encountered on its way,” Osanna said.
Based on the impression of fabric folds left in the ash layer, it appeared the younger man was wearing a short, pleated tunic, possibly of wool. The older victim, in addition to wearing a tunic, appeared to have had a mantle over his left shoulder.
Mount Vesuvius remans an active volcano. While excavations continue at the site near Naples, tourists are currently barred from the archaeological park under national anti-COVID-19 measures.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--In cities nationwide, voters sanction more police oversight

COLUMBUS , Ohio ( AP ) - Voters in communities across the country approved measures on Election Day toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies , including some that took years to reach the ballot but grew in urgency after global protests over racial injustice and police brutality .
The measures take aim at a chronic sore point in many communities , particularly among Black residents : that police departments traditionally have little oversight outside their own internal review systems , which often clear officers of wrongdoing in fatal civilian shootings .
“ Recent events opened up people ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of oversight is needed , ” said Monica Steppe , a San Diego councilwoman who championed a successful proposal predating the protests that will dissolve the city ’ s current police review board and replace it with a more independent body with investigative powers .
However , the oversight boards don ’ t address other points of contention , such as the lack of diversity in many departments , and the perception of a different standard of police for Black residents than white .
In San Jose , California , voters approved an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s powers , including the ability to undertake investigations even without a citizen ’ s complaint .
The proposal was in the works for three years , but the City Council voted to place it on the ballot in the wake of protests that erupted after George Floyd died in May after a police officer pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes while Floyd said he couldn ’ t breathe .
“ It ended up being great timing for us because as the national spotlight shined on police excessive use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for oversight , we already had everything in the works , ” said Councilmember Raul Peralez , a former full-time San Jose police officer and now a reserve officer .
And in Los Angeles , voters approved a measure requiring that at least 10 % of county general fund revenue be set aside for alternatives to incarceration .
But statewide , voters rejected a measure to replace cash bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk .
Critics of cash bail say it discriminates against poor people , including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice system .
New Jersey in 2017 essentially eliminated cash bail .
In Portland , Oregon , voters approved a City Council-backed measure that gained momentum after the spring protests to create an independent commission overseeing misconduct investigations of Portland police officers .
The measure already faces a police union grievance trying to stop it .
In Seattle , voters gave the King County Council the ability to specify the sheriff ’ s public safety powers .
The goal was providing an alternative to some policing practices , such as expanding the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls of people in crisis .
The referendum grew directly out of the reckoning that followed Floyd ’ s death , said Councilmember Girmay Zahilay .
A successful Philadelphia ballot issue creates a new civilian review commission and places it under the control of the City Council in the hopes of making it more independent .
In Pittsburgh , a charter amendment requiring police officers to cooperate with the city ’ s civilian police review board passed overwhelmingly .
“ If you ’ re going to have oversight of police actions , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those actions to be transparent , and for other officers who witnessed it to bring their testimony , ” said Rev .
Ricky Burgess , a Pittsburgh council member who pushed the measure .
“ Right now neither is required.
” The law enforcement community remains concerned that such oversight boards - which often don ’ t involve police input - are punitive and automatically assume wrongdoing by officers based on their prejudices , said Jim Pasco , executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police .
“ Because they come from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re going to lead to flawed conclusions and therefore the remedies they would propose are going to be equally flawed , ” he said .
In Columbus , voters approved the city ’ s first-ever police review board .
The measure was strongly supported by Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther , who made its passage a top priority .
The Columbus police department had already faced criticism after a number of episodes , including the 2016 shooting of Henry Green , a Black man , by two undercover white police officers working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2016 , a white officer fatally shot a 13-year-old Black teenager during a robbery investigation .
In 2017 , a video showed a Columbus officer restraining a prone Black man and preparing to handcuff him when an officer who was also involved in the Green shooting arrives and appears to kick the man in the head .
The city fired that officer , but an arbitrator ordered him reinstated .
Columbus police have a “ significant disparity of use of force against minority residents ” that the city must address , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last year for a city safety advisory commission .
The Columbus review board and an accompanying inspector general ’ s office will have the ability to pursue parallel investigations of police misconduct alongside the police department ’ s own internal affairs bureau .
The board wouldn ’ t have the authority to discipline an officer , but its report would end up on the desk of the city ’ s safety director , who does .
Details of the Columbus review board will be worked out in upcoming negotiations with the police union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so officers .
Many officers want the process to be fair and don ’ t feel as if they were treated fairly by the city during the months of unrest , said Keith Ferrell , executive director of the union representing Columbus officers .
“ Fair to the officers , fair to the citizens , and quite honestly doesn ’ t put the citizens at risk because officers are afraid to do their jobs , ” Ferrell said .
The Columbus review board is not about demonizing the police , but is instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Nick Bankston , the measure ’ s campaign manager .
“ We heard loud and clear from the community that we currently have a system where it ’ s the police policing the police , ” Bankston said .
“ That just doesn ’ t make sense , and there ’ s not trust that ’ s there.
” Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland contributed to this report .

