washingtontimes--2020-10-11--Precedent, recusal, Roe: A court nomination viewer's guide

WASHINGTON ( AP ) - A scant two weeks after her nomination , Judge Amy Coney Barrett goes before a Senate committee that ’ s bitterly split along partisan lines over whether the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s death should be filled now or should await the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election .
The Senate Judiciary Committee ’ s hearings are taking place on an accelerated timeline because President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans want her on the bench by Election Day .
Adding to the swirl of politics around the nomination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might play .
Barrett was introduced as the nominee at a Rose Garden ceremony linked to a cluster of virus cases , including those of Trump and his wife , Melania .
Viewers should expect to see the 48-year-old Barrett portrayed by Republicans as a principled jurist and person of faith in the mode of her mentor , conservative Justice Antonin Scalia , and someone who will decide cases based on the law , not her policy preferences .
Democrats will spend a lot of time talking about the unseemly rush to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they also will label Barrett a results-oriented conservative whose ascension to the high court would entrench a conservative majority bent on undoing abortion rights , loosening gun restrictions and turning back the clock on environmental regulations and anti-discrimination laws .
Lawmakers know the public is watching , but as the hearing gets going and lawmakers seek to probe the nominee ’ s views , they often slip into using legal jargon and refer to past Supreme Court cases in shorthand .
It can sound as though they ’ re talking in code .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barrett ’ s hearing , starting Monday : These cases from 1973 and 1992 , respectively , are the two main decisions on abortion rights .
Barrett is the most open anti-abortion nominee to the Supreme Court in decades .
She is certain to be asked repeatedly whether the cases were decided correctly , and whether they should be overturned , She ’ s not likely to answer either question during the hearings .
Barrett signed an anti-abortion newspaper ad in 2006 , was a member of Notre Dame ’ s Faculty for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an appellate judge .
In Latin , it means to stand by things decided .
It ’ s the legal principle that judges use to base decisions on earlier ones .
When it comes up at confirmation hearings , it ’ s often in reference to abortion rights and it ’ s usually a way of asking if a nominee will overturn certain decisions such as Roe .
Nominees invariably invoke stare decisis , or refer to something as settled law , to try to reassure senators that they have great respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to preserve any specific one .
Respect for precedent , however , has its limits .
Almost every court opinion raising the issue of abiding by precedents or getting rid of them invokes a line from a 1991 Supreme Court opinion : “ Stare decisis is not an inexorable command.
” The court ’ s 2015 decision declared a nationwide constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry .
Barrett has spoken approvingly of the conservative dissenting voices in the case who argued that states should set the rules on marriage , not unelected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week when Justice Clarence Thomas , joined by Justice Samuel Alito , wrote that the 2015 decision “ enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots.
” Thomas suggested the court needs to revisit the issue because it has “ created a problem that only it can fix.
” Until then , he said , the case will continue to have “ ruinous consequences for religious liberty.
” That ’ s the shorthanded reference to the Obama-era health law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known as “ Obamacare.
” The Supreme Court will hear a Trump administration-backed challenge to get rid of the law a week after the election .
A lot of talk will focus on the law ’ s now-toothless mandate to require people to have health insurance or pay a penalty .
In 2017 , Congress got rid of the penalty , a decision that gave rise to the latest court challenge .
The bigger concern is that if the court says the mandate as it now stands is unconstitutional , it will strike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
So Democratic senators in all likelihood will talk a lot about the threat to another provision of the law prohibiting discrimination against people with preexisting health conditions .
Barrett has been critical of Chief Justice John Roberts ’ 2012 opinion upholding the law and his 2015 opinion that preserved subsidies for millions of people to pay for health insurance .
“ I think the dissent has the better of the legal argument , ” she said in 2015 .
It refers to a judge ’ s decision to not take part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judge participated in it at an earlier stage , or has a financial or personal conflict .
Democrats are going to press Barrett to pledge to withdraw from any election-related cases , and perhaps from any involving abortion .
She is not likely to commit to do so .
A 1984 Supreme Court ruling , in a case involving the Chevron oil company , says that when laws aren ’ t crystal clear , federal agencies should be allowed to fill in the details .
That ’ s what agencies do - on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protections and even immigration law .
But a growing conservative legal movement has questioned the Chevron decision .
Several conservative justices have expressed some support for limiting agencies ’ discretion .
If a future Supreme Court were to limit the Chevron ruling , it would mark a big change in the law that would potentially make it harder to sustain governmental regulations .
OK , that ’ s not a legal term , but it will come up anyway .
Roberts famously compared judges to umpires during his 2005 confirmation hearing , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both just apply them .
He said he would remember , if confirmed , that his job is “ to call balls and strikes.
” Lawmakers love to ask nominees about this analogy .
Again , it ’ s not a legal term .
Expect the committee chairman , Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , or the Republican sitting in his place , to interject when Democrats ’ questioning of Barrett gets especially heated or they try to cut in if they feel Barrett is trying to filibuster .
Question time is limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in to move the questioning along .
Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report .

