washingtontimes--2020-12-27--The Latest: France starts vaccine shots but public is wary

PARIS - France started its first coronavirus vaccinations Sunday at a nursing home northeast of Paris , in one of the country ’ s poorest regions , as part of a Europe-wide vaccination rollout .
“ An intense moment , carrying so much hope , ” tweeted the head of the Paris region public health service , Aurelien Rousseau .
A 78-year-old woman identified only by her first name , Mauricette , was given France ’ s first vaccine shot in the town of Sevran .
Later in the day , vaccinations will be given at the Champmaillot home in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ France are a bit skeptical of the new vaccines , so France ’ s government has been cautious in its messaging and is not making the vaccines obligatory .
The government hopes to be able to vaccinate up to 27 million of its 67 million people by summer .
France has reported over 62,570 lives lost in the pandemic .
Nearly a third died in nursing homes , so the government decided to give the vaccine to the elderly first , as well as at-risk medical workers .
- EU launches huge vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s nearly 450 million people - Unemployment benefits expire for millions in the U.S. as Trump rages over COVID-19 relief plan .
- COVID-19 has engulfed prisons in Belarus that are packed with people in custody for demonstrating against the nation ’ s authoritarian president .
- War and instability are posing huge challenges to virus vaccination plans in poor nations - Thailand says two new coronavirus clusters appear linked to a outbreak among migrant workers - A Black doctor who died battling COVID-19 complained of racist medical care ; her Indiana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ external review.
” HERE ’ S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING : ROME - European Union nations kicked off a coordinated effort Sunday to give COVID-19 vaccinations to the most vulnerable among the bloc ’ s nearly 450 million people , marking a moment of hope in the continent ’ s battle against the worst public health crisis in a century .
Health care workers , the elderly and leading politicians got some of the first shots across the 27-nation bloc to reassure the public that the vaccinations are safe and represent the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It didn ’ t hurt at all , ” said Mihaela Anghel , a nurse at the Matei Bals Institute in Bucharest who was the first person to get the vaccine in Romania .
“ Open your eyes and take the vaccine.
” In Rome , five doctors and nurses wearing white scrubs sat in a semi-circle at the Spallanzani infectious diseases hospital to receive their doses .
“ The message is one of hope , trust and an invitation to share this choice , ” said one of the recipients , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virology laboratory at Spallanzani and was part of the team that isolated the virus in early February .
“ There is no reason to be concerned.
” Altogether , the EU ’ s 27 nations have recorded at least 16 million coronavirus infections and more than 336,000 deaths WEST PALM BEACH , Fla. - Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet lapsed overnight as President Donald Trump refused to signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remained in limbo Sunday as Trump continued to demand larger COVID relief checks and complained about “ pork ” spending .
Without the widespread funding provided by the massive measure , a government shutdown would occur when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday .
“ It ’ s a chess game and we are pawns , ” said Lanetris Haines , a self-employed single mother of three in South Bend , Indiana , who stood to lose her $ 129 weekly jobless benefit unless Trump signed the package into law or succeeded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington has been reeling since Trump turned on the deal after it had won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House had assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it .
Instead , he assailed the bill ’ s plan to provide $ 600 COVID relief checks to most Americans - insisting it should be $ 2,000 .
House Republicans swiftly rejected that idea during a rare Christmas Eve session .
But Trump has not been swayed in spite of the nation being in the grip of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nurse at the main coronavirus hospital in Warsaw has gotten the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine , the first person to be vaccinated in Poland as part of a European Union rollout on Sunday .
Alicja Jakubowska , the head nurse at the Interior Ministry hospital in Warsaw , got a shot , followed by doctors and other health workers .
Vaccinations in dozens of other hospitals were scheduled to begin across the country on Sunday .
“ This is a historic moment for me , ” Jakubowska said .
“ The hospital management chose me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be vaccinated , a nod to hard-working nurses and midwives.
” Jakubowska said getting the shot is is an important step “ in the return to normality.
” Afterwards , she said it did not hurt at all .
ZAGREB , Croatia - A 81-year-old care home resident on Sunday became the first person to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia .
Top officials attended as Branka Anicic received the vaccine before cameras .
She says it felt great to be the first in Croatia to receive the vaccine and urged others to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minister Andrej Plenkovic says the vaccines first will go to those who are the most vulnerable and exposed to the virus .
He expressed hope most people will agree to vaccination .
Croatian media have reported that many among Croatia ’ s 4.2 million people remain skeptical regarding the vaccines , even among doctors .
Authorities have launched a campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated .
MADRID- Two women , a 96-year-old resident and a worker at a nursing home , became the first Spaniards to receive the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is located in Guadalajara near the distribution hub that vaccine maker Pfizer has in central Spain 70 kilometers ( 43 miles ) northeast of Madrid .
“ Let ’ s see if we can all behave and make this virus go away , ” said Araceli Hidalgo , the elderly resident , after receiving her injection .
“ I am proud ( to receive the vaccine ) , ” said Mónica Tapias , the 48-year-old worker .
“ What we want is for as many people as possible to get vaccinated .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that has been very sad .
Let ’ s see if this can finally finish with this.
” Army trucks escorted by police cars left the company warehouse before sunrise to distribute loads of the vaccine to all the regions of mainland Spain .
Military airplanes or helicopters flew crates of doses to Spain ’ s Canary Islands , Balearic Islands , and its north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla .
Spain plans to receive over 4.5 million doses of the vaccine over the next three months , enough it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Nearly 50,000 people have been confirmed to have died from COVID-19 in Spain .
Many more are estimated to have died before a test could confirm the infection .
PRAGUE - Prime Minister Andrej Babis has kicked off the coronavirus vaccination in the Czech Republic .
Babis became the first Czech to receive a shot of the vaccine in Prague ’ s military hospital during the Czech public television ’ s live broadcast on Sunday morning .
“ There ’ s nothing to worry about , ” Babis told reporters before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Everything ’ s fine , ” he added after getting a shot .
World War II veteran , the 95-year-old Emilie Repikova , sitting next to the prime minister , was the second .
The medical personnel in four hospitals in Prague and two in the second largest city of Brno will get vaccinated by the first batch of almost 10,000 vaccines by Germany ’ s BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer in three days .
The second batch of 19,500 vaccines expected to arrive next week will be distributed in all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republic had 670,599 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 11,044 deaths .
SEOUL , South Korea __ South Korea has decided not to immediately enforce its toughest distancing rules in the greater Seoul area despite a surge in fresh infections .
The Seoul area , which has been the heart of a recent viral resurgence , is currently under the second highest distancing rules .
There have been calls for raising the restrictions to the highest level as the current curbs haven ’ t showed much significant effects .
But the government was reluctant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy .
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Sunday the government will maintain the current level restrictions in the Seoul area until Jan. 3 and that it ’ ll see how the outbreak develops this week before determining whether to adjust the curbs .
He says the third highest level of distancing rules imposed in other regions will also remain in place until Jan 3 .
Kwon says South Korea has logged an average of 999 new cases each day last week , 690 of them in the Seoul area .
Earlier Sunday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , bringing the total to 56,872 , with 808 deaths .
DUBAI , United Arab Emirates - The Persian Gulf state of Oman has launched its COVID-19 inoculation campaign , with the sultanate ’ s health minister receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine .
State-run media reported that the first batch of 15,600 doses was flown in industrial freezers to Muscat International Airport last week to vaccinate a priority group of older adults , health care workers and those with underlying health conditions starting on Sunday .
Another 28,000 doses of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its German partner BioNTech are expected to arrive next month .
Oman says it aims to vaccinate 60 % of its roughly 5 million people .
The virus outbreak in Oman has infected over 128,000 people and killed more than 1,400 .
TOKYO - Japan is barring entry of all non-resident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant that has spread across Britain .
The Foreign Ministry says the entry ban will start Monday and last through Jan. 31 .
Last week , Japan banned non-resident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after confirming the new variant in seven people over the last two days - five from Britain who tested positive at airports and two others in Tokyo .
Japan is also suspending the exemption of a 14-day quarantine for Japanese nationals and resident foreigners that began in November .
The entrants now must carry proof of a negative test 72 hours prior to departure and self-isolate for two weeks after arrival .
Japan is struggling with surging cases since November .
It has confirmed a total of 217,312 cases including 3,213 deaths , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tokyo alone reported 949 cases , setting a new record , despite calls by experts for people to spend a “ quiet ” holiday season .
TORONTO - Officials in Canada ’ s most populous province have confirmed the first two known Canadian cases of of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom .
The province ’ s associate chief medical officer says that the cases are a couple from Durham Region , just east of Toronto , with no known travel history , exposure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is believed to spread more easily and faster than the original version of the disease but is not believed to be more deadly .
The provincial government said in a news release that is no evidence to suggest that the vaccines approved by Health Canada will be any less effective against the new variant .
ST. LOUIS - Missouri set a new record for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Christmas Day as the pandemic surges .
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that there were 2,862 patients hospitalized statewide , eclipsing the previous record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the seven-day average for new cases is 2,213 each day .
“ It is here , it is spread in the community , and we ’ ve got to make sure that that spread slows , ” said St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern .
“ Our fates are in our own hands , and really , it ’ s not difficult to wear that mask.
” SANTA FE , N.M. - New Mexico will begin providing COVID-19 vaccinations to 15,000 people who work or live at long-term care facilities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the CVS and Walgreens pharmacy chains and Vida Pharmacy in Albuquerque will administer doses of the Moderna vaccine at nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the state , officials said .
“ Sunday marks a monumental day in our fight with this deadly pandemic .
It signifies a step towards protecting our seniors and securing their safety , ” said Katrina Hotrum-Lopez , cabinet secretary of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department .
The statement noted that people receiving vaccinations will need two doses from the same manufacturer administered several weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has topped 80 million .
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University reported the mark Saturday morning after 472,000 cases were recorded Christmas Day .
The number of deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic across the globe stands at 1.75 million .
The U.S. is by far the leader among nations in cases of coronavirus illness , reporting nearly 18.8 million Saturday .
India follows with 10.2 million ; Brazil has counted 7.45 million .
There have been more than 330,000 deaths in the U.S. , 190,000 in Brazil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely been many more cases of the coronavirus that have not been counted for a variety of reasons , including under-reporting , asymptomatic infections and lack of cooperation with contact tracers .
PHOENIX - Arizona has reported more than 5,000 additional known COVID-19 cases for the 10th straight day , as the surge put a pandemic-high number of virus patients in intensive care beds across the state .
The state Department of Health Services reported 6,106 additional known cases and 15 more deaths , increasing the state ’ s totals to 493,041 cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third-worst COVID-19 diagnosis rate in the United States over the past week , behind California and Tennessee .