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Voters in communities across the country approved measures on Election Day toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies, including some that took years to reach the ballot but grew in urgency after global protests over racial injustice and police brutality.
The measures take aim at a chronic sore point in many communities, particularly among Black residents: that police departments traditionally have little oversight outside their own internal review systems, which often clear officers of wrongdoing in fatal civilian shootings.
“Recent events opened up people’s eyes more to how much this type of oversight is needed,” said Monica Steppe, a San Diego councilwoman who championed a successful proposal predating the protests that will dissolve the city’s current police review board and replace it with a more independent body with investigative powers.
However, the oversight boards don’t address other points of contention, such as the lack of diversity in many departments, and the perception of a different standard of police for Black residents than white.
In San Jose, California, voters approved an expansion of an independent police auditor’s powers, including the ability to undertake investigations even without a citizen’s complaint.
The proposal was in the works for three years, but the City Council voted to place it on the ballot in the wake of protests that erupted after George Floyd died in May after a police officer pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes while Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.
“It ended up being great timing for us because as the national spotlight shined on police excessive use of force and police brutality and certainly demands for oversight, we already had everything in the works,” said Councilmember Raul Peralez, a former full-time San Jose police officer and now a reserve officer.
And in Los Angeles, voters approved a measure requiring that at least 10% of county general fund revenue be set aside for alternatives to incarceration. But statewide, voters rejected a measure to replace cash bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk.
Critics of cash bail say it discriminates against poor people, including the disproportionate number of minorities in the criminal justice system. New Jersey in 2017 essentially eliminated cash bail.
In Portland, Oregon, voters approved a City Council-backed measure that gained momentum after the spring protests to create an independent commission overseeing misconduct investigations of Portland police officers. The measure already faces a police union grievance trying to stop it.
In Seattle, voters gave the King County Council the ability to specify the sheriff’s public safety powers. The goal was providing an alternative to some policing practices, such as expanding the use of social workers to respond to emergency calls of people in crisis. The referendum grew directly out of the reckoning that followed Floyd’s death, said Councilmember Girmay Zahilay.
A successful Philadelphia ballot issue creates a new civilian review commission and places it under the control of the City Council in the hopes of making it more independent. In Pittsburgh, a charter amendment requiring police officers to cooperate with the city’s civilian police review board passed overwhelmingly.
“If you’re going to have oversight of police actions, then you need the officers who have performed those actions to be transparent, and for other officers who witnessed it to bring their testimony,” said Rev. Ricky Burgess, a Pittsburgh council member who pushed the measure. “Right now neither is required.”
The law enforcement community remains concerned that such oversight boards - which often don’t involve police input - are punitive and automatically assume wrongdoing by officers based on their prejudices, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police.
“Because they come from a flawed premise, in many instances they’re going to lead to flawed conclusions and therefore the remedies they would propose are going to be equally flawed,” he said.
In Columbus, voters approved the city’s first-ever police review board. The measure was strongly supported by Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther, who made its passage a top priority.
The Columbus police department had already faced criticism after a number of episodes, including the 2016 shooting of Henry Green, a Black man, by two undercover white police officers working in an anti-crime summer initiative.
Later in 2016, a white officer fatally shot a 13-year-old Black teenager during a robbery investigation. In 2017, a video showed a Columbus officer restraining a prone Black man and preparing to handcuff him when an officer who was also involved in the Green shooting arrives and appears to kick the man in the head. The city fired that officer, but an arbitrator ordered him reinstated.
Columbus police have a “significant disparity of use of force against minority residents” that the city must address, according to a report by Matrix Consulting Group last year for a city safety advisory commission.
The Columbus review board and an accompanying inspector general’s office will have the ability to pursue parallel investigations of police misconduct alongside the police department’s own internal affairs bureau.
The board wouldn’t have the authority to discipline an officer, but its report would end up on the desk of the city’s safety director, who does.
Details of the Columbus review board will be worked out in upcoming negotiations with the police union representing the department’s 1,800 or so officers.
Many officers want the process to be fair and don’t feel as if they were treated fairly by the city during the months of unrest, said Keith Ferrell, executive director of the union representing Columbus officers.
“Fair to the officers, fair to the citizens, and quite honestly doesn’t put the citizens at risk because officers are afraid to do their jobs,” Ferrell said.
The Columbus review board is not about demonizing the police, but is instead about accountability and restoration of trust, said Nick Bankston, the measure’s campaign manager.
“We heard loud and clear from the community that we currently have a system where it’s the police policing the police,” Bankston said. “That just doesn’t make sense, and there’s not trust that’s there.”
___
Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Trooper shot during Cape Cod traffic stop; search underway

BARNSTABLE , Mass .
( AP ) - Authorities are searching for the person or people who shot and injured @ @ @ @ @ a traffic stop on Cape Cod .
The trooper stopped a vehicle on Camp Street @ @ @ @ @ said Dave Procopio , a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police .
The vehicle took @ @ @ @ @ Procopio said in an emailed statement .
The trooper , who is assigned to the @ @ @ @ @ to a Boston hospital .
His injuries weren ’ t considered life-threatening , Procopio said @

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) - Authorities are searching for the person or people who shot and injured a Massachusetts state trooper during a traffic stop on Cape Cod Friday night.
The trooper suffered a serious gunshot wound to his right hand and remains at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to Dave Procopio, an agency spokesman.
Police said the officer was was shot shortly after 11:30 p.m. in Hyannis and the vehicle took off after the shooting.
Police said the round went through the officer’s hand and appears to have struck his ballistic vest in his shoulder area. The injury isn’t considered life-threatening.
Police didn’t identify the officer other than to say he is 28-years-old, graduated from the state police academy in May, and is assigned to the Yarmouth barracks.
Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, said the incident is a reminder of the “inherent danger” any time an officer walks up to a motor vehicle or a suspect and the lengths criminals will go to avoid apprehension.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Utility regulator targeted by FBI saw a whirlwind rise