WASHINGTON (AP) - A scant two weeks after her nomination, Judge Amy Coney Barrett goes before a Senate committee that’s bitterly split along partisan lines over whether the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death should be filled now or should await the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings are taking place on an accelerated timeline because President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans want her on the bench by Election Day. Adding to the swirl of politics around the nomination is the coronavirus pandemic and the role it might play. Barrett was introduced as the nominee at a Rose Garden ceremony linked to a cluster of virus cases, including those of Trump and his wife, Melania.
Viewers should expect to see the 48-year-old Barrett portrayed by Republicans as a principled jurist and person of faith in the mode of her mentor, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, and someone who will decide cases based on the law, not her policy preferences. Democrats will spend a lot of time talking about the unseemly rush to fill Ginsburg’s seat. But they also will label Barrett a results-oriented conservative whose ascension to the high court would entrench a conservative majority bent on undoing abortion rights, loosening gun restrictions and turning back the clock on environmental regulations and anti-discrimination laws.
Lawmakers know the public is watching, but as the hearing gets going and lawmakers seek to probe the nominee’s views, they often slip into using legal jargon and refer to past Supreme Court cases in shorthand. It can sound as though they’re talking in code. Expect senators to use these terms at Barrett’s hearing, starting Monday:
___
ROE V. WADE, PLANNED PARENTHOOD V. CASEY
These cases from 1973 and 1992, respectively, are the two main decisions on abortion rights. Barrett is the most open anti-abortion nominee to the Supreme Court in decades. She is certain to be asked repeatedly whether the cases were decided correctly, and whether they should be overturned, She’s not likely to answer either question during the hearings. Barrett signed an anti-abortion newspaper ad in 2006, was a member of Notre Dame’s Faculty for Life and has cast two anti-abortion votes as an appellate judge.
__
STARE DECISIS
In Latin, it means to stand by things decided. It’s the legal principle that judges use to base decisions on earlier ones. When it comes up at confirmation hearings, it’s often in reference to abortion rights and it’s usually a way of asking if a nominee will overturn certain decisions such as Roe. Nominees invariably invoke stare decisis, or refer to something as settled law, to try to reassure senators that they have great respect for Supreme Court precedents, without committing to preserve any specific one. Respect for precedent, however, has its limits. Almost every court opinion raising the issue of abiding by precedents or getting rid of them invokes a line from a 1991 Supreme Court opinion: “Stare decisis is not an inexorable command.”
___
OBERGEFELL V. HODGES
The court’s 2015 decision declared a nationwide constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry. Barrett has spoken approvingly of the conservative dissenting voices in the case who argued that states should set the rules on marriage, not unelected judges. The issue became newly prominent last week when Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that the 2015 decision “enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots.” Thomas suggested the court needs to revisit the issue because it has “created a problem that only it can fix.” Until then, he said, the case will continue to have “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”
___
ACA
That’s the shorthanded reference to the Obama-era health law, the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare.” The Supreme Court will hear a Trump administration-backed challenge to get rid of the law a week after the election. A lot of talk will focus on the law’s now-toothless mandate to require people to have health insurance or pay a penalty. In 2017, Congress got rid of the penalty, a decision that gave rise to the latest court challenge. The bigger concern is that if the court says the mandate as it now stands is unconstitutional, it will strike down the rest of the law with it. So Democratic senators in all likelihood will talk a lot about the threat to another provision of the law prohibiting discrimination against people with preexisting health conditions. Barrett has been critical of Chief Justice John Roberts’ 2012 opinion upholding the law and his 2015 opinion that preserved subsidies for millions of people to pay for health insurance. “I think the dissent has the better of the legal argument,” she said in 2015.
___
RECUSAL
It refers to a judge’s decision to not take part in a case, usually because that judge participated in it at an earlier stage, or has a financial or personal conflict. Democrats are going to press Barrett to pledge to withdraw from any election-related cases, and perhaps from any involving abortion. She is not likely to commit to do so.
___
CHEVRON DEFERENCE
A 1984 Supreme Court ruling, in a case involving the Chevron oil company, says that when laws aren’t crystal clear, federal agencies should be allowed to fill in the details. That’s what agencies do - on environmental regulations, workplace standards, consumer protections and even immigration law. But a growing conservative legal movement has questioned the Chevron decision. Several conservative justices have expressed some support for limiting agencies’ discretion. If a future Supreme Court were to limit the Chevron ruling, it would mark a big change in the law that would potentially make it harder to sustain governmental regulations.
___
BALLS AND STRIKES
OK, that’s not a legal term, but it will come up anyway. Roberts famously compared judges to umpires during his 2005 confirmation hearing, saying neither makes the rules, but rather both just apply them. He said he would remember, if confirmed, that his job is “to call balls and strikes.” Lawmakers love to ask nominees about this analogy.
___
“LET HER ANSWER THE QUESTION”
Again, it’s not a legal term. Expect the committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., or the Republican sitting in his place, to interject when Democrats’ questioning of Barrett gets especially heated or they try to cut in if they feel Barrett is trying to filibuster. Question time is limited and senators often feel free to jump in to move the questioning along.