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says he plans to submit legislation that will make coronavirus measures legally binding for businesses, punish violators and include economic compensation as his government struggles to slow the ongoing upsurge.
Japan had a state of emergency in April and May with non-binding requests for people to stay home and business to close, but people have complacent about the pandemic and store owners have become less cooperative due to the economic impact.
Suga said experts are discussing the legislation to make coronavirus more effectively enforced and hoped to submit the bill for parliamentary approval “as soon as possible” next year.
Suga also reiterated his request for the public to spend “quiet” year-end and New Year holidays and stick to mask-wearing and hand-washing amid concerns of a new variant of the coronavirus that has spread in Britain and detected at airports and in Tokyo last week.
Japan is barring entry of all non-resident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious variant, from Monday through Jan. 31.
Suga’s government has been unable to slow the ongoing upsurge of the infections despite his requests for basic preventive measures.
His government has been criticized for delaying measures for weeks due to apparent reluctance to hurt the pandemic-hit economy, with recent media surveys showing about 30-point decline in his support ratings since he took office in September.
Japan has 220,236 cases, with 3,252 deaths as of Sunday, the health ministry said.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
The EU has launched a huge vaccine rollout., aimed at projecting a unified message that the vaccine is safe and Europe’s best chance to emerge from the pandemic and the economic devastation of lockdowns. South Africa became the latest country to reach 1 million confirmed cases and is expected to go back to more virus restrictions. In the U.S., unemployment benefits have expired for millions as President Donald Trump appears no closer to signing an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill, despite urging from lawmakers from both parties. America’s top infectious disease expert expects the general U.S. population will be getting immunized widely by late March or early April. The outlook is much bleaker for many poorer nations, where war and instability are posing huge challenges to vaccination plans.
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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea has confirmed its first cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Monday the cases have been confirmed in a family of three people who came to South Korea on Dec. 22.
They arrived a day before South Korea halted air travel from Britain until Dec. 31 to guard against the new version of the virus.
The three people, who reside in the U.K., are under quarantine in South Korea.
South Korea on Monday registered 808 new coronavirus cases, raising its national caseload to 57,680 with 819 deaths. It’s the second day in a row that South Korea’s daily tally has marked below 1,000. The country logged 1,241 cases on Christmas Day, the biggest daily jump in South Korea since the pandemic began, and 1,132 on Saturday.
In recent weeks, South Korea has been grappling with a sudden spike in infections tied to hospitals, nursing homes, churches, a prison, family gatherings and various other sites. The government on Sunday said it will spend another week before determining whether to enforce its toughest physical distancing rules in the greater Seoul area that officials worry would further hurt the economy.
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SYDNEY - Authorities have banned New Year’s Eve revellers from congregating in Sydney’s downtown harborside to see the celebrated fireworks due to the pandemic risk.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday people who live in the city center can invite up to 10 guests to their homes to celebrate. The guests will have to apply for permits to enter the area.
Australia’s largest city recorded five new cases of COVID-19 connected to a cluster in the northern beaches region, bringing the total to 126 infections since Dec. 10.
Around 1 million people usually congregate on the harbor foreshore to see the fireworks that center on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
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LOS ANGELES - State officials are expected to extend the strictest stay-at-home orders in central and Southern California as hospitals there are quickly running out of intensive care unit beds for coronavirus patients ahead of the presumed post-holiday surge.
The situation is already dire, and the worst is expected to come in the next few weeks after Christmas and New Year’s travelers return home.
California hit 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Christmas Eve.
State stay-at-home orders for the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California are set to expire Monday. State officials say the orders are likely to be extended but did not make a definitive ruling Sunday afternoon.
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OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington state will spend $54 million to provide one-time payments to nearly 100,000 gig and self-employed workers cut off from unemployment benefits because of the impasse over the federal COVID-19 relief and spending bill.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Sunday that the payments of $550 each, roughly the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of benefits, will be issued later this week.
They will go to people who have been receiving benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was set up to provide unemployment benefits to workers who normally do not qualify for them.
The program expired Saturday.
The program would be extended until March 14, 2021, if President Donald Trump signs the relief bill into law.
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BALTIMORE - The U.S. has now topped 19 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows.
America exceeded that mark on Sunday, just six days after it reached 18 million. The nation’s case numbers have more than doubled in less than two months.
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. also have been rising, and now total more than 332,000. That’s more than one death for every 1,000 Americans. The U.S. population as of Saturday was about 331 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The United States accounts for about 4% of the world’s population, but close to 24% of its total coronavirus cases and 19% of its COVID-19 deaths. Health experts believe many cases have gone unreported, however, both in America and internationally.
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JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s COVID-19 spike has taken the country to more than 1 million confirmed cases on Sunday and President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council.
The country’s new variant of the coronavirus, 501.V2, is more contagious and has quickly become dominant in many areas of the resurgence, according to experts.
With South Africa’s hospitals reaching capacity and no sign of the new surge reaching a peak, Ramaphosa is expected to announce a return to restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of the disease.
“We are not helpless in the face of this variant,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Richard Lessells told The Associated Press. “We can change our behavior to give the virus less opportunities to spread.” He said it’s most important to avoid contact with others in indoor, enclosed spaces.
South Africa announced a cumulative total of 1,004,431 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday evening. That number includes 26,735 deaths.
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JERUSALEM __ Israel has entered its third nationwide coronavirus lockdown – with much of the economy again shutting down as infection numbers surge.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the lockdown will be for two weeks, though it could be extended if infection rates don’t come down. But with the country simultaneously pressing ahead with an aggressive vaccination campaign, he is optimistic Israel will be able to lift its pandemic restrictions soon.
Israel, a country of 9 million people, started rolling out coronavirus vaccinations last week and has already inoculated 280,000 people, according to the Health Ministry. That makes it one of the world’s leaders in administering vaccinations on a per-capita basis.
The lockdown that began Sunday includes the shutdown of most non-essential businesses, limitations on gatherings and movement from people’s homes and reduced public transit. Schools and kindergartens will remain open for the time being.
Israel has recorded over 400,000 cases of the coronavirus since March, and more than 3,220 deaths. But the infection rate has shot up in recent weeks after the government started easing restrictions put in place in September.
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ISTANBUL- Turkey’s health minister says a shipment of vaccines from Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac has been delayed in Beijing customs.
Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted Sunday that a COVID-19 case in Beijing customs and high alert against infections there caused the delay.
The minister had said earlier this week the first shipment of CoronaVac would be en route to Turkey Sunday night. He said the delay would be “one or two days.”
The vaccines were initially expected to arrive after Dec. 11. Turkey has signed a deal for 50 million doses of the vaccine.
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ROME - Italy added another 305 victims to its official coronavirus death toll on the same day it joined the rest of the European Union in launching a massive vaccination campaign.
Another 8,913 people tested positive Sunday, far fewer than in recent days. But with the Christmas holiday weekend, far fewer tests were conducted.
Italy leads Europe in the official COVID-19 death toll with 71,925 victims, though officials say the true toll is far higher due to missed infections early on and testing limitations.
Italy on Sunday began administering the first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to health care workers who have been on the front lines of the pandemic since Italy in late February became the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe.
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PARIS - France started its first coronavirus vaccinations Sunday at a nursing home northeast of Paris, in one of the country’s poorest regions, as part of a Europe-wide vaccination rollout.
“An intense moment, carrying so much hope,” tweeted the head of the Paris region public health service, Aurelien Rousseau.
A 78-year-old woman identified only by her first name, Mauricette, was given France’s first vaccine shot in the town of Sevran. Later in the day, vaccinations will be given at the Champmaillot home in Dijon.
Polls suggest that people in France are a bit skeptical of the new vaccines, so France’s government has been cautious in its messaging and is not making the vaccines obligatory. The government hopes to be able to vaccinate up to 27 million of its 67 million people by summer.
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HONOLULU - City officials say about 20% of Honolulu’s 4,500 first responders have received the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.
Hiro Toiya, the city’s emergency management director, says 936 first responders received their shots Tuesday and Wednesday.
Honolulu Police Department officers represented 649 of the vaccines, 173 vaccines were given to firefighters with the Honolulu Fire Department and 114 vaccines were distributed to paramedics, emergency medical technicians and lifeguards with the Department of Emergency Services.
Between 60% to 70% of first responders are expected to receive the voluntary coronavirus vaccine.
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ROME __ European Union nations kicked off a coordinated effort Sunday to give COVID-19 vaccinations to the most vulnerable among the bloc’s nearly 450 million people, marking a moment of hope in the continent’s battle against the worst public health crisis in a century.
Health care workers, the elderly and leading politicians got some of the first shots across the 27-nation bloc to reassure the public that the vaccinations are safe and represent the best chance to emerge from the pandemic.
“It didn’t hurt at all,” said Mihaela Anghel, a nurse at the Matei Bals Institute in Bucharest who was the first person to get the vaccine in Romania. “Open your eyes and take the vaccine.”
In Rome, five doctors and nurses wearing white scrubs sat in a semi-circle at the Spallanzani infectious diseases hospital to receive their doses.
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ZAGREB, Croatia - A 81-year-old care home resident on Sunday became the first person to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia.
Top officials attended as Branka Anicic received the vaccine before cameras. She says it felt great to be the first in Croatia to receive the vaccine and urged others to do the same.
Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic says the vaccines first will go to those who are the most vulnerable and exposed to the virus. He expressed hope most people will agree to vaccination.
Croatian media have reported that many among Croatia’s 4.2 million people remain skeptical regarding the vaccines, even among doctors. Authorities have launched a campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated.
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MADRID- Two women, a 96-year-old resident and a worker at a nursing home, became the first Spaniards to receive the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday morning.
The Los Olmos nursing home is located in Guadalajara near the distribution hub that vaccine maker Pfizer has in central Spain 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Madrid.
“Let’s see if we can all behave and make this virus go away,” said Araceli Hidalgo, the elderly resident, after receiving her injection.
“I am proud (to receive the vaccine),” said Mónica Tapias, the 48-year-old worker. “What we want is for as many people as possible to get vaccinated. We have lost some residents here to COVID, and that has been very sad. Let’s see if this can finally finish with this.”
Army trucks escorted by police cars left the company warehouse before sunrise to distribute loads of the vaccine to all the regions of mainland Spain. Military airplanes or helicopters flew crates of doses to Spain’s Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and its north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
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PRAGUE - Prime Minister Andrej Babis has kicked off the coronavirus vaccination in the Czech Republic.
Babis became the first Czech to receive a shot of the vaccine in Prague’s military hospital during the Czech public television’s live broadcast on Sunday morning.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Babis told reporters before a ceremonious start of the vaccination program. “Everything’s fine,” he added after getting a shot.
World War II veteran, the 95-year-old Emilie Repikova, sitting next to the prime minister, was the second.
The medical personnel in four hospitals in Prague and two in the second largest city of Brno will get vaccinated by the first batch of almost 10,000 vaccines by Germany’s BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer in three days. The second batch of 19,500 vaccines expected to arrive next week will be distributed in all regions across the country.
The Czech Republic had 670,599 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 11,044 deaths.
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SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea has decided not to immediately enforce its toughest distancing rules in the greater Seoul area despite a surge in fresh infections.
The Seoul area, which has been the heart of a recent viral resurgence, is currently under the second highest distancing rules. There have been calls for raising the restrictions to the highest level as the current curbs haven’t showed much significant effects. But the government was reluctant to do so because of worries about the economy.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Sunday the government will maintain the current level restrictions in the Seoul area until Jan. 3 and that it’ll see how the outbreak develops this week before determining whether to adjust the curbs. He says the third highest level of distancing rules imposed in other regions will also remain in place until Jan 3.
Kwon says South Korea has logged an average of 999 new cases each day last week, 690 of them in the Seoul area.
Earlier Sunday, South Korea reported 970 new cases, bringing the total to 56,872, with 808 deaths.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The Persian Gulf state of Oman has launched its COVID-19 inoculation campaign, with the sultanate’s health minister receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
State-run media reported that the first batch of 15,600 doses was flown in industrial freezers to Muscat International Airport last week to vaccinate a priority group of older adults, health care workers and those with underlying health conditions starting on Sunday.
Another 28,000 doses of the vaccine by American drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are expected to arrive next month.
Oman says it aims to vaccinate 60% of its roughly 5 million people.
The virus outbreak in Oman has infected over 128,000 people and killed more than 1,400.
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TOKYO - Japan is barring entry of all non-resident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant that has spread across Britain.
The Foreign Ministry says the entry ban will start Monday and last through Jan. 31.
Last week, Japan banned non-resident foreigners coming from Britain and South Africa after confirming the new variant in seven people over the last two days - five from Britain who tested positive at airports and two others in Tokyo.
Japan is also suspending the exemption of a 14-day quarantine for Japanese nationals and resident foreigners that began in November. The entrants now must carry proof of a negative test 72 hours prior to departure and self-isolate for two weeks after arrival.
Japan is struggling with surging cases since November. It has confirmed a total of 217,312 cases including 3,213 deaths, up 3,700 from the previous 24-hour period. Tokyo alone reported 949 cases, setting a new record, despite calls by experts for people to spend a “quiet” holiday season.
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TORONTO - Officials in Canada’s most populous province have confirmed the first two known Canadian cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom.
The province’s associate chief medical officer says that the cases are a couple from Durham Region, just east of Toronto, with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts.
The new variant is believed to spread more easily and faster than the original version of the disease but is not believed to be more deadly.
The provincial government said in a news release that is no evidence to suggest that the vaccines approved by Health Canada will be any less effective against the new variant.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Avalanches kill 10 in mountainous area near Iran’s capital