COLUMBUS , Ohio ( AP ) - Sam Randazzo told Ohio state senators last year that he had been poised to retire at the end of 2018 when he was recruited to help the incoming administration of Republican Gov .
Mike DeWine review looming big-picture energy and utility issues .
Within three weeks of DeWine taking office , Randazzo was named the state ’ s top utility regulator .
How Randazzo went from retiring utility lawyer to chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio over such a short period is a matter of new attention .
Randazzo resigned his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an FBI search of his Columbus townhome and the revelation Thursday that FirstEnergy Corp. , Ohio ’ s largest electric utility , had paid the firm of an Ohio regulator fitting Randazzo ‘ s description more than $ 4 million early last year to end a six-year consulting contract .
Randazzo ‘ s appointment to the commission was made amid a swirl of closely timed resignations , appointments and votes overshadowed by the DeWine transition and a nasty battle for control of the Ohio House speakership .
The man who won that fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since become the lead target of a $ 60 billion federal bribery investigation with FirstEnergy at its center .
Householder and four other men were arrested by FBI agents in July and were soon indicted on federal racketeering charges .
Householder pleaded not guilty and was quickly removed as speaker after his arrest .
He was reelected Nov. 3 with write-in candidates as his only opponents .
The FBI has not said the Randazzo search is connected to the bribery investigation , but if he is the regulator described in FirstEnergy ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is .
As PUCO chairman , Randazzo held immense sway over the fortunes of FirstEnergy and other investor-owned utilities .
The position also made him chair of the Ohio Power Siting Board , which has approval power over new electric generating facilities , including wind and solar projects .
Randazzo ‘ s five decades as a lawyer included representing industrial customers before the commission and lobbying against renewable energy .
That ’ s why criticism was swift from environmental and consumer groups when he was nominated to the PUCO on Jan. 31 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal to make him chair had already been sealed .
Randazzo , 71 , testified during a confirmation hearing before a state Senate committee that he was asked before DeWine and Lt. Gov .
Jon Husted took office on Jan. 14 , 2019 , to forgo plans to retire to Naples , Florida , where he owns an expensive waterfront home , and to return to government at the utility commission , where he began his career in the 1970s as a technical staffer .
Randazzo subsequently served as an assistant Ohio attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PUCO section .
He specified during the confirmation hearing that Husted and Laurel Dawson , DeWine ‘ s chief of staff , were among those who helped recruit him .
Husted , when he was House speaker in 2007 , appointed Randazzo to the Public Utilities Commission Nominating Council .
The next year , during the legislative fight over Democratic Gov .
Ted Strickland ’ s proposal to revisit electricity deregulation in the state and to require power companies to use more alternative and renewable energy sources , Husted and Randazzo were allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to much of Strickland ’ s plan when Husted threw a wrench in negotiations .
He introduced a new version of the bill more amenable to a coalition of utilities led by FirstEnergy , which has been generous to Husted ’ s political campaigns over the years .
Randazzo ‘ s name appeared as the creator of the electronic document Husted distributed .
Randazzo , who formed and for years represented the nonprofit Industrial Energy Users-Ohio , later remarked that the Strickland energy plan ’ s requirement for power companies to generate 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alternative sources by 2025 was “ equivalent to saying 20 percent of air travel must be by hot-air balloon.
” A Husted compromise had set up a series of interim targets for utilities to meet on renewables .
Many whose work involves navigating the often-opaque language of energy law suspect Randazzo also had a role in formulating 2019 legislation that sought to bail out two FirstEnergy nuclear plants and is at the center of the bribery investigation .
A document submitted as part of a FirstEnergy subsidiary ’ s bankruptcy case indicated this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sustainability Funding Alliance of Ohio , was owed $ 43,000 as an unsecured creditor .
In his resignation letter , Randazzo indicated he had disclosed all his prior business relationships to DeWine and his transition team before his nomination interview last January .
A coalition of environmental groups , including the Sierra Club and Audubon Society , wrote DeWine the day after Randazzo ‘ s nomination that Randazzo had “ worked earnestly to dismantle Ohio ’ s energy efficiency resource standard and renewable portfolio standard since 2012 via multiple pieces of legislation.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groundwork for his new job .
He left his law firm and withdrew from all his remaining cases before the utilities commission on Dec. 31 , 2018 .
Three days after DeWine and Husted took office on Jan. 14 , 2019 , he submitted his application to the commission .
On Jan. 28 , Randazzo resigned from the commission ’ s 12-member nominating council .
Householder appointed Randazzo ‘ s law firm colleague , Scott Elisar , to the vacancy .
Elisar was subsequently hired as the PUCO ‘ s legislative and policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four finalists for the open commission seat three days later , Randazzo was the only nominee who received unanimous support .
Four days after that , DeWine announced he had selected Randazzo and intended to make him the commission ’ s chair .
Asim Haque , commission chair at the time , had announced his resignation six hours earlier .
“ Sam Randazzo has the knowledge and experience to lead the PUCO , with expertise in a wide range of utility-related issues , ” DeWine said in a statement .
That April , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ohio Senate confirmation process in two days .
Energy companies including FirstEnergy took an apparent interest in how the DeWine administration might remake the commission , donating well over $ 100,000 to his transition fund in the weeks after the 2018 election .
Three of the four men accused alongside Householder in the government ’ s bribery probe - Matt Borges , Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth - also gave to the fund , along with Randazzo , records show .
The Nominating Council was created in 1983 as a check and balance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activism against skyrocketing rates and other perceived utility abuses under Republican Gov .
James Rhodes ’ commission culminated in a statewide ballot measure calling for the direct election of commissioners .
Eugene Krebs , a former state lawmaker who applied for the seat to which Randazzo was appointed , said now utility companies have co-opted that system , too .
“ No reform can survive that long without eventually what you ’ re looking to reform figuring out to go ahead and subvert it , ” he said .
“ And it happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Sam Randazzo told Ohio state senators last year that he had been poised to retire at the end of 2018 when he was recruited to help the incoming administration of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine review looming big-picture energy and utility issues.
Within three weeks of DeWine taking office, Randazzo was named the state’s top utility regulator.
“Very humbling stuff!” Randazzo gushed during his April 2019 confirmation hearing.
How Randazzo went from retiring utility lawyer to chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio over such a short period is a matter of new attention.
Randazzo resigned his chairmanship Friday after a week that included an FBI search of his Columbus townhome and the revelation Thursday that FirstEnergy Corp., Ohio’s largest electric utility, had paid the firm of an Ohio regulator fitting Randazzo’s description more than $4 million early last year to end a six-year consulting contract.
Randazzo’s appointment to the commission was made amid a swirl of closely timed resignations, appointments and votes overshadowed by the DeWine transition and a nasty battle for control of the Ohio House speakership.
The man who won that fight, Republican Rep. Larry Householder, has since become the lead target of a $60 million federal bribery investigation with FirstEnergy at its center. Householder and four other men were arrested by FBI agents in July and were soon indicted on federal racketeering charges.
Householder pleaded not guilty and was quickly removed as speaker after his arrest. He was reelected Nov. 3 with write-in candidates as his only opponents.
The FBI has not said the Randazzo search is connected to the bribery investigation, but if he is the regulator described in FirstEnergy’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing - it is.
As PUCO chairman, Randazzo held immense sway over the fortunes of FirstEnergy and other investor-owned utilities. The position also made him chair of the Ohio Power Siting Board, which has approval power over new electric generating facilities, including wind and solar projects.
Randazzo’s five decades as a lawyer included representing industrial customers before the commission and lobbying against renewable energy. That’s why criticism was swift from environmental and consumer groups when he was nominated to the PUCO on Jan. 31, 2019.
But indications are the deal to make him chair had already been sealed.
Randazzo, 71, testified during a confirmation hearing before a state Senate committee that he was asked before DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted took office on Jan. 14, 2019, to forgo plans to retire to Naples, Florida, where he owns an expensive waterfront home, and to return to government at the utility commission, where he began his career in the 1970s as a technical staffer. Randazzo subsequently served as an assistant Ohio attorney general assigned to that office’s PUCO section.
He specified during the confirmation hearing that Husted and Laurel Dawson, DeWine’s chief of staff, were among those who helped recruit him.
Husted, when he was House speaker in 2007, appointed Randazzo to the Public Utilities Commission Nominating Council. The next year, during the legislative fight over Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposal to revisit electricity deregulation in the state and to require power companies to use more alternative and renewable energy sources, Husted and Randazzo were allies.
The Republican-led Senate had already agreed to much of Strickland’s plan when Husted threw a wrench in negotiations. He introduced a new version of the bill more amenable to a coalition of utilities led by FirstEnergy, which has been generous to Husted’s political campaigns over the years. Randazzo’s name appeared as the creator of the electronic document Husted distributed.
Randazzo, who formed and for years represented the nonprofit Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, later remarked that the Strickland energy plan’s requirement for power companies to generate 25% of their energy from renewable and alternative sources by 2025 was “equivalent to saying 20 percent of air travel must be by hot-air balloon.” A Husted compromise had set up a series of interim targets for utilities to meet on renewables.
Many whose work involves navigating the often-opaque language of energy law suspect Randazzo also had a role in formulating 2019 legislation that sought to bail out two FirstEnergy nuclear plants and is at the center of the bribery investigation.
A document submitted as part of a FirstEnergy subsidiary’s bankruptcy case indicated this year that a company Randazzo owned, Sustainability Funding Alliance of Ohio, was owed $43,000 as an unsecured creditor. In his resignation letter, Randazzo indicated he had disclosed all his prior business relationships to DeWine and his transition team before his nomination interview last January.
A coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, wrote DeWine the day after Randazzo’s nomination that Randazzo had “worked earnestly to dismantle Ohio’s energy efficiency resource standard and renewable portfolio standard since 2012 via multiple pieces of legislation.”
But Randazzo had already been laying the groundwork for his new job. He left his law firm and withdrew from all his remaining cases before the utilities commission on Dec. 31, 2018. Three days after DeWine and Husted took office on Jan. 14, 2019, he submitted his application to the commission.
On Jan. 28, Randazzo resigned from the commission’s 12-member nominating council. Householder appointed Randazzo’s law firm colleague, Scott Elisar, to the vacancy. Elisar was subsequently hired as the PUCO’s legislative and policy director.
When the council announced its four finalists for the open commission seat three days later, Randazzo was the only nominee who received unanimous support.
Four days after that, DeWine announced he had selected Randazzo and intended to make him the commission’s chair. Asim Haque, commission chair at the time, had announced his resignation six hours earlier.
“Sam Randazzo has the knowledge and experience to lead the PUCO, with expertise in a wide range of utility-related issues,” DeWine said in a statement.
That April, Randazzo’s appointment sailed through the Ohio Senate confirmation process in two days.
Energy companies including FirstEnergy took an apparent interest in how the DeWine administration might remake the commission, donating well over $100,000 to his transition fund in the weeks after the 2018 election. Three of the four men accused alongside Householder in the government’s bribery probe - Matt Borges, Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth - also gave to the fund, along with Randazzo, records show.
The Nominating Council was created in 1983 as a check and balance on the governor after a period of activism against skyrocketing rates and other perceived utility abuses under Republican Gov. James Rhodes’ commission culminated in a statewide ballot measure calling for the direct election of commissioners.
Eugene Krebs, a former state lawmaker who applied for the seat to which Randazzo was appointed, said now utility companies have co-opted that system, too.
“No reform can survive that long without eventually what you’re looking to reform figuring out to go ahead and subvert it,” he said. “And it happened. So it needs to be removed.”
___
Gillispie reported from Cleveland.
___
This story has been updated to correct the bribery investigation figure to $60 million, instead of $60 billion.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Tens of thousands mourn radical cleric's death in Pakistan