___
Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--Libya to resume oil production at largest field amid talks

CAIRO ( AP ) - Libya ’ s national oil company announced Sunday it was resuming production at the country ’ s largest oil field as rival officials from eastern and western Libya began peace talks , part of preliminary negotiations ahead a U.N.-brokered dialogue set to take place next month .
The National Oil Corporation said it lifted the force majeure imposed at the southwestern Sharara oil field after it reached “ an honor agreement ” with forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter to end “ all obstructions ” at the field .
The corporation ’ s announcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was behind a year-long military attempt to capture the capital , Tripoli , announced an end to a blockade of the nation ’ s vital oil fields .
The Sep. 18 breakthrough was the result of a so-called “ Libyan-Libyan dialogue ” led by Ahmed Matiq , the rival Tripoli government ’ s deputy prime minister , seeking to create a new mechanism to distribute the country ’ s petrodollars more equitably .
Libya ’ s oil production had reached at least 1.2 million barrels a day before powerful eastern tribes loyal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facilities in January , including the Sharara field , to protest what they said was the inequitable distribution of revenues .
In total , the oil blockade has deprived the corporation of nearly $ 10 billion in revenue and led to nationwide fuel shortages .
Libya ’ s prized , light crude has long featured in the North African country ’ s civil war with rival militias and foreign powers jostling for control of Africa ’ s largest oil reserves .
Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was later killed .
The country has since split between rival administrations based in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi , each backed by armed groups and rival foreign governments .
Meanwhile , representatives of the Benghazi-based House of Representatives and Tripoli-based High Council of State started on Sunday three-day-long U.N.-facilitated talks in the Egyptian capital , Cairo , the U.N. support mission in Libya said .
The mission said the delegations are expected to discuss “ legal and constitutional options which may be put forward to the Libyan Political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief , Abbas Kamel , kicked off Sunday ’ s talks , saying the time had come for its neighbor Libya to establish peace and agree on “ a constitution that defines powers and responsibilities , and leads to presidential and parliamentary elections , ” according to Egypt ’ s state-run MENA news agency .
Egypt views the instability in Libya as a national security threat and has backed Hifter in his rivalry against the Turkish-backed government in Tripoli .
The first face-to-face meeting of the upcoming political forum is slated to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preparatory virtual meetings starting Oct. 26 , the mission said .
The forum aims to “ generate consensus on a unified governance framework and arrangements that will lead to the holding of national elections in the shortest possible timeframe , ” the U.N. mission said .
Prior to the Tunisia talks , the rivals are to start face-to-face military negotiations in Geneva on Oct. 19 .
The rival sides held security talks late September that resulted in preliminary agreements to exchange prisoners and open up air and land transit across the country ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces launched an offensive in April 2019 to try and capture Tripoli , but his campaign collapsed within two months when the Tripoli-allied militias , with Turkish support , gained the upper hand , driving his forces from the outskirts of the city and other western towns .
Fighting has died down in recent months amid international pressure on both sides to avert an attack on the strategic city of Sirte .

CAIRO (AP) - Libya’s national oil company announced Sunday it was resuming production at the country’s largest oil field as rival officials from eastern and western Libya began peace talks, part of preliminary negotiations ahead a U.N.-brokered dialogue set to take place next month.
The National Oil Corporation said it lifted force majeure, a legal maneuver that lets a company get out of its contracts because of extraordinary circumstances, at the southwestern Sharara oil field. The corporation said the move came after it reached “an honor agreement” with forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter to end “all obstructions” at the field.
The corporation’s announcement comes three weeks after Hifter, who was behind a year-long military attempt to capture the capital, Tripoli, announced an end to a blockade of the nation’s vital oil fields.
The Sep. 18 breakthrough was the result of a so-called “Libyan-Libyan dialogue” led by Ahmed Matiq, the rival Tripoli government’s deputy prime minister, seeking to create a new mechanism to distribute the country’s petrodollars more equitably.
Libya’s oil production had reached at least 1.2 million barrels a day before powerful eastern tribes loyal to Hifter first seized control of the oil facilities in January, including the Sharara field, to protest what they said was the inequitable distribution of revenues.
In total, the oil blockade has deprived the corporation of nearly $10 billion in revenue and led to nationwide fuel shortages.
Libya’s prized light crude has long featured in the North African country’s civil war, with rival militias and foreign powers jostling for control of Africa’s largest oil reserves.
Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations based in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, each backed by armed groups and rival foreign governments.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Benghazi-based House of Representatives and Tripoli-based High Council of State started on Sunday three-day-long U.N.-facilitated talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the U.N. support mission in Libya said.
The mission said the delegations are expected to discuss “legal and constitutional options which may be put forward to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.”
Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, kicked off Sunday’s talks, saying the time had come for its neighbor Libya to establish peace and agree on “a constitution that defines powers and responsibilities, and leads to presidential and parliamentary elections,” according to Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency. Egypt views the instability in Libya as a national security threat and has backed Hifter in his rivalry against the Turkish-backed government in Tripoli.
The first face-to-face meeting of the upcoming political forum is slated to take place in Tunisia in November, following preparatory virtual meetings starting Oct. 26, the mission said.