TEHRAN , Iran ( AP ) - A series of avalanches in Iran killed 10 people in a mountainous area @ @ @ @ @ state TV reported Sunday .
The report said rescue teams were searching for a number @ @ @ @ @ avalanches struck in four different areas .
State TV aired footage of emergency crews using @ @ @ @ @ those missing and injured .
The incidents happened on Friday following strong winds and snowfall @ @ @ @ @ Alborz mountain range where the avalanches struck is popular on weekends for its hiking and @ @ @ @ @ a rare phenomenon in Iran .
In 2017 , two avalanches killed 11 hikers .

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian rescue workers ended their search for survivors Sunday following a series of avalanches that killed 12 people in a mountainous area north of the capital, state TV reported.
The avalanches struck in four different areas on Friday following strong winds and snowfall a day earlier.
The Alborz mountain range where the avalanches occurred is a popular weekend destination for hiking and climbing. Fridays are a day off for most Iranian workers.
State TV aired footage showing emergency crews using a helicopter to search for the missing. Iran’s Red Crescent Society also released photos of rescue workers unloading body bags from a helicopter Saturday.
The report said 11 people were found dead, and one died after being transferred to a hospital. It said rescue teams found 14 missing people during the operation.
Authorities said many had disregarded reports by the meteorological office about possible strong winds Friday.
Deadly avalanches are a rare phenomenon in Iran. In 2017, two avalanches killed 11 hikers.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Students taking over backpack program to distribute food

CAIRO , Neb .
( AP ) - Nine years ago , Marcia McDonald started a backpack program to give extra food to Centura students who could use it .
For eight years , McDonald and her husband , Bill , worked hard , packing bags in their garage and attending to many details to keep the food coming .
This year , The Grand Island Independent reports McDonald turned over the backpack food program to her great-niece , Faith McDonald .
A junior at Centura , Faith has joined with her friends from the FBLA program in doing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Centura students through the weekend .
Faith McDonald gets a lot of help from Jaelyn Gross , who is the president of Centura Future Business Leaders of America , and Rhegan Jensen , who is the treasurer .
Faith , 17 , is the group ’ s vice president .
Other students lend assistance as well .
The number of recipients has slowly grown during the years .
When the program started , 23 students received food .
Now , the food goes to 48 students .
The FBLA has 65 members .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the backpack program running , said Stacie Loeffelholz , a Centura teacher who is also FBLA adviser .
Many Centura students contributed to a recent food drive , organized by Future Farmers of America and FBLA .
Other students step up when Faith McDonald , Gross and Jensen ask for help .
Even in the middle of Nebraska , some people could use a little more food .
“ The school does a good job of feeding those kids during the week , ” Marcia McDonald said .
“ But on the weekends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they don ’ t have anything to eat , or maybe they ’ re on their own.
” Once a week , the food is dropped in students ’ backpacks when they ’ re hanging in the hallway .
Marcia likes the way so many students have signed up to help this year .
It ’ s good that students see “ that there ’ s a need , and that they can help , ” she said .
When her great-niece asks for help , the students say yes “ because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marcia McDonald said .
It ’ s nice to see more people “ helping and giving , ” she said .
Initially , Faith asked her great-aunt if she and a couple of friends could help as a service project .
Marcia showed them how to do it and left them in the garage on their own .
When Marcia expressed reservations about continuing to run the program , Faith said , she volunteered the FBLA ’ s involvement “ without really talking ” to Loeffelholz .
Later , she called the adviser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need to do.
” In coordinating the program , Faith McDonald has learned how to budget funds , order food and keep track of her inventory .
Loeffelholz likes the way it has all worked out .
“ These kids are awesome , ” she said .
“ It ’ s about students helping others and learning so much in the process , ” she said .
The program has received a lot of help from Heartland United Way and Project Hunger in Grand Island .
Andrea Floth of Project Hunger is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was president of FBLA .
Teresa Hahn , a paraeducator at Centura , has been a key contributor .
Generous members of the community provide some of the food and financial support , Faith McDonald said .
The government supplies a portion of the food .
Coupons are used to supply kids with perishable items , such as milk , bread and eggs .
“ Her dad is my nephew , ” Marcia said .
She thinks highly of her great-niece .
“ She is a very capable , organized , devoted and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The junior already has her eye on the future .
She keeps detailed records so that those who succeed her won ’ t have to start from scratch .