LAHORE , Pakistan ( AP ) - Tens of thousands of supporters on Saturday thronged the funeral of a radical cleric whose Islamist party has defended Pakistan ’ s controversial blasphemy law that calls for the death penalty for insulting Islam .
The mourners gathered in the eastern city of Lahore , where the Islamist scholar and leader , Khadim Hussein Rizvi , died two days ago at the age of 54 .
Rizvi ’ s party , Tehreek-e-Labiak , holds only two seats in parliament , but his movement has repeatedly pressed its cause by staging large-scale demonstrations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ followers at a sit-in in the capital of Islamabad protesting the republishing in France of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad , which he deemed blasphemous .
Demonstrators briefly clashed with security forces at the rally , which was one in a wave of protests across the country expressing outrage over the caricatures .
Pakistan ’ s government promised on Tuesday that the protesters ’ demands for cutting diplomatic ties with France and expelling the French ambassador would be discussed in parliament soon .
A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Labiak , said the government had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detained at the recent protests .
The radical Islamist party gained prominence in Pakistan ’ s 2018 elections , campaigning on a single-point agenda of defending the country ’ s blasphemy law .
In November 2017 , its followers staged a 21-day protest and sit-in after a reference to the sanctity of the Prophet Muhammad was removed from the text of a government form .
Rizvi led the protests last year , after Pakistani authorities freed Aasia Bibi , a Christian Pakistani woman held on death row for eight years on charges of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but she had to flee to Canada after threats to her life .
The prophet caricatures published in France sparked protests across Asia and the Middle East , with calls for the boycott of French products .
They were also seen as the trigger for several deadly attacks against French nationals and interests in recent weeks .