The forum aims to “generate consensus on a unified governance framework and arrangements that will lead to the holding of national elections in the shortest possible timeframe,” the U.N. mission said.
Prior to the Tunisia talks, the rivals are to start face-to-face military negotiations in Geneva on Oct. 19.
The rival sides held security talks in late September that resulted in preliminary agreements to exchange prisoners and open up air and land transit across the country’s divided territory.
Hifter’s forces launched an offensive in April 2019 to try and capture Tripoli, but his campaign collapsed within two months when the Tripoli-allied militias, with Turkish support, gained the upper hand, eventually driving his forces from the outskirts of the city and other western towns.
Fighting has died down in recent months amid international pressure on both sides to avert an attack on the strategic city of Sirte, the gateway to Libya’s major oil export terminals.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--Iran has highest day death toll from virus, currency plunges

TEHRAN , Iran ( AP ) - Iran announced on Sunday its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 251 confirmed dead , the same day local media reported two senior officials had been infected and the nation ’ s currency plunged to its lowest level ever .
Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said the total confirmed death toll now stands at 28,544 , making Iran the hardest-hit country in the region .
Iran had just recently recorded its highest daily death toll four days earlier with 239 new fatalities .
A further 3,822 new cases were confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recorded nationwide cases to 500,075 .
Nearly 4,500 patients are in critical condition .
Among those recently infected is the head of the country ’ s atomic energy organization , the latest senior official to test positive for the virus .
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency said Ali Akbar Salehi , who is also a vice president of Iran , had confirmed positive for the virus last week and has been in home quarantine since .
The news agency reported that his health condition is currently good .
A separate report by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vice president in charge of budget and planning , Mohammad Bagher Nobakht , had also tested positive for the coronavirus .
Iran has struggled to contain the spread of the virus across this nation of 80 million people , initially beating it back only to see a spike in cases again , beginning in June .
The government has largely resisted imposing wide-scale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally .
Money exchange shops in Tehran sold the U.S. dollar at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was 32,000 rials to the dollar at the time of Iran ’ s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers .
Salehi is known internationally as one of the key Iranian negotiators who took part in those nuclear talks .
The deal curbed Iran ’ s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief , but President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed crushing economic sanctions .
The currency plummeted further on Sunday after the Trump administration ’ s decision on Thursday to blacklist 18 Iranian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bulk of re-imposed sanctions .
The move subjects non-Iranian financial institutions to penalties for doing business with them , effectively cutting the banks off from the international financial system .
Meanwhile , Iran has seen several top officials contract the virus over past months , including senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar .
A number of Cabinet ministers have also tested positive , including Tourism Minister Ali Asghar Mounesan and the former Industry Minister Reza Rahmani .
The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about its spread was among the first senior officials to contract the virus in late February .
The virus first appeared in Iran at the same time the government was trying to shore up support for the country ’ s parliamentary elections , which saw the lowest voter turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought its clerical leadership to power .
Also on Sunday , state TV reported that a gas explosion killed five people and injured nine in the southwestern city of Ahvaz , which is the capital of the oil-rich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two-story residential building and damaged nearby buildings in a local market .
Rescue teams are searching for other possible victims as authorities probe the cause of the gas explosion .

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran announced on Sunday its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 251 confirmed dead, the same day local media reported two senior officials had been infected and the nation’s currency plunged to its lowest level ever.
Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said the total confirmed death toll now stands at 28,544, making Iran the hardest-hit country in the region. Iran had just recently recorded its highest daily death toll four days earlier with 239 new fatalities.
A further 3,822 new cases were confirmed over the past 24 hour-period, raising recorded nationwide cases to 500,075. Nearly 4,500 patients are in critical condition.
Among those recently infected is the head of the country’s atomic energy organization, the latest senior official to test positive for the virus.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency said Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also a vice president of Iran, had confirmed positive for the virus last week and has been in home quarantine since. The news agency reported that his health condition is currently good.
A separate report by the news agency said the country’s vice president in charge of budget and planning, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, had also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Iran has struggled to contain the spread of the virus across this nation of 80 million people, initially beating it back only to see a spike in cases again, beginning in June. The government has largely resisted imposing wide-scale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally.
Money exchange shops in Tehran sold the U.S. dollar at 315,000 rials on Sunday, compared to what was 32,000 rials to the dollar at the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Salehi is known internationally as one of the key Iranian negotiators who took part in those nuclear talks. The deal curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed crushing economic sanctions.
The currency plummeted further on Sunday after the Trump administration’s decision on Thursday to blacklist 18 Iranian banks that had so far escaped the bulk of re-imposed sanctions. The move subjects non-Iranian financial institutions to penalties for doing business with them, effectively cutting the banks off from the international financial system.
Meanwhile, Iran has seen several top officials contract the virus over past months, including senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. A number of Cabinet ministers have also tested positive, including Tourism Minister Ali Asghar Mounesan and the former Industry Minister Reza Rahmani. The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread was among the first senior officials to contract the virus in late February.