CAIRO, Neb. (AP) - Nine years ago, Marcia McDonald started a backpack program to give extra food to Centura students who could use it.
For eight years, McDonald and her husband, Bill, worked hard, packing bags in their garage and attending to many details to keep the food coming.
This year, The Grand Island Independent reports McDonald turned over the backpack food program to her great-niece, Faith McDonald.
A junior at Centura, Faith has joined with her friends from the FBLA program in doing a good job of helping to tide over Centura students through the weekend.
Faith McDonald gets a lot of help from Jaelyn Gross, who is the president of Centura Future Business Leaders of America, and Rhegan Jensen, who is the treasurer. Faith, 17, is the group’s vice president. Other students lend assistance as well.
The number of recipients has slowly grown during the years. When the program started, 23 students received food. Now, the food goes to 48 students.
The FBLA has 65 members. But many more Centura students help keep the backpack program running, said Stacie Loeffelholz, a Centura teacher who is also FBLA adviser.
Many Centura students contributed to a recent food drive, organized by Future Farmers of America and FBLA. Other students step up when Faith McDonald, Gross and Jensen ask for help.
Even in the middle of Nebraska, some people could use a little more food.
“The school does a good job of feeding those kids during the week,” Marcia McDonald said. “But on the weekends a lot of kids go home and they don’t have anything to eat, or maybe they’re on their own.”
Once a week, the food is dropped in students’ backpacks when they’re hanging in the hallway.
Marcia likes the way so many students have signed up to help this year.
It’s good that students see “that there’s a need, and that they can help,” she said.
When her great-niece asks for help, the students say yes “because they just want to be involved,” Marcia McDonald said.
It’s nice to see more people “helping and giving,” she said.
Initially, Faith asked her great-aunt if she and a couple of friends could help as a service project. Marcia showed them how to do it and left them in the garage on their own.
When Marcia expressed reservations about continuing to run the program, Faith said, she volunteered the FBLA’s involvement “without really talking” to Loeffelholz.
Later, she called the adviser and said, “This is something we need to do.”
In coordinating the program, Faith McDonald has learned how to budget funds, order food and keep track of her inventory.
Loeffelholz likes the way it has all worked out.
“These kids are awesome,” she said. “It’s about students helping others and learning so much in the process,” she said.
The program has received a lot of help from Heartland United Way and Project Hunger in Grand Island. Andrea Floth of Project Hunger is a graduate of Centura, where she was president of FBLA.
Teresa Hahn, a paraeducator at Centura, has been a key contributor.
Generous members of the community provide some of the food and financial support, Faith McDonald said. The government supplies a portion of the food.
Coupons are used to supply kids with perishable items, such as milk, bread and eggs.
Marcia McDonald lives between Rockville and Boelus. Faith lives nearby.
“Her dad is my nephew,” Marcia said.
She thinks highly of her great-niece.
“She is a very capable, organized, devoted and committed person,” Marcia said.
The junior already has her eye on the future. She keeps detailed records so that those who succeed her won’t have to start from scratch.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Supreme Court case tests reach of tribal law enforcement

MISSOULA , Mont .
( AP ) - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case stemming from a meth bust that raised questions about whether non-Natives carrying out crimes on state and federal highways running through reservation lands are out of reach from tribal law enforcement ’ s authority .
The court will hear a case that came out of the 2016 arrest of Joshua Cooley by a Crow tribal law enforcement official on a U.S. highway , technically off the Crow Tribe ’ s lands yet within its reservation borders .
Cooley , who is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have authority to search his pickup when they found meth , firearms and wads of cash .
That argument held up through the 9th U.S .
Circuit Court of Appeals , which said tribal law enforcement does hold some authority to help enforce state and federal law against non-Natives on non-reservation lands , but only if they have “ apparent ” or “ obvious ” evidence of a crime .
That high bar to clear for an arrest is not required of any other officer in the country , and shouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ability to pursue criminals , said Jennifer Weddle , attorney for the National Congress of American Indians .
“ This is a case about tribal law enforcement ’ s ability to protect the public by engaging in routine investigations , on equal footing with all other law enforcement officers in the United States , ” Weddle told the Montana State News Bureau i n a phone interview last week .
Tribal nations , domestic violence advocates and federal prosecutors argue the recent finding by the Ninth Circuit could kneecap tribal law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But they hold hope with the U.S. Supreme Court , where federal Indian law experts say the tide in recent years has turned away from decisions that scale back tribal sovereignty and toward rulings that hold the government accountable to the treaties it signed generations ago .
The Crow Tribe , meanwhile , has raised its Second Treaty of Fort Laramie with the United States in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court will hold the federal government to its promise .
The treaty , signed in May 1868 , ensures the tribe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men ” from the reservation .
On Nov. 20 , the Supreme Court accepted the U.S. Department of Justice ’ s petition to hear the case .
Cooley , of Wyoming , is defended in the case by Eric Henkel of Christian , Samson and Baskett , PLLC , in Missoula , and John Rhodes of the Federal Defenders of Montana .
At 1 a.m. on Feb. 26 , 2016 , James Saylor , then a Crow Tribal highway safety agent working through a federal contract , pulled up behind a pickup truck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 212 .
The truck ’ s lights were on and its engine was running , so Saylor approached for a welfare check , according to court records .
The driver , later identified as Cooley , rolled the tinted window down , but only enough for Saylor to see the top of his face .
The driver ’ s eyes were “ watery ( and ) bloodshot , ” and Saylor noted the man appeared to be non-Native .
Then he saw a child climb from the backseat into the driver ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cooley told Saylor he had pulled over because he was tired , but added he was in the area to buy a vehicle from a man with the last name of either “ Spang ” or “ Shoulder Blade.
” Saylor knew men with both names , but his senses tightened : Shoulder Blade was a probation officer , while Spang was a suspected drug trafficker .
When Cooley lowered the window further at Saylor ’ s request , the officer saw two semiautomatic rifles in the passenger seat .
Cooley provided a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to call in the license number failed due to a lack of cellphone connectivity , according to court records .
Cooley then “ vaguely mentioned that somebody might be coming to meet him at the side of the road.
” According to court records , Saylor then put Cooley and the child in his patrol car .
A search through Cooley ’ s pickup produced methamphetamine , the rifles , a pistol and “ wads of cash , ” according to federal court filings .
A grand jury later indicted Cooley in U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime .
Nearly a year later , U.S. District Court Judge Susan Watters granted a motion by Cooley ’ s defense to suppress the evidence gathered in the arrest , writing Saylor had acted outside his authority in his investigation of Cooley when searching through the pickup .
The Ninth Circuit upheld Watters ’ decision and denied federal prosecutors ’ request for a rehearing , but laid out a framework that would allow tribal law enforcement to have investigated such a case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been “ apparent , ” or “ obvious.
” Judge Daniel Collins , in his dissenting opinion , criticized the panel for adopting a standard “ more demanding ” than reasonable suspicion or probable cause , the threshold taught to every law enforcement officer who ’ s ever passed through a police academy .
Those who have filed support in the federal government ’ s bid to overturn the Ninth Circuit decision have seized on Collins ’ dissent .
In an amicus brief , the National Congress of American Indians , the Crow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the decision would have sweeping and devastating effects to tribal law enforcement ’ s ability to ensure public safety .
According to the amicus brief , the Ninth Circuit ’ s jurisdiction includes over 75 % of the country ’ s 574 federally-recognized tribes and encompasses more than 71 million reservation acres , roughly 80 % of the country ’ s total reservation lands .
“ As the dissenting opinion recognized , hundreds of thousands of Native American lives in the Ninth Circuit are endangered if the panel opinion is allowed to stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s defense counsel declined to comment for this story .
In court records , Cooley ’ s attorneys argue prosecutors have conflated tribal law enforcement ’ s abilities to detain and transport non-Native criminals with the ability to police them .
This case began , they note , as a welfare check .
No crime was apparent or obvious to the officer , so the search of Cooley ’ s car was unwarranted , they wrote .
In July , U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a landmark opinion for Native American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise.
” In McGirt v. Oklahoma , Gorsuch broke with conservative justices to join the court ’ s liberal members in finding that the Muscogee ( Creek ) Nation had remained a reservation after Oklahoma became a state , despite the fact that those lands had been parceled off and sold to private owners .
Gorsuch said , despite history and practices and common understanding , only an act of Congress can disestablish a reservation .
Similar decisions in cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the past six years have put the onus of “ keeping promises ” made to tribes on Congress , flying in the face of generations of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that retracted tribal sovereignty through the theory that “ common law ” trumps treaty agreements made long ago .
Earlier this month , the Harvard Law Review noted “ Justice Gorsuch ’ s McGirt opinion is a continuation of this emerging trend away from divestiture by common law.
” ” ( The Cooley case ) may be a next step in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better word , rediscovery of the foundational concepts of federal Indian law , like respect for tribal sovereignty , ” said Monte Mills , associate professor and director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana .
It ’ s important to note the differences between civil matters like the McGirt case and criminal , as in Cooley ’ s case .
But Mills said a growing number of judicial decisions holding close the promises made in treaties have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from past findings in civil and criminal cases that limited tribe ’ s authority over non-Natives within reservation boundaries , and toward decisions that allow tribes the sovereignty to protect their communities from outside forces .
“ It ’ s more complicated when talking about the details and boundaries of tribal sovereignty because the Supreme Court , in the modern era , hasn ’ t been interested in honoring and respecting tribal sovereignty , ” Mills said .
“ Hopefully , the recent cases are a trend that continues.
” The Cooley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law enforcement in Indian Country .
The Sovereign Bodies Institute , which compiles data on missing and murdered Indigenous people , in February had identified 60 cases of missing or murdered women and girls in Big Horn , Rosebud and Yellowstone counties , a region that includes the Crow and Northern Cheyenne nations , the Billings Gazette reported .
Meanwhile , the Crow Tribe in July formed its own police department amid a long process of federal contracting to break from the Bureau of Indian Affairs , which the tribe has said failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In a statement issued the day the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Cooley ’ s case , then-Crow Tribal Chairman Alvin “ A.J.
” Not Afraid , Jr. , called the court ’ s willingness to hear the case “ a victory for tribal sovereignty in and of itself.
” He summoned the “ bad men ” clause of the 1868 treaty as the government ’ s promise to allow the tribe to remove criminals from the reservation , in this case for Saylor to turn Cooley over to Big Horn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tribal officers ’ abilities to make on-the-spot decisions to protect tribal members and non-Indians , to stem the flow of illegal drugs and contraband , and to uphold the 1868 treaty obligations are of fundamental importance to the Crow Tribe , ” Not Afraid , Jr. , said in a signed statement .
Briefs are expected to be filed in with the U.S. Supreme Court in January .