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Tens of thousands of supporters on Saturday thronged the funeral of a radical cleric whose Islamist party has defended Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law that calls for the death penalty for insulting Islam.
The mourners gathered in the eastern city of Lahore, where the Islamist scholar and leader, Khadim Hussein Rizvi, died two days ago at the age of 54.
Rizvi’s party, Tehreek-e-Labiak, holds only two seats in parliament, but his movement has repeatedly pressed its cause by staging large-scale demonstrations.
Rizvi led last Sunday thousands of his followers at a sit-in in the capital of Islamabad protesting the republishing in France of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which he deemed blasphemous. Demonstrators briefly clashed with security forces at the rally, which was one in a wave of protests across the country expressing outrage over the caricatures.
Pakistan’s government promised on Tuesday that the protesters’ demands for cutting diplomatic ties with France and expelling the French ambassador would be discussed in parliament soon. A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Labiak, said the government had also agreed to release any party members detained at the recent protests.
The radical Islamist party gained prominence in Pakistan’s 2018 elections, campaigning on a single-point agenda of defending the country’s blasphemy law.
In November 2017, its followers staged a 21-day protest and sit-in after a reference to the sanctity of the Prophet Muhammad was removed from the text of a government form.
Rizvi led the protests last year, after Pakistani authorities freed Aasia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman held on death row for eight years on charges of committing blasphemy. A court acquitted her but she had to flee to Canada after threats to her life.
The prophet caricatures published in France sparked protests across Asia and the Middle East, with calls for the boycott of French products. They were also seen as the trigger for several deadly attacks against French nationals and interests in recent weeks.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Bulgaria is latest block in North Macedonia's bid to join EU

SOFIA , Bulgaria ( AP ) - It ’ s not easy to plan your future in a region like the Balkans , where history often clouds the present .
One of Europe ’ s youngest nations , North Macedonia , spent years resolving differences with Greece that prevented it joining the European Union and NATO .
This week , that path was blocked again , this time by another neighbor , Bulgaria .
The government in Sofia wants North Macedonia to formally recognize that its language has Bulgarian roots and to stamp out what it says is anti-Bulgarian rhetoric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member country requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU nations .
Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told Bulgaria ’ s lawmakers that their country withheld its consent Tuesday because North Macedonia was not observing a 2017 bilateral friendship treaty and was fueling hatred through some of its policies .
“ Hysteria has been whipped up in their media , fueled by open hate speech toward Bulgaria , and by branding anyone who expresses a dissenting opinion a traitor , ” Zaharieva said .
“ In effect , Skopje has continued its policy of maintaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and language , among other matters , ” Zaharieva said .
Bulgaria insists that instead of “ Macedonian language ” the formulation “ the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia ” should be used in the negotiating framework .
Sofia considers the language a dialect of Bulgarian , arguing that the official language of its neighbor was artificially created after 1944 .
Bulgaria also wants a text in the roadmap to state that claims that there is a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria will not be supported in any form .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Bulgaria ’ s 7 million citizens call themselves Macedonians .
Historians in Sofia claim that these people are not a minority but refugees who moved to Bulgaria after the Balkan wars at the beginning of the 20th century .
Zaharieva said Bulgaria wants legal guarantees before it will give the green light to membership negotiations that were slated to start next month .
North Macedonia says its national identity and language are not open to discussion .
A commission of renowned historians from both countries has been working to resolve the standoff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough common ground to satisfy the two nations .
Bulgaria , which joined the EU in 2007 , has been an active supporter of letting in the six Western Balkan countries , believing it could help improve living standards and insulate the region against the influence of Russia and China .
North Macedonia ’ s government said Wednesday that it remains “ committed to the European path.
” During times of tension , “ European values need to be demonstrated .
Dialogue instead of conflict , ” government spokesman Dushko Arsovski told reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , instead of nationalism for domestic use and new isolation.
” North Macedonia , a country of 2 million , applied for EU membership in 2004 and received a positive response from the executive European Commission a year later .
However , a long-running dispute over the country ’ s name - when it declared independence from Yugoslavia , it was called Macedonia , the same as a neighboring Greek province - kept Greece blocking the move for years .
The dispute was resolved when the country was renamed North Macedonia early last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demanded a postponement in starting the talks , arguing that with Britain preparing to pull out of the EU and other pressing issues , the bloc had too much on its plate .
EU leaders finally agreed in March to begin the process for opening formal accession talks with both North Macedonia and Albania .
But that can ’ t happen for North Macedonia until Bulgaria is on board .
Officials from Germany , which currently holds the EU ’ s rotating EU presidency , said they hoped Bulgaria and North Macedonia will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the membership talks can begin before the end of the year .
Other Western Balkan countries are at varying stages of EU membership talks : Serbia and Montenegro have already started negotiating some chapters of the final deal ; Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina have signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement , the first step on the path .
Konstantin Testorides in Skopje , North Macedonia , contributed to this report .