The virus first appeared in Iran at the same time the government was trying to shore up support for the country’s parliamentary elections, which saw the lowest voter turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought its clerical leadership to power.
Also on Sunday, state TV reported that a gas explosion killed five people and injured nine in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, which is the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
The explosion ruined a two-story residential building and damaged nearby buildings in a local market. Rescue teams are searching for other possible victims as authorities probe the cause of the gas explosion.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--Emboldened Antifa increasingly violent as national profile rises

Antifa ’ s profile is rising so quickly that it even got name-checked at last week ’ s presidential debate .
As the movement enters the mainstream , its sympathizers are escalating the violence from throwing rocks and blocking doors to physical assaults and , for the first time , killing .
The rising level of violence from the group marks a sinister evolution from minor street crime to guerrilla tactics usually reserved for revolutionaries .
“ The fear is that we are witnessing the beginning of something that could be more violent over time , ” said Michael Kenney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has interviewed Antifa sympathizers .
The November presidential election likely will be a seminal moment for the movement .
Although its activists don ’ t like President Trump , they share no love for his political rival , Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden , according to academics .
Indeed , Mr. Biden is too much of a centrist for their tastes .
“ They hate Biden and the Democratic Party , which they view as part of the problem , but they also don ’ t see Biden as an existential threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way they see Trump , ” Mr. Kenney said .
The shadowy , loosely organized movement doesn ’ t subscribe to any one political ideology but serves as an umbrella group for hard-left activists who aggressively oppose what they deem fascism and who advocate for positions that are often far left of the Democratic Party platform .
Antifa ’ s murky origins date to the late 1980s or early 1990s , although the Antifa moniker — short for “ anti-fascist ” — wasn ’ t adopted until the mid-2000s .
At first , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ online rabble-rousing .
Supporters spent their free time outing neo-Nazis to cost them their jobs .
But with the election of Mr. Trump in 2016 , Antifa ’ s activity started to surge .
It became more aggressive in pushing an expanding agenda .
“ A watershed for Antifa in the United States was 2017 , beginning with the inauguration protests of President Trump .
There were a series of large protests , including some which became violent because , as Antifa sees it , we have a fascist president , ” Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Antifa activist punched white supremacist Richard Spencer on Inauguration Day ; sympathizers threw bricks at police and started fires while violently protesting a speech by former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos ; and pushed and shoved conservative speaker Charles Murray at Middlebury College .
Two years later , the first Antifa domestic terrorism incident was reported when 69-year-old Willem Van Spronsen attacked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma , Washington .
Armed with a rifle and incendiary devices , Spronsen was killed by police .
Before his death , Spronsen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a “ martyr ” for Antifa .
The group Seattle Antifascist Action hailed Spronsen as a brave man who “ gave his life to the struggle against fascism.
” Concerns about Antifa were further heightened last month after a self-described supporter , Michael Forest Reinoehl , killed a Trump supporter during a violent skirmish on the streets of Portland , Oregon .
It is the first killing linked to an Antifa activist .
“ When you look at the early period of Antifa activity in the United States in 2017 , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but Spronsen was attempting to light a 500-pound propane tank and Reinoehl was armed with a semi-automatic weapon , ” said Seth Jones , who analyzes international threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies .
“ There does appear to be a graduated use of more serious instruments.
” Mr. Trump seized on the uptick in violent activity , accusing the movement of hijacking peaceful protests against police brutality and racial injustice to sow chaos in cities .
In tweets , fundraising emails and public appearances , Mr. Trump blamed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread across the country this summer .
He has even vowed to officially label Antifa a terrorist organization , elevating it to the same level as al Qaeda and the Islamic State .
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray recently contradicted Mr. Trump ’ s characterization of Antifa as a single group .
While acknowledging that Antifa is a “ real thing , ” Mr. Wray said it is not “ a group or an organization .
It ’ s a movement or an ideology.
” The president pushed back in a tweet , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anarchists and thugs.
” Republican lawmakers have demanded the Justice Department open an investigation into the funding sources for Antifa ’ s activities .
Last week , acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News such an investigation is under way .
Those who track Antifa say its unorganized structure doesn ’ t require much funding because it consists of people showing up at protests and connecting via social media .
The little fund-raising that is done is largely crowd-sourced .
Some conservatives have suggested the group is bankrolled by billionaire liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scant evidence linking him to the movement .
Domestic terrorism experts warn that Mr. Trump ’ s rhetoric could backfire by making the movement appear much larger than it is , drawing increased interest .
“ The fact that he ’ s threatened to designate it a terrorist organization certainly elevates its profile , ” said Colin Clarke , a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center , a nonpartisan think tank focused on global security issues .
“ My sense is that it will draw interest and financial resources will flow to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Mr. Trump ’ s elevation of Antifa ’ s profile will help swell its ranks .
Antifa activists are so paranoid about their privacy , even those who study the movement say it ’ s hard to tell if the movement is gaining steam .
“ It ’ s not like Antifa keeps membership lists , ” Mr. Kenney said .
“ I don ’ t think we could measure support .