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case stemming from a meth bust that raised questions about whether non-Natives carrying out crimes on state and federal highways running through reservation lands are out of reach from tribal law enforcement’s authority.
The court will hear a case that came out of the 2016 arrest of Joshua Cooley by a Crow tribal law enforcement official on a U.S. highway, technically off the Crow Tribe’s lands yet within its reservation borders. Cooley, who is not Native, argued tribal law enforcement didn’t have authority to search his pickup when they found meth, firearms and wads of cash.
That argument held up through the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said tribal law enforcement does hold some authority to help enforce state and federal law against non-Natives on non-reservation lands, but only if they have “apparent” or “obvious” evidence of a crime.
That high bar to clear for an arrest is not required of any other officer in the country, and shouldn’t undercut tribal law enforcement’s ability to pursue criminals, said Jennifer Weddle, attorney for the National Congress of American Indians.
“This is a case about tribal law enforcement’s ability to protect the public by engaging in routine investigations, on equal footing with all other law enforcement officers in the United States,” Weddle told the Montana State News Bureau i n a phone interview last week.
Tribal nations, domestic violence advocates and federal prosecutors argue the recent finding by the Ninth Circuit could kneecap tribal law enforcement’s ability to protect its communities. But they hold hope with the U.S. Supreme Court, where federal Indian law experts say the tide in recent years has turned away from decisions that scale back tribal sovereignty and toward rulings that hold the government accountable to the treaties it signed generations ago.
The Crow Tribe, meanwhile, has raised its Second Treaty of Fort Laramie with the United States in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court will hold the federal government to its promise. The treaty, signed in May 1868, ensures the tribe’s ability to remove “bad men” from the reservation. On Nov. 20, the Supreme Court accepted the U.S. Department of Justice’s petition to hear the case. Cooley, of Wyoming, is defended in the case by Eric Henkel of Christian, Samson and Baskett, PLLC, in Missoula, and John Rhodes of the Federal Defenders of Montana.
Suppressed search
At 1 a.m. on Feb. 26, 2016, James Saylor, then a Crow Tribal highway safety agent working through a federal contract, pulled up behind a pickup truck parked on the side of U.S. Highway 212. The truck’s lights were on and its engine was running, so Saylor approached for a welfare check, according to court records.
The driver, later identified as Cooley, rolled the tinted window down, but only enough for Saylor to see the top of his face. The driver’s eyes were “watery (and) bloodshot,” and Saylor noted the man appeared to be non-Native. Then he saw a child climb from the backseat into the driver’s lap, according to court documents.
Cooley told Saylor he had pulled over because he was tired, but added he was in the area to buy a vehicle from a man with the last name of either “Spang” or “Shoulder Blade.” Saylor knew men with both names, but his senses tightened: Shoulder Blade was a probation officer, while Spang was a suspected drug trafficker. When Cooley lowered the window further at Saylor’s request, the officer saw two semiautomatic rifles in the passenger seat. Cooley provided a license, but Saylor’s attempt to call in the license number failed due to a lack of cellphone connectivity, according to court records. Cooley then “vaguely mentioned that somebody might be coming to meet him at the side of the road.”
According to court records, Saylor then put Cooley and the child in his patrol car. A search through Cooley’s pickup produced methamphetamine, the rifles, a pistol and “wads of cash,” according to federal court filings. A grand jury later indicted Cooley in U.S. District Court in Montana with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Nearly a year later, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Watters granted a motion by Cooley’s defense to suppress the evidence gathered in the arrest, writing Saylor had acted outside his authority in his investigation of Cooley when searching through the pickup. The Ninth Circuit upheld Watters’ decision and denied federal prosecutors’ request for a rehearing, but laid out a framework that would allow tribal law enforcement to have investigated such a case, as long as the crime had been “apparent,” or “obvious.”
Judge Daniel Collins, in his dissenting opinion, criticized the panel for adopting a standard “more demanding” than reasonable suspicion or probable cause, the threshold taught to every law enforcement officer who’s ever passed through a police academy.
Those who have filed support in the federal government’s bid to overturn the Ninth Circuit decision have seized on Collins’ dissent. In an amicus brief, the National Congress of American Indians, the Crow Tribe and roughly 130 other tribes argued the decision would have sweeping and devastating effects to tribal law enforcement’s ability to ensure public safety.
According to the amicus brief, the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction includes over 75% of the country’s 574 federally-recognized tribes and encompasses more than 71 million reservation acres, roughly 80% of the country’s total reservation lands.
“As the dissenting opinion recognized, hundreds of thousands of Native American lives in the Ninth Circuit are endangered if the panel opinion is allowed to stand,” Weddle said.
Cooley’s defense counsel declined to comment for this story. In court records, Cooley’s attorneys argue prosecutors have conflated tribal law enforcement’s abilities to detain and transport non-Native criminals with the ability to police them. This case began, they note, as a welfare check. No crime was apparent or obvious to the officer, so the search of Cooley’s car was unwarranted, they wrote.
‘A trend that continues’
In July, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a landmark opinion for Native American sovereignty, beginning with a powerful line: “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise.”
In McGirt v. Oklahoma, Gorsuch broke with conservative justices to join the court’s liberal members in finding that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation had remained a reservation after Oklahoma became a state, despite the fact that those lands had been parceled off and sold to private owners. Gorsuch said, despite history and practices and common understanding, only an act of Congress can disestablish a reservation.
Similar decisions in cases stemming from Michigan, Nebraska and Wyoming over the past six years have put the onus of “keeping promises” made to tribes on Congress, flying in the face of generations of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that retracted tribal sovereignty through the theory that “common law” trumps treaty agreements made long ago. Earlier this month, the Harvard Law Review noted “Justice Gorsuch’s McGirt opinion is a continuation of this emerging trend away from divestiture by common law.”
”(The Cooley case) may be a next step in the court’s, for lack of a better word, rediscovery of the foundational concepts of federal Indian law, like respect for tribal sovereignty,” said Monte Mills, associate professor and director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana.
It’s important to note the differences between civil matters like the McGirt case and criminal, as in Cooley’s case. But Mills said a growing number of judicial decisions holding close the promises made in treaties have inspired hope that the judiciary is turning away from past findings in civil and criminal cases that limited tribe’s authority over non-Natives within reservation boundaries, and toward decisions that allow tribes the sovereignty to protect their communities from outside forces.
“It’s more complicated when talking about the details and boundaries of tribal sovereignty because the Supreme Court, in the modern era, hasn’t been interested in honoring and respecting tribal sovereignty,” Mills said. “Hopefully, the recent cases are a trend that continues.”
The Cooley case comes at a critical time for law enforcement in Indian Country. The Sovereign Bodies Institute, which compiles data on missing and murdered Indigenous people, in February had identified 60 cases of missing or murdered women and girls in Big Horn, Rosebud and Yellowstone counties, a region that includes the Crow and Northern Cheyenne nations, the Billings Gazette reported. Meanwhile, the Crow Tribe in July formed its own police department amid a long process of federal contracting to break from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which the tribe has said failed in its duties to protect the reservation.
In a statement issued the day the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Cooley’s case, then-Crow Tribal Chairman Alvin “A.J.” Not Afraid, Jr., called the court’s willingness to hear the case “a victory for tribal sovereignty in and of itself.” He summoned the “bad men” clause of the 1868 treaty as the government’s promise to allow the tribe to remove criminals from the reservation, in this case for Saylor to turn Cooley over to Big Horn County authorities and federal prosecutors.
“Tribal officers’ abilities to make on-the-spot decisions to protect tribal members and non-Indians, to stem the flow of illegal drugs and contraband, and to uphold the 1868 treaty obligations are of fundamental importance to the Crow Tribe,” Not Afraid, Jr., said in a signed statement.
Briefs are expected to be filed in with the U.S. Supreme Court in January.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Hurricane-force winds up to 106 mph batter parts of Britain

LONDON ( AP ) - Hurricane-force winds reaching up to 106 mph ( 170 kph ) and heavy rainstorms battered parts of Britain on Sunday , disrupting train services and stranding drivers in floodwaters .
The Isle of Wight saw Storm Bella ’ s strongest gusts hit 106 mph , while parts of the south coast of England and north Wales also saw gusts of around 80 mph ( 129 kph ) .
Flooding on the tracks caused train cancellations and delays in southern England , and a main train line into London was blocked by a fallen tree .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ storm caused power cuts for 21,000 homes .
Most of the services were restored Sunday but 1,700 homes still had no power supply .
Some 1,000 people had to be evacuated from a flooded caravan park in Northampton on Christmas Day as heavy rain flooded the site .
Severe flood warnings indicating a potential threat to life remain in the area .
Across the Channel , nearly all of France was under storm warning Sunday , with winds up to 90 mph ( 145 kph ) registered at the top of the Eiffel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gusts lashing the Atlantic coast , according to the national weather service and utility services .
The storms have knocked out electricity for at least 12,000 homes in Brittany , Normandy and other northern French regions .