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - It’s not easy to plan your future in a region like the Balkans, where history often clouds the present.
One of Europe’s youngest nations, North Macedonia, spent years resolving differences with Greece that prevented it joining the European Union and NATO. This week, that path was blocked again, this time by another neighbor, Bulgaria.
The government in Sofia wants North Macedonia to formally recognize that its language has Bulgarian roots and to stamp out what it says is anti-Bulgarian rhetoric.
Launching accession talks with a prospective member country requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU nations. Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told Bulgaria’s lawmakers that their country withheld its consent Tuesday because North Macedonia was not observing a 2017 bilateral friendship treaty and was fueling hatred through some of its policies.
“Hysteria has been whipped up in their media, fueled by open hate speech toward Bulgaria, and by branding anyone who expresses a dissenting opinion a traitor,” Zaharieva said.
“In effect, Skopje has continued its policy of maintaining unfounded claims about minority rights, history and language, among other matters,” Zaharieva said.
Bulgaria insists that instead of “Macedonian language” the formulation “the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia” should be used in the negotiating framework.
Sofia considers the language a dialect of Bulgarian, arguing that the official language of its neighbor was artificially created after 1944.
Bulgaria also wants a text in the roadmap to state that claims that there is a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria will not be supported in any form.
According to a 2011 census, some 1,600 of Bulgaria’s 7 million citizens call themselves Macedonians. Historians in Sofia claim that these people are not a minority but refugees who moved to Bulgaria after the Balkan wars at the beginning of the 20th century.
Zaharieva said Bulgaria wants legal guarantees before it will give the green light to membership negotiations that were slated to start next month.
North Macedonia says its national identity and language are not open to discussion. A commission of renowned historians from both countries has been working to resolve the standoff but has so far failed to find enough common ground to satisfy the two nations.
Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, has been an active supporter of letting in the six Western Balkan countries, believing it could help improve living standards and insulate the region against the influence of Russia and China.
North Macedonia’s government said Wednesday that it remains “committed to the European path.”
During times of tension, “European values need to be demonstrated. Dialogue instead of conflict,” government spokesman Dushko Arsovski told reporters. “Calmness and readiness for cooperation, instead of nationalism for domestic use and new isolation.”
North Macedonia, a country of 2 million, applied for EU membership in 2004 and received a positive response from the executive European Commission a year later. However, a long-running dispute over the country’s name - when it declared independence from Yugoslavia, it was called Macedonia, the same as a neighboring Greek province - kept Greece blocking the move for years. The dispute was resolved when the country was renamed North Macedonia early last year.
A year ago, France demanded a postponement in starting the talks, arguing that with Britain preparing to pull out of the EU and other pressing issues, the bloc had too much on its plate.
EU leaders finally agreed in March to begin the process for opening formal accession talks with both North Macedonia and Albania. But that can’t happen for North Macedonia until Bulgaria is on board.
Officials from Germany, which currently holds the EU’s rotating EU presidency, said they hoped Bulgaria and North Macedonia will be able to find a compromise and the membership talks can begin before the end of the year.
Other Western Balkan countries are at varying stages of EU membership talks: Serbia and Montenegro have already started negotiating some chapters of the final deal; Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina have signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement, the first step on the path.
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Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia, contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Iran closes businesses, curtails travel amid virus surge