I ’ ve interviewed a number of them , and they are among the hardest respondents I ’ ve ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve had an easier time interviewing people on the State Department ’ s list of known terrorists.
” Trying to measure support for the movement through online activity is even more challenging .
While several of the groups have Twitter handles , researchers have uncovered many fake accounts and some Antifa supporters have bragged about having 10 Twitter accounts .
“ There are a lot of people who call themselves Antifa because they are anti-racist and concerned about what they see in the country , ” Mr. Kenney said .
“ But that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violence or even go to a protest.
” Mr. Kenney estimates the total number of Antifa activists across the country is roughly a few thousand people .
He said the media coverage and the Trump administration have made Antifa appear larger than it is .
Still , some wonder if the increased media profile could transform Antifa into a more organized movement like Black Lives Matter , which also started as a decentralized advocacy movement .
“ I think our notion of Antifa is evolving as we speak , ” Mr. Clarke said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it may look very different than it does now.
” One way in which the movement could change is the addition of people who are part of mainstream society as opposed to those living on the fringes , including minimum-wage workers , immigrants and others who count themselves as activists .
“ There is a stereotype that an Antifa person is tattooed and has blue hair .
I don ’ t know much that really applies anymore .
You see some pretty wealthy kids involved and they are very passionate and fervent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its core , Antifa opposes politics and organization .
“ I don ’ t see the attention pushing Antifa in a more centralized direction , ” Mr. Kenney said .
“ They would hate to belong to any group that would be centralized .
”

Antifa’s profile is rising so quickly that it even got name-checked at last week’s presidential debate.
As the movement enters the mainstream, its sympathizers are escalating the violence from throwing rocks and blocking doors to physical assaults and, for the first time, killing.
The rising level of violence from the group marks a sinister evolution from minor street crime to guerrilla tactics usually reserved for revolutionaries.
“The fear is that we are witnessing the beginning of something that could be more violent over time,” said Michael Kenney, a University of Pittsburgh professor who has interviewed Antifa sympathizers.
The November presidential election likely will be a seminal moment for the movement. Although its activists don’t like President Trump, they share no love for his political rival, Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden, according to academics.
Indeed, Mr. Biden is too much of a centrist for their tastes.
“They hate Biden and the Democratic Party, which they view as part of the problem, but they also don’t see Biden as an existential threat to America’s pluralist democracy the way they see Trump,” Mr. Kenney said.
The shadowy, loosely organized movement doesn’t subscribe to any one political ideology but serves as an umbrella group for hard-left activists who aggressively oppose what they deem fascism and who advocate for positions that are often far left of the Democratic Party platform.
Antifa’s murky origins date to the late 1980s or early 1990s, although the Antifa moniker — short for “anti-fascist” — wasn’t adopted until the mid-2000s.
At first, Antifa activists largely restricted their activities to online rabble-rousing. Supporters spent their free time outing neo-Nazis to cost them their jobs.
But with the election of Mr. Trump in 2016, Antifa’s activity started to surge. It became more aggressive in pushing an expanding agenda.
“A watershed for Antifa in the United States was 2017, beginning with the inauguration protests of President Trump. There were a series of large protests, including some which became violent because, as Antifa sees it, we have a fascist president,” Mr. Kenney said.
In 2017 alone, an Antifa activist punched white supremacist Richard Spencer on Inauguration Day; sympathizers threw bricks at police and started fires while violently protesting a speech by former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos; and pushed and shoved conservative speaker Charles Murray at Middlebury College.
Two years later, the first Antifa domestic terrorism incident was reported when 69-year-old Willem Van Spronsen attacked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington. Armed with a rifle and incendiary devices, Spronsen was killed by police.
Before his death, Spronsen emailed a manifesto to friends vowing to be a “martyr” for Antifa.
The group Seattle Antifascist Action hailed Spronsen as a brave man who “gave his life to the struggle against fascism.”
Concerns about Antifa were further heightened last month after a self-described supporter, Michael Forest Reinoehl, killed a Trump supporter during a violent skirmish on the streets of Portland, Oregon. It is the first killing linked to an Antifa activist.
“When you look at the early period of Antifa activity in the United States in 2017, it was like bricks, pipes and hammers, but Spronsen was attempting to light a 500-pound propane tank and Reinoehl was armed with a semi-automatic weapon,” said Seth Jones, who analyzes international threats at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There does appear to be a graduated use of more serious instruments.”
Mr. Trump seized on the uptick in violent activity, accusing the movement of hijacking peaceful protests against police brutality and racial injustice to sow chaos in cities.
In tweets, fundraising emails and public appearances, Mr. Trump blamed Antifa for the civil unrest that has spread across the country this summer. He has even vowed to officially label Antifa a terrorist organization, elevating it to the same level as al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray recently contradicted Mr. Trump’s characterization of Antifa as a single group. While acknowledging that Antifa is a “real thing,” Mr. Wray said it is not “a group or an organization. It’s a movement or an ideology.”
The president pushed back in a tweet, calling Antifa “a bunch of well-funded anarchists and thugs.”
Republican lawmakers have demanded the Justice Department open an investigation into the funding sources for Antifa’s activities. Last week, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News such an investigation is under way.