LONDON (AP) - Hurricane-force winds reaching up to 106 mph (170 kph) and heavy rainstorms battered parts of Britain on Sunday, disrupting train services and stranding drivers in floodwaters.
The Isle of Wight saw Storm Bella’s strongest gusts hit 106 mph, while parts of the south coast of England and north Wales also saw gusts of around 80 mph (129 kph). Flooding on the tracks caused train cancellations and delays in southern England, and a main train line into London was blocked by a fallen tree.
In Wales, Western Power said the storm caused power cuts for 21,000 homes. Most of the services were restored Sunday but 1,700 homes still had no power supply.
Some 1,000 people had to be evacuated from a flooded caravan park in Northampton on Christmas Day as heavy rain flooded the site. Severe flood warnings indicating a potential threat to life remain in the area.
Across the Channel, nearly all of France was under storm warning Sunday, with winds up to 90 mph (145 kph) registered at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and heavy rains and gusts lashing the Atlantic coast, according to the national weather service and utility services. The storms have knocked out electricity for at least 12,000 homes in Brittany, Normandy and other northern French regions.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Pandemic hits Utah tourism industry hard

In what is typically the coldest of Utah ’ s five national parks , warming weather usually blossoms with opportunities for adventure and exponential economic growth as people flock to the world-renown red rock hoodoos and dense wood .
But not this year .
Lance Syrett , General Manager of Ruby ’ s Inn in Bryce Canyon City , leads one of the hardest-hit businesses in a tourism industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ Personally , I had to go to the guy who helped train me when I started in hotels in 2003 and lay him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You know , that broke my heart because he ’ s committed to this business and we consider him part of the family .
And we had that story over and over again with a lot of our good people.
” Even with government assistance , Ruby ’ s Inn lost 46 % of its revenue this year .
“ Covid is still killing us .
No one is being impacted more than tourism because we are selling ‘ non-essential travel ’ when the government and authorities are telling people not to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
The pandemic devastated Utah ’ s tourism industry , on which the state relies for business profit and tax revenue .
In 2019 , visitors spent a record $ 10.06 billion in the Utah economy , generating over $ 1.34 billion in tax revenue , official data shows .
But national park visits , in particular , were down 25 % compared to the unbridled trend of millions of visitors seen in recent years , according to data from the University of Utah .
But what about the coronavirus pandemic impacted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community hotels so significantly ?
In an average year , international visitors comprise up to a quarter of all national park visitors and tend to stay longer as well as spend more money compared to international visitors , University of Utah Senior Tourism Analyst Jennifer Leaver said .
And though domestic visitation to some Utah national parks increased in the late summer , it ’ s not enough .
“ International and out-of-state visitor spending creates economic impact in Utah as it contributes outside dollars to our state economy .
In-state Utah visitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spending money in Springdale ) does not create economic impact , but rather recirculates Utah money within the state economy , ” Leaver wrote in an email .
The impacts of this year on the tourism economy will be lasting .
“ We are projecting that it will take several years to fully restore the Utah tourism economy , ” Utah Office of Tourism Managing Director Vicki Varela said .
Working in the tourism industry is all about numbers .
How many visitors are coming , how long they are staying and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like those are all vital to survival for small businesses and public servants alike .
So how much did 2020 deviate from the norm ?
From March to September , international deplaned passengers at Salt Lake City International Airport decreased by 85.5 % , Leaver said .
In her report published in September , Leaver showed that visitors spend the most money on hotels in national parks resulting in about $ 431 million spent on lodging in 2019 .
While 2020 numbers are not available yet , many hotels have reported a significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 141,500 Utahns work in the tourism industry , or did , in 2019 .
Over 30 % of the usual international visitors come from Canada , with China and Germany trailing behind .
The Canadian border has been closed since March 18 and remains closed through nearly the end of the year .
The state office of tourism spends over $ 22 million a year on marketing and operations to bolster the economy .
Next year ’ s budget , however , relies on $ 8 million of CARES Act funding to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year was in transient room tax , a 4.25 % charge added to any hotel room or lodging stay in Washington County .
About half goes to marketing and the rest goes to support tourism-related infrastructure and activities .
“ We took one of the most significant drops in the beginning and came back up in one of the most significant ways , to the point where August was a record-breaking collection month for transient room tax , ” Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office Director Kevin Lewis said .
The annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million and is dropping to $ 8.25 million next year .
All of the budget comes from transient room tax .
Washington County Commissioner Dean Cox said they predicted a $ 2 million deficit at the beginning of the year .
While the late-summer boom has kept the economy afloat , it ’ s rare to find a business or agency not in the red this year .
What does a 46 % loss in revenue mean to Ruby ’ s Inn , exactly ?
It means layoffs , delay of new equipment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand exists with fewer resources and employees and now , extra supplies to keep up with CDC recommendations .
“ Yeah , it ’ s not cheap trying to comply , ” Syrett said .
“ I wish there was somebody sitting there with a big old check at the end of the rainbow , and we ’ ve gotten our checks from the government and whatnot , but man , it ’ s still not enough.
” Syrett as well as most of the tourism industry in southern Utah makes most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the lack of visitors , however , Syrett has had to drop his rates to be competitive , which means that even though he might fill his hotel , he ’ s only making half the profit he would in a normal year .
“ There ’ s kind of a day in April , where finally we stop bleeding cash and we start making cash because we made it through the wintertime .
And that day never happened , ” Syrett said .
Tour companies and providers , like LeBus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tours canceled and lost up to millions of dollars .
Dennis Copyak , vice president and owner of LeBus , said last year they did about 500 national park tours .
This year , they did six .
“ We ’ re moving forward with all the customers we have , ” Copyak said .
“ It ’ s pretty ugly to look out my office window and see 90 buses parked.
” In all , the company will have lost 15 % of its revenue this year , a deficit of $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have felt the wrath of COVID-19 , even the biggest park in Utah - Zion National Park .
Breck Dockstader , president of Cliffrose Lodge and Gardens in Springdale was hit with one million dollars worth of cancellations in the spring .
“ A lot of that million dollars was inbound travel from Europe .
There have been years where we had an 80 % occupancy of foreign travelers .
You can ’ t understate the value of European travelers , ” Dockstader said .
But there was one saving grace for Utah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the complete cessation of international travelers , Utah tourism industry leaders shifted their marketing toward domestic crowds in hopes of making up the deficit .
Syrett , who is the chair of the state board of tourism development , said finding a marketing strategy was difficult .
“ You don ’ t want to be insensitive , and you don ’ t want to be wasting money either .
So if people are not going to travel , then why spend millions of dollars promoting it ?
” he said .
Greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” campaign stressing that Utah was still beautiful , still had wide-open spaces and people could spend their newfound time discovering their own backyards , and it worked .
“ We didn ’ t force-feed anything , we just said we ’ re here and it ’ s beautiful , ” Lewis said .
“ You can keep some sort of normalcy in your lives.
” In 2019 , 11 % of all domestic tourism came from California , but locals anecdotally think this year has far surpassed that .
Whether it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of access , owners like Dockstader is grateful the Californians came to southern Utah this summer .
“ Without L.A. , we wouldn ’ t have climbed out of it like we did , ” he said .
“ October was the best month we ’ ve ever had .
It didn ’ t make up for the loss , but we ’ re pacing to break even.
” While so much of the loss has been made up by Californians , domestic crowds are very different than what locals are used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this season , as graffiti rates skyrocketed and vandalism devastated the park .
Officials think this is due to an increase in spontaneous trips and a lack of planning or education on what is the proper conduct in the park .
“ We have seen a demographic shift in a way they never have before , ” Zion Forever Communications Manager Zach Almaguer said .
Wells , as well as many park officials , said the way to combat overcrowding and changing group makeup is education .
“ I don ’ t think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve had too many visitors but we can definitely do better in helping them understand how to spend their time in the park , ” Wells said .
“ It ’ s hard to make the case of not wanting people to come .
It ’ s getting people out in nature , only good can come from that.
” Arches had to close an unprecedented amount of times this year due to overcrowding in the parking lots , a problem that ’ s not new to the park .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual cars carrying a few people versus a tour bus carrying dozens , causing a lot of this congestion .
Looking forward , Utah leaders are grappling with the potential return of international crowds in addition to the now bolstered domestic crowds , including revamped public transportation to combat traffic .
“ How do we change the culture from car-centric ideals to a public transportation mindset ?
” Utah Clean Cities Executive Director Tammie Bostick said of their EV Zion shuttle project .
While Varela with the state office of tourism thinks it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effects of coronavirus , many areas are already showing signs of normalcy .
September and October saved many businesses in Springdale and other gateway towns where national parks achieved record levels of visitation with up to a 30 % year-over-year increase , official numbers and Leaver show .
“ These visitors are spending more money even if there ’ s less of them .
That was somewhat unexpected , ” Springdale chamber of commerce , Zion Canyon Visitor ’ s Bureau President Nate Wells said .
“ Being able to stay open is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million people came to Zion in October , shattering “ normal year ” records .
Officials at Arches National Park said they had the busiest fall on record , and even Capitol Reef National Park broke it ’ s September record .
More people in the late summer meant many businesses will nearly break even this year and transient tax collected will nearly be enough for normalcy .
Cautious optimism is creeping over a tourism industry that is slowing down from a tailspin this year .
While owners like Dockstader are not “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international visitors in 2021 , they are planning for something seemingly more normal .
“ As people get vaccinated over the next six months , we are optimistic they will be inspired to travel again .
It will be important for us to have a robust marketing strategy to restore our industry , ” Varella said .
And Syrett is ready for the new year .
“ I ’ m having a hard time right now .
But when the time ’ s right , we ’ re gon na be here and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distance , The national parks and Utah were kind of built for that .
I always like to say that we were social distancing before it was cool up here , ” Syrett said .
K. Sophie Will is the National Parks Reporter for The Spectrum & Daily News through the Report for America initiative by The GroundTruth Project