TEHRAN , Iran ( AP ) - Iran on Saturday shuttered businesses and curtailed travel between its major cities , including the capital of Tehran , as it grapples with the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in the Mideast region .
Top Iranian officials initially downplayed the risks posed by the virus outbreak , before recently urging the public to follow measures like wearing masks and avoiding unessential travel .
Iran has recorded daily death tolls of above 430 over the past five days .
The Iranian Health Ministry said on Saturday that the total number of confirmed cases has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdown measures , which include shuttering most businesses , shops , malls , and restaurants , include Iran ’ s largest cities of Mashhad , Isfahan , and Shiraz .
Iranian authorities have designated the nearly 160 towns and cities affected as hot spots because these urban centers have the highest daily per capita positive coronavirus test results .
On Saturday , Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a televised speech urged people to follow the measures to help “ lessen the death toll.
” He added that the government plans to supply cash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poorest people for four months to help them to manage the economic fallout from the new outbreak .
The latest round of restrictions to stem the outbreak came as a spat among top Iranian health officials led to the resignation of at least two officials .
Iranian newspapers said Saturday that the deputy health minister in charge of research , Reza Malekzadeh , resigned from his post in reaction to recent remarks by the Minister of Health Saeed Namaki , who said government-led research projects were not successfully addressing the current needs of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his resignation letter criticized public mismanagement of the virus outbreak by the minister .
“ The pandemic ’ s very wrong management that was caused by a lack of consultation and paying attention to warnings from experts has led to a large number of human deaths , ” Malekzadeh said in his statement .
Iranian news websites also said that Ali Nobakht , an advisor to the health minister , resigned over similar reasons , without providing further details .
In Tehran , the head of the city ’ s chamber of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the restrictions will lead to the closure of 70 % of business in the capital and its surrounding areas .
Manoochehr Nassiri , who runs a lighting shop in Tehran ’ s Grand Bazaar , complained about the closures .
“ We shop owners don ’ t know what to do , considering the economic situation of the country , ” he said standing outside his shuttered store .
The closures are set to last two weeks but can be automatically extended .
Beginning on Saturday , government offices that provide essential public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communications and utilities services -will continue their work with half of the regular number of staff .
All other government offices will continue working with one third of their staff .
All schools in the capital will also be closed and required to switch to virtual instruction by Internet .
Authorities will also close shrines in Tehran and cancel mass prayers in mosques , though it was not immediately clear if the same restrictions would apply in other cities , including the holy city of Mashhad .
Any travel between the affected cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public transportation will be available but the use of private cars is banned between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. People who have tested positive for the virus are required to stay at home and can face a roughly $ 8 cash fine if they appear in public .
Media organizations , construction jobs , agriculture , heavy industry , and services for the elderly and assisted living are largely exempt from the closures .
Iran has avoided the full lockdowns seen in other countries as it struggles to keep its faltering economy alive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
President Donald Trump re-imposed sweeping sanctions on the country after withdrawing from Iran ’ s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 .

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Saturday shuttered businesses and curtailed travel between its major cities, including the capital of Tehran, as it grapples with the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in the Mideast region.
Top Iranian officials initially downplayed the risks posed by the virus outbreak, before recently urging the public to follow measures like wearing masks and avoiding unessential travel.
Iran has recorded daily death tolls of above 430 over the past five days. The Iranian Health Ministry said on Saturday that the total number of confirmed cases has risen to above 840,000.
The new lockdown measures, which include shuttering most businesses, shops, malls, and restaurants, include Iran’s largest cities of Mashhad, Isfahan, and Shiraz. Iranian authorities have designated the nearly 160 towns and cities affected as hot spots because these urban centers have the highest daily per capita positive coronavirus test results.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a televised speech urged people to follow the measures to help “lessen the death toll.” He added that the government plans to supply cash subsidies to Iran’s 30 million poorest people for four months to help them to manage the economic fallout from the new outbreak.
The latest round of restrictions to stem the outbreak came as a spat among top Iranian health officials led to the resignation of at least two officials.
Iranian newspapers said Saturday that the deputy health minister in charge of research, Reza Malekzadeh, resigned from his post in reaction to recent remarks by the Minister of Health Saeed Namaki, who said government-led research projects were not successfully addressing the current needs of the ministry.
In reply, Malekzadeh in his resignation letter criticized government’s mismanagement of the virus outbreak as leading to a “large number of human deaths.”
Iranian news websites also said that Ali Nobakht, an advisor to the health minister, resigned over similar reasons, without providing further details.
In Tehran, the head of the city’s chamber of commerce, Qassem Nodeh, said that the restrictions will lead to the closure of 70% of business in the capital and its surrounding areas.
Manoochehr Nassiri, who runs a lighting shop in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, complained about the closures.
“We shop owners don’t know what to do, considering the economic situation of the country,” he said standing outside his shuttered store.
The closures are set to last two weeks but can be automatically extended.
Beginning on Saturday, government offices that provide essential public services -including banks, post offices, communications and utilities services -will continue their work with half of the regular number of staff. All other government offices will continue working with one third of their staff.
All schools in the capital will also be closed and required to switch to virtual instruction by Internet. Authorities will also close shrines in Tehran and cancel mass prayers in mosques, though it was not immediately clear if the same restrictions would apply in other cities, including the holy city of Mashhad.
Any travel between the affected cities by private car is also suspended. Public transportation will be available but the use of private cars is banned between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
People who have tested positive for the virus are required to stay at home and can face a roughly $8 cash fine if they appear in public.
Media organizations, construction jobs, agriculture, heavy industry, and services for the elderly and assisted living are largely exempt from the closures.
Iran has avoided the full lockdowns seen in other countries as it struggles to keep its faltering economy alive in the face of crushing U.S. sanctions. President Donald Trump re-imposed sweeping sanctions on the country after withdrawing from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--Protests staged across France against bill on police images

PARIS ( AP ) - Rights campaigners and journalists organizations staged street protests in Paris and other French cities on Saturday against a security bill that they say would be a violation of the freedom of information .
The proposed measure would create a new criminal offense of publishing images of police officers with intent to cause them harm .
The government says it is intended to protect police officers from online calls for violence .
Critics fear that , if enacted , the measure would endanger journalists and other people who take videos of officers at work , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests were called by Reporters without Borders , Amnesty International France , the Human Rights League , journalists ’ unions and other groups .
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and France ’ s human rights ombudsman have also voiced concerns this week over risks that the measure would undermine fundamental rights .
In response to the criticism , Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday an amendment to the measure in order to specify that it “ won ’ t impede the freedom of information ” and that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ clear ” intent to harm a police officer .
Offenders would face a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a 45,000-euro ( $ 53,000 ) fine .
The proposed law is championed by lawmakers of President Emmanuel Macron ’ s party , which has a majority in the National Assembly .
Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the bill , which also includes other security measures .
It will then go to the Senate .