Those who track Antifa say its unorganized structure doesn’t require much funding because it consists of people showing up at protests and connecting via social media. The little fund-raising that is done is largely crowd-sourced.
Some conservatives have suggested the group is bankrolled by billionaire liberal activist George Soros, but there is scant evidence linking him to the movement.
Domestic terrorism experts warn that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric could backfire by making the movement appear much larger than it is, drawing increased interest.
“The fact that he’s threatened to designate it a terrorist organization certainly elevates its profile,” said Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a nonpartisan think tank focused on global security issues. “My sense is that it will draw interest and financial resources will flow to these groups.”
It is not clear if Mr. Trump’s elevation of Antifa’s profile will help swell its ranks. Antifa activists are so paranoid about their privacy, even those who study the movement say it’s hard to tell if the movement is gaining steam.
“It’s not like Antifa keeps membership lists,” Mr. Kenney said. “I don’t think we could measure support. I’ve interviewed a number of them, and they are among the hardest respondents I’ve ever interviewed in my life. I’ve had an easier time interviewing people on the State Department’s list of known terrorists.”
Trying to measure support for the movement through online activity is even more challenging. While several of the groups have Twitter handles, researchers have uncovered many fake accounts and some Antifa supporters have bragged about having 10 Twitter accounts.
“There are a lot of people who call themselves Antifa because they are anti-racist and concerned about what they see in the country,” Mr. Kenney said. “But that doesn’t mean they engage in violence or even go to a protest.”
Mr. Kenney estimates the total number of Antifa activists across the country is roughly a few thousand people. He said the media coverage and the Trump administration have made Antifa appear larger than it is.
Still, some wonder if the increased media profile could transform Antifa into a more organized movement like Black Lives Matter, which also started as a decentralized advocacy movement.
“I think our notion of Antifa is evolving as we speak,” Mr. Clarke said. “In three to six months, it may look very different than it does now.”
One way in which the movement could change is the addition of people who are part of mainstream society as opposed to those living on the fringes, including minimum-wage workers, immigrants and others who count themselves as activists.
“There is a stereotype that an Antifa person is tattooed and has blue hair. I don’t know much that really applies anymore. You see some pretty wealthy kids involved and they are very passionate and fervent,” Mr. Clarke said.
At its core, Antifa opposes politics and organization.
“I don’t see the attention pushing Antifa in a more centralized direction,” Mr. Kenney said. “They would hate to belong to any group that would be centralized.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--The Latest: Lebanon orders lockdown for 169 towns, villages

TEHRAN , Iran - Iran has announced its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus - 251 .
Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said Sunday that Iran ’ s total death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 28,544 , making Iran the hardest-hit country in its region .
It ’ s previous daily high for deaths of 239 came just four days earlier .
Officials reported 3,822 newly confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours , raising its total during the pandemic to 500,075 .
Among those recently infected is the head of Iran ’ s atomic energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test positive for the virus .
The government has largely resisted imposing widescale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally .
Iran ’ s currency plunged to its lowest level ever Sunday .
HERE ’ S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK : - The White House doctor says President Donald Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say whether Trump had tested negative .
Some medical experts are skeptical that Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of transmitting the virus so early .
- Trump makes speech from White House balcony , 1st appearance since return to residence - India ’ s coronavirus cases top 7 million , a re on track to surpass the United States - As a second wave of coronavirus infections hit , European nations seem not to have learned their lessons from the first surge - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismisses the latest White House offer in COVID-19 aid talks but remains hopeful progress can be made toward a deal .
- Queen Elizabeth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nurses , delivery drivers , fundraisers and volunteers during the coronavirus pandemic .
HERE ’ S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING : MOSCOW — Russia ’ s coronavirus infections have hit a new record for a 24-hour period , with authorities reporting over 13,000 new confirmed cases in the highest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic .
The 13,634 new infections registered Sunday brought the country ’ s total to nearly 1.3 million , the world ’ s fourth largest caseload .
Russia has also reported over 22,500 deaths .
The Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases every day this past week , but maintain there are no plans to impose a second lockdown .
Russia has lifted most of the virus-related restrictions imposed in the spring .
At the same time in Moscow , which reported 4,501 new cases on Sunday , officials have recommended the elderly to self-isolate at home and have extended this month ’ s school holidays by a week .
Moscow mayor also ordered employers to have at least 30 % of their staff work from home .
ANKARA , Turkey - Turkey will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection cases later this week , after coming under criticism for releasing only figures for patients showing symptoms of COVID-19 .
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in an interview published Sunday by the newspaper Hurriyet that asymptomatic cases will also be included in Turkey ’ s published data beginning Friday .
Turkey ’ s latest daily figures from Saturday showed 1,649 new patients and 56 deaths .
The country has reported more than 334,000 coronavirus patients since the outbreak started , and 8,778 fatalities .
BEIRUT - Lebanon ’ s Interior Ministry has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towns as well as ordering all nightclubs and pubs to close around the country amid a sharp increase of coronavirus cases .
The Ministry said Sunday that the lockdown will begin Monday morning and last until Oct. 19 .