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) - Springtime hit Bryce Canyon with a cold shoulder.
In what is typically the coldest of Utah’s five national parks, warming weather usually blossoms with opportunities for adventure and exponential economic growth as people flock to the world-renown red rock hoodoos and dense wood.
But not this year.
Lance Syrett, General Manager of Ruby’s Inn in Bryce Canyon City, leads one of the hardest-hit businesses in a tourism industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Personally, I had to go to the guy who helped train me when I started in hotels in 2003 and lay him off,” Syrett said. “You know, that broke my heart because he’s committed to this business and we consider him part of the family. And we had that story over and over again with a lot of our good people.”
Even with government assistance, Ruby’s Inn lost 46% of its revenue this year.
“Covid is still killing us. No one is being impacted more than tourism because we are selling ‘non-essential travel’ when the government and authorities are telling people not to do ‘non-essential travel’,” Syrett said.
The pandemic devastated Utah’s tourism industry, on which the state relies for business profit and tax revenue. In 2019, visitors spent a record $10.06 billion in the Utah economy, generating over $1.34 billion in tax revenue, official data shows.
But national park visits, in particular, were down 25% compared to the unbridled trend of millions of visitors seen in recent years, according to data from the University of Utah.
But what about the coronavirus pandemic impacted Ruby’s Inn and other gateway community hotels so significantly?
The lack of international tourists.
In an average year, international visitors comprise up to a quarter of all national park visitors and tend to stay longer as well as spend more money compared to international visitors, University of Utah Senior Tourism Analyst Jennifer Leaver said.
And though domestic visitation to some Utah national parks increased in the late summer, it’s not enough.
“International and out-of-state visitor spending creates economic impact in Utah as it contributes outside dollars to our state economy. In-state Utah visitor spending (e.g. Salt Lake residents spending money in Springdale) does not create economic impact, but rather recirculates Utah money within the state economy,” Leaver wrote in an email.
The impacts of this year on the tourism economy will be lasting.
“We are projecting that it will take several years to fully restore the Utah tourism economy,” Utah Office of Tourism Managing Director Vicki Varela said.
Working in the tourism industry is all about numbers. How many visitors are coming, how long they are staying and how much money they are spending - numbers like those are all vital to survival for small businesses and public servants alike.
So how much did 2020 deviate from the norm?
From March to September, international deplaned passengers at Salt Lake City International Airport decreased by 85.5%, Leaver said.
In her report published in September, Leaver showed that visitors spend the most money on hotels in national parks resulting in about $431 million spent on lodging in 2019. While 2020 numbers are not available yet, many hotels have reported a significant decrease in visitors and spending.
About 141,500 Utahns work in the tourism industry, or did, in 2019.
Over 30% of the usual international visitors come from Canada, with China and Germany trailing behind. The Canadian border has been closed since March 18 and remains closed through nearly the end of the year.
The state office of tourism spends over $22 million a year on marketing and operations to bolster the economy. Next year’s budget, however, relies on $8 million of CARES Act funding to keep up.
Hotelier’s saving grace this year was in transient room tax, a 4.25% charge added to any hotel room or lodging stay in Washington County. About half goes to marketing and the rest goes to support tourism-related infrastructure and activities.
“We took one of the most significant drops in the beginning and came back up in one of the most significant ways, to the point where August was a record-breaking collection month for transient room tax,” Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office Director Kevin Lewis said.
The annual budget for Greater Zion is $8.5 million and is dropping to $8.25 million next year. All of the budget comes from transient room tax.
Washington County Commissioner Dean Cox said they predicted a $2 million deficit at the beginning of the year. While the late-summer boom has kept the economy afloat, it’s rare to find a business or agency not in the red this year.
What does a 46% loss in revenue mean to Ruby’s Inn, exactly?
It means layoffs, delay of new equipment and furniture, keeping up with what demand exists with fewer resources and employees and now, extra supplies to keep up with CDC recommendations.
“Yeah, it’s not cheap trying to comply,” Syrett said. “I wish there was somebody sitting there with a big old check at the end of the rainbow, and we’ve gotten our checks from the government and whatnot, but man, it’s still not enough.”
Syrett as well as most of the tourism industry in southern Utah makes most of their profit in the summertime. Because of the lack of visitors, however, Syrett has had to drop his rates to be competitive, which means that even though he might fill his hotel, he’s only making half the profit he would in a normal year.
“There’s kind of a day in April, where finally we stop bleeding cash and we start making cash because we made it through the wintertime. And that day never happened,” Syrett said.
Tour companies and providers, like LeBus, have also seen nearly all of their tours canceled and lost up to millions of dollars.
Dennis Copyak, vice president and owner of LeBus, said last year they did about 500 national park tours. This year, they did six.
“We’re moving forward with all the customers we have,” Copyak said. “It’s pretty ugly to look out my office window and see 90 buses parked.”
In all, the company will have lost 15% of its revenue this year, a deficit of $10 million.
Hoteliers across southern Utah have felt the wrath of COVID-19, even the biggest park in Utah - Zion National Park.
Breck Dockstader, president of Cliffrose Lodge and Gardens in Springdale was hit with one million dollars worth of cancellations in the spring.
“A lot of that million dollars was inbound travel from Europe. There have been years where we had an 80% occupancy of foreign travelers. You can’t understate the value of European travelers,” Dockstader said.
But there was one saving grace for Utah and hoteliers - Californians.
In response to the complete cessation of international travelers, Utah tourism industry leaders shifted their marketing toward domestic crowds in hopes of making up the deficit.
Syrett, who is the chair of the state board of tourism development, said finding a marketing strategy was difficult.
“You don’t want to be insensitive, and you don’t want to be wasting money either. So if people are not going to travel, then why spend millions of dollars promoting it?” he said.
Greater Zion launched the “Find Your Space” campaign stressing that Utah was still beautiful, still had wide-open spaces and people could spend their newfound time discovering their own backyards, and it worked.
“We didn’t force-feed anything, we just said we’re here and it’s beautiful,” Lewis said. “You can keep some sort of normalcy in your lives.”
In 2019, 11% of all domestic tourism came from California, but locals anecdotally think this year has far surpassed that.
Whether it was the wildfires, the pandemic or ease of access, owners like Dockstader is grateful the Californians came to southern Utah this summer.
“Without L.A., we wouldn’t have climbed out of it like we did,” he said. “October was the best month we’ve ever had. It didn’t make up for the loss, but we’re pacing to break even.”
While so much of the loss has been made up by Californians, domestic crowds are very different than what locals are used to.
Zion rangers said the same thing this season, as graffiti rates skyrocketed and vandalism devastated the park. Officials think this is due to an increase in spontaneous trips and a lack of planning or education on what is the proper conduct in the park.
“We have seen a demographic shift in a way they never have before,” Zion Forever Communications Manager Zach Almaguer said.
Wells, as well as many park officials, said the way to combat overcrowding and changing group makeup is education.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a point where we’ve had too many visitors but we can definitely do better in helping them understand how to spend their time in the park,” Wells said. “It’s hard to make the case of not wanting people to come. It’s getting people out in nature, only good can come from that.”
Arches had to close an unprecedented amount of times this year due to overcrowding in the parking lots, a problem that’s not new to the park. However, this year there were exponentially more individual cars carrying a few people versus a tour bus carrying dozens, causing a lot of this congestion.
Looking forward, Utah leaders are grappling with the potential return of international crowds in addition to the now bolstered domestic crowds, including revamped public transportation to combat traffic.
“How do we change the culture from car-centric ideals to a public transportation mindset?” Utah Clean Cities Executive Director Tammie Bostick said of their EV Zion shuttle project.
While Varela with the state office of tourism thinks it will take time to recover from the effects of coronavirus, many areas are already showing signs of normalcy.
September and October saved many businesses in Springdale and other gateway towns where national parks achieved record levels of visitation with up to a 30% year-over-year increase, official numbers and Leaver show.
“These visitors are spending more money even if there’s less of them. That was somewhat unexpected,” Springdale chamber of commerce, Zion Canyon Visitor’s Bureau President Nate Wells said. “Being able to stay open is economic stimulus for us.”
Half a million people came to Zion in October, shattering “normal year” records. Officials at Arches National Park said they had the busiest fall on record, and even Capitol Reef National Park broke it’s September record.
More people in the late summer meant many businesses will nearly break even this year and transient tax collected will nearly be enough for normalcy.
Cautious optimism is creeping over a tourism industry that is slowing down from a tailspin this year. While owners like Dockstader are not “banking” on a large influx of international visitors in 2021, they are planning for something seemingly more normal.
“As people get vaccinated over the next six months, we are optimistic they will be inspired to travel again. It will be important for us to have a robust marketing strategy to restore our industry,” Varella said.
And Syrett is ready for the new year.
“I’m having a hard time right now. But when the time’s right, we’re gonna be here and what a better place to come and social distance, The national parks and Utah were kind of built for that. I always like to say that we were social distancing before it was cool up here,” Syrett said.
__
K. Sophie Will is the National Parks Reporter for The Spectrum & Daily News through the Report for America initiative by The GroundTruth Project


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Central Falls gives residents better access to parks