PARIS (AP) - Thousands of people took to the streets in Paris and other French cities Saturday at the urging of civil liberties campaigners and journalist groups to protest a proposed security law they say would impinge on freedom of information and media rights.
Pending legislation in France’s parliament would create a new criminal offense for publishing images of police officers with intent to cause them harm. Offenders would face a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison and a 45,000-euro ($53,000) fine.
The government says the proposal is intended to protect police officers from online calls for violence. Critics fear that, if enacted, the measure would endanger journalists and other observers who take videos of officers at work, especially during violent demonstrations.
In Paris, several thousand demonstrators gathered on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower, chanting “Freedom, freedom” and “Everyone wants to film the police.”
Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd as minor scuffles broke out at the end of the demonstration. Paris police said 23 people were detained and an officer was slightly injured.
Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International France, the Human Rights League, journalists’ unions and other groups encouraged people to attend the protest. The crowd included many journalists and students.
“We are not here to defend a privilege of our profession, press freedom and journalists’ freedom,” Edwy Plenel, co-founder and editor of investigative website Mediapart, said. “We are here to defend fundamental rights, the rights of all people.”
Some members of the anti-government yellow vest movement also joined the demonstration.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and France’s human rights ombudsman have also voiced concerns that the new provision could undermine fundamental rights.
In response to the criticism, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that the measure would be amended to specify that it “won’t impede the freedom of information” and that it will focus only on images broadcast with “clear” intent to harm a police officer.
Emmanuel Poupard, secretary general of the National Journalists Union (SNJ), said Saturday that he thinks the new amendment “doesn’t change anything.”
The police image law “has only one goal: to boost the sense of impunity of law enforcement officers and make invisible police brutality,” he said.
Protesters argue that recording officers in action is essential to being able to condemn and curb the actions of violent officers. They also worry how courts would determine whether images were posted with intent to harm.
In July, three French police officers were charged with manslaughter over the death of a delivery man, Cedric Chouviat, that bystanders caught on video. Chouviat’s death had similarities with the killing of George Floyd in the U.S. state of Minneapolis, which sparked outrage around the world and a series of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in France.
The proposed law is championed by lawmakers from President Emmanuel Macron’s party, which has a majority in the National Assembly.
Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the bill, which also includes other security measures. It will then go to the Senate.


washingtontimes--2020-11-21--'My Missing Valentine' headlines Golden Horse Awards

TAIPEI , Taiwan ( AP ) - Taiwan has kicked off its annual Golden Horse Awards , a prestigious ceremony considered Asia ’ s equivalent of the Academy Awards for Chinese-language films .
Even as the pandemic shut cinemas around the globe , actors , directors and others managed to walk the red carpet ahead of Saturday night ’ s 57th Golden Horse Awards ceremony in Taipei .
The Taiwanese romantic comedy “ My Missing Valentine ” led the nominations for this year ’ s awards with 11 nods .
Hong Kong ’ s “ Hand Rolled Cigarette ” received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s “ The Way We Keep Dancing ” received six .
Another Hong Kong film , “ Taking Back the Legislature , ” was nominated for best documentary .
The film focuses on the storming of the city ’ s Legislative Council building , a key moment in last year ’ s anti-government protests .
Singaporean actor Mark Lee was nominated for best actor for his performance as a drag queen in “ Number 1.
” Malaysian rapper Namewee ’ s song “ Happy Family ” was nominated for best theme song for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was banned in Malaysia .
For the second straight year , mainland Chinese talent was not participating in the competition , with Beijing banning its artists from participating amid tensions between China and Taiwan .
Taiwan split off from the mainland after the 1949 civil war , but China still claims the island as part of its territory .
Those tensions have played out at the festival .
In 2018 , documentary director Fu Yue called on the world to recognize Taiwan as an independent country in an acceptance speech at the awards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently do .
In response , Chinese participants refused to appear onstage , made pointed remarks about Taiwan and China being members of the same family , and then declined to attend the banquet reception following the show .
China holds its own film awards , called the Golden Rooster , which are subject to government ideological constraints and censorship .
Associated Press videojournalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report .

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - The Taiwanese film “My Missing Valentine” won big Saturday night at the annual Golden Horse Awards, taking five honors, including best feature film.
The romantic comedy, which tells the love story of a bus driver and a post office worker, also won for best director, best visual effects, best film editing and best original screenplay.
Overall, Taiwanese talent enjoyed a big night at the Golden Horse Awards, considered Asia’s equivalent of the Academy Awards for Chinese-language films.
Taiwanese performers took home honors for best actor and best actress. Mo Tzu-yi won best actor for his role in “Dear Tenant,” while Chen Shu-fang won best actress for “Little Big Women.”
Malaysia’s Chong Keat-aun won the award for best new director for “The Story of Southern Islet.” Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien won the lifetime achievement award.
Even as the coronavirus pandemic has shut cinemas around the globe, actors, directors and others managed to walk the red carpet ahead of the ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. Taiwan has recorded only 611 cases of the coronavirus and just seven deaths.
“It is not easy. Look at what is happened around the world,” said director Ang Lee, the chairman of the competition. “I have just come back from New York. Theaters are closed over there. I am deeply touched that Taiwan’s box office revenue still keeps growing.”
For the second straight year, mainland Chinese talent did not participate in the competition, with Beijing banning its artists from participating amid tensions between China and Taiwan. Taiwan split off from the mainland after the 1949 civil war, but China still claims the island as part of its territory.
Those tensions have played out at the Golden Horse Awards. In 2018, documentary director Fu Yue called on the world to recognize Taiwan as an independent country in an acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, something only a handful of nations currently do.
In response, Chinese participants refused to appear onstage, made pointed remarks about Taiwan and China being members of the same family, and then declined to attend the banquet reception following the show.
China holds its own film awards, called the Golden Rooster, which are subject to government ideological constraints and censorship.
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Associated Press videojournalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report.