CENTRAL FALLS , R.I. ( AP ) - Central Falls has reached a benchmark in its goal to give every resident easy access to a park or green space .
The city recently became the third in the U.S. where 100 % of its residents have a park or green space within a 10-minute walk , according to a statement from Mayor James Diossa and the 10 Minute Walk campaign .
The city , which has about 20,000 residents , has made steady progress to expand access to green space since joining the 10 Minute Walk campaign in 2017 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smallest and most densely populated city in Rhode Island with a total area of less than 1.5 miles .
The project led by The Trust for Public Land calls for U.S. cities to commit to serving 100 % of their residents with safe , easy access to a park or green space by 2050 .
“ As mayor , I have always strived to improve quality of life for all of our residents , and during my administration , we have worked hard to make sure everyone , no matter what part our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a park within a 10-minute walk of home , ” Diossa said in a statement .
“ We are proud that is now a reality , and that we are joining the ranks of cities like Boston and San Francisco in connecting all of our residents to green space .
”

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (AP) - Central Falls has reached a benchmark in its goal to give every resident easy access to a park or green space.
The city recently became the third in the U.S. where 100% of its residents have a park or green space within a 10-minute walk, according to a statement from Mayor James Diossa and the 10 Minute Walk campaign.
The city, which has about 20,000 residents, has made steady progress to expand access to green space since joining the 10 Minute Walk campaign in 2017, officials said. Central Falls is the smallest and most densely populated city in Rhode Island with a total area of less than 1.5 miles.
The project led by The Trust for Public Land calls for U.S. cities to commit to serving 100% of their residents with safe, easy access to a park or green space by 2050.
“As mayor, I have always strived to improve quality of life for all of our residents, and during my administration, we have worked hard to make sure everyone, no matter what part our great city they live in, has a park within a 10-minute walk of home,” Diossa said in a statement. “We are proud that is now a reality, and that we are joining the ranks of cities like Boston and San Francisco in connecting all of our residents to green space.”


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Maine hunters turn to seasons for ducks, foxes in winter

AUGUSTA , Maine ( AP ) - Maine ’ s winter hunting seasons , which focus on birds and small @ @ @ @ @ place all over the state .
The seasons for snowshoe hare , bobcat and fox @ @ @ @ @ The seasons end in February .
There is also a season for coyotes that takes @ @ @ @ @ The bird hunting seasons include the seasons for several sea ducks , which run until @ @ @ @ @ for ruffed grouse and bobwhite quail are also in their final days .
Those end @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hunting rules vary in different parts of the state , and hunters are @ @ @ @ @ before hunting .

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine’s winter hunting seasons, which focus on birds and small game animals, are taking place all over the state.
The seasons for snowshoe hare, bobcat and fox are all taking place. The seasons end in February. There is also a season for coyotes that takes place all year long.
The bird hunting seasons include the seasons for several sea ducks, which run until Jan. 16. The seasons for ruffed grouse and bobwhite quail are also in their final days. Those end on Dec. 31.
Maine’s hunting rules vary in different parts of the state, and hunters are encouraged to check with authorities before hunting.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Vermont's Fairbanks Museum moving forward on $2.5M expansion

Vermont ’ s Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium is another step closer to the first major expansion on the historic St. @ @ @ @ @ sciences .
The Museum Trustees voted earlier this month to move forward with the nearly @ @ @ @ @ will create a 6,000-square-foot , 3-story science annex .
The new space will house hands-on @ @ @ @ @ .
The new space would also provide a future home for Community College of Vermont @ @ @ @ @ The Caledonian Record reports the museum has raised about $ 2.1 million of the anticipated @ @ @ @ @ the addition with a number of grants , donations and pledges .
“ We feel @ @ @ @ @ said Museum Executive Director Adam Kane .
“ We aren ’ t 100 percent there @ @ @ @ @ way these campaigns go and we will continue to push and fund-raise the final amount.
@ @ @ @ @ to plan it will be open to the public within a year .

ST. JOHNBURY, Vt. (AP) -
Vermont’s Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium is another step closer to the first major expansion on the historic St. Johnsbury building dedicated to natural sciences.
The Museum Trustees voted earlier this month to move forward with the nearly $2.5 million addition that will create a 6,000-square-foot, 3-story science annex.
The new space will house hands-on exhibits for astronomy and meteorology. The new space would also provide a future home for Community College of Vermont operations in St. Johnsbury.
The Caledonian Record reports the museum has raised about $2.1 million of the anticipated $2.5 million to construct the addition with a number of grants, donations and pledges.
“We feel good about it,” said Museum Executive Director Adam Kane. “We aren’t 100 percent there, but this is the way these campaigns go and we will continue to push and fund-raise the final amount.”
If all goes according to plan it will be open to the public within a year.


washingtontimes--2020-12-27--Niger votes in presidential, legislative elections

NIAMEY , Niger ( AP ) - Niger is voting Sunday in presidential and legislative elections that could see the West African country ’ s first democratic transition of power since independence amid a growing threat from jihadists in the region .
“ Equipment was well installed and the first voter was able to vote , ” just after 8 a.m. at the Diori school in Niamey , according to the head of the polling station there , Khadija Hassan .
“ Everything has been going normally.
” Other voting centers in the capital reported successful openings as well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7.4 million Nigeriens are voting to elect legislators and the successor to President Mahamadou Issoufou .
Issoufou , who has served two terms , is stepping down , paving the way for the first peaceful transfer of power between two elected presidents since Niger became independent from France in 1960 .
Niger has seen four coups since then .
Issoufou voted Sunday with his wife and the president of the National Assembly .
He said he hopes the election “ will allow Niger to consolidate its status as a model of democracy in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 6,800 observers from various organizations are deployed around the country , he said .
“ We are the bearer of an ambition , the ambition to modernize politics , the ambition to detribalize politics , the ambition to put policy around values and not on identity , ” he said .
“ The victory will belong to the Nigerien people.
” A peaceful transfer would be significant not only in Niger but also in West Africa , where leaders recently have held on for disputed third terms in Guinea and Ivory Coast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to deal with major problems including extremism , poverty , displacement and corruption .
Attacks by Islamic extremists has affected local elections for weeks .
In the most recent incident , the Nigeria-based Boko Haram fighters killed more than 28 people in Toumour in the Diffa region , the day before the vote .
Niger also faces increasing attacks from fighters linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida .
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced despite the presence of thousands of regional and international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bazoum , the candidate of the current president ’ s Nigerian Party for Democracy and Socialism , is among the front runners in the election .
A teacher by training , Bazoum has promised to build boarding schools for girls to encourage them to stay in school longer , which he said would help reduce child marriage in a country with many teenage pregnancies .
Another candidate , retired Gen. Salou Djibo , a former head of state who staged a coup in 2010 , has said he is best placed to fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign affairs minister who was kicked out of the ruling party because of indiscipline , is campaigning against corruption .
But Bazoum ’ s biggest competition comes from former President Mahamane Ousmane , who has the endorsement of opposition leader Hama Amadou , whose candidacy was rejected by the constitutional court because of a one-year prison sentence for charges of baby-trafficking .
Amadou denies the charges , calling them politically motivated .
If no one candidate wins more than 50 % , Nigeriens will vote in a second round on Feb. 21 .

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) - Niger voted Sunday in presidential and legislative elections that could see the West African country’s first democratic transition of power since independence amid a growing threat from jihadists in the region.
A good turnout was seen in the capital throughout the day, said observers .
“Equipment was well installed and the first voter was able to vote,” just after 8 a.m. at the Diori school in Niamey, according to the head of the polling station there, Khadija Hassan. “Everything has been going normally.”
Other voting centers in the capital reported successes as well, with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Some 7.4 million Nigeriens were registered to vote to elect legislators and the successor to President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Issoufou, who has served two terms, is stepping down, paving the way for the first peaceful transfer of power between two elected presidents since Niger became independent from France in 1960. Niger has seen four coups since then.
Issoufou voted Sunday with his wife and the president of the National Assembly.
He said he hopes the election “will allow Niger to consolidate its status as a model of democracy in Africa and in the world.”
More than 6,800 observers from various organizations are deployed around the country, he said.
“We are the bearer of an ambition, the ambition to modernize politics, the ambition to detribalize politics, the ambition to put policy around values and not on identity,” he said. “The victory will belong to the Nigerien people.”
A peaceful transfer would be significant not only in Niger but also in West Africa, where leaders recently have held on for disputed third terms in Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Niger’s next president will have to deal with major problems including extremism, poverty, displacement and corruption.
Attacks by Islamic extremists has affected local elections for weeks. In the most recent incident, the Nigeria-based Boko Haram fighters killed more than 28 people in Toumour in the Diffa region, the day before the vote.
Niger also faces increasing attacks from fighters linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced despite the presence of thousands of regional and international troops.
Former foreign affairs minister Mohamed Bazoum, the candidate of the current president’s Nigerian Party for Democracy and Socialism, is among the front runners in the election.
A teacher by training, Bazoum has promised to build boarding schools for girls to encourage them to stay in school longer, which he said would help reduce child marriage in a country with many teenage pregnancies.
Another candidate, retired Gen. Salou Djibo, a former head of state who staged a coup in 2010, has said he is best placed to fight extremism.
Ibrahim Yacoubou, a former foreign affairs minister who was kicked out of the ruling party because of indiscipline, is campaigning against corruption.
But Bazoum’s biggest competition comes from former President Mahamane Ousmane, who has the endorsement of opposition leader Hama Amadou, whose candidacy was rejected by the constitutional court because of a one-year prison sentence for charges of baby-trafficking. Amadou denies the charges, calling them politically motivated.
If no one candidate wins more than 50%, Nigeriens will vote in a second round on Feb. 21.
___
AP journalist Carley Petesch contributed from Dakar, Senegal.