Pubs and nightclubs will be closed until further notice , it said .
The new lockdown comes a week after the ministry ordered a lockdown in 111 villages and towns that ends Monday morning .
Some of those towns are included under the new restrictions .
On Saturday , Lebanon ’ s Health Ministry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raising the country ’ s confirmed total to 52,558 infections and 455 deaths .
Cases in Lebanon have been rising since early July when the country eased a nationwide lockdown and opened its only international airport .
The numbers increased dramatically following an Aug. 4 blast in Beirut that killed and wounded many , as people gathered at hospitals , funerals and anti-government protests .
LONDON — One of the main medical advisers to the British government has warned that the country is at a “ tipping point ” in its battle against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce fresh lockdown restrictions for virus hot spots in the north of England .
England ’ s deputy chief medical officer , Professor Jonathan Van-Tam , said in a statement that the country is at a “ tipping point similar to where we were in March.
” The U.K. has experienced Europe ’ s deadliest outbreak with more than 42,750 deaths .
Van-Tam laid out his hope that history won ’ t repeat itself in light of better testing and treatments , as well as greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is on Monday expected to impose additional restrictions in areas where the virus has been spreading fastest in recent weeks .
Pubs and restaurants in northern cities like Liverpool or Manchester are expected to be closed .
NEW DELHI - India ’ s confirmed coronavirus toll has crossed 7 million with a number of new cases dipping in recent weeks , even as health experts warn of mask and distancing fatigue setting in .
The Health Ministry on Sunday registered another 74,383 infections in the past 24 hours .
India is expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in coming weeks , surpassing the U.S. , where more than 7.7 million infections have been reported .
The ministry also reported 918 additional deaths , taking total fatalities to at least 108,334 .
Experts say all reported numbers seriously understate the impact of the pandemic , due to limited testing , missed cases and in some instances , concealment by authorities .
India , which has nearly 1.4 billion people , saw a steep rise in cases in July and added more than 2 million in August and another 3 million in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slower pace of coronavirus spread since mid-September , when the daily infections touched a record high of 97,894 .
It ’ s averaging more than 70,000 new cases daily so far this month .
WASHINGTON - The White House doctor says President Donald Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it .
The diagnosis came as the president prepared to resume campaign rallies and other activities .
In a memo released Saturday night by the White House , Navy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “ currently recognized standards ” he was no longer considered a transmission risk .
The memo did not declare Trump had tested negative for the virus .
But sensitive lab tests - like the PCR test cited in the doctor ’ s statements - detect virus in swab samples taken from the nose and throat .
Dr. William Morice , who oversees laboratories at the Mayo Clinic , said earlier this week that using the PCR tests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could hypothetically measure and track the amount of virus in samples over time and watch the viral load go down .
Some medical experts had been skeptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early in the course of his illness .
Just 10 days since an initial diagnosis of infection , there was no way to know for certain that someone was no longer contagious , they said .
SEOUL , South Korea __ South Korea says it ’ ll will ease its social distancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a slowing trend ever after the five-day Chuseok autumn holidays .
Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told reporters Sunday that South Korea has counted an average of 59.4 new cases each day in the past two weeks , compared with 91.5 cases in the earlier two weeks .
Earlier Sunday , South Korea reported 58 new cases , taking the country ’ s total to 24,606 including 432 deaths .
Under relaxed distancing guidelines effective Monday , Park says some high-risk facilities like nightclubs and karaoke bars will be allowed to reopen but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like wearing masks and keeping a list of clients .
Park says South Korea will lift a ban on the gatherings of more than 50 people indoor and more than 100 outdoor .
He says community welfare centers will also be reopened while professional sports leagues can have a limited number of fans back , up to 30 % of the stadium capacity .
SYDNEY - The premier of Australia ’ s Victoria state is stepping up his fight with members of the public who don ’ t comply with pandemic regulations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refuse a test will have to spend 21 days in quarantine .
The state government has announced mandatory quarantine will be extended by 10 days for close contacts if they decide not to be tested on the 11th day of isolation .
The change takes effect at midnight Sunday .
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said a “ very , very high percentage ” of people had submitted to testing but the rule was designed to provide authorities with an even more complete picture .
“ This is just double-checking , triple-checking that you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still got the virus , ” he said .
Victoria reported one more death and 12 new cases on Sunday , taking Victoria ’ s death count from the virus to 810 and the national toll to 898 .
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil ’ s count of COVID-19 deaths surpassed 150,000 despite signs the pandemic is slowly retreating in Latin America ’ s largest nation .
The Brazilian Health Ministry reported that the death toll now stands at 150,198 .
The figure is the world ’ s second highest behind the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Johns Hopkins University .
Brazil ’ s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has played down the severity of the virus while deaths mounted rapidly in Brazil .
The 65-year-old president flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence .
He has rejected governors ’ and mayors ’ lockdowns and other tough measures to contain the virus ’ spread , even after he contracted it himself in July .
But there have been recent signs of relief in Brazil .
Over the last month and a half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The average number of deaths sat at 598 over the last 7 days , the lowest level since the beginning of May .
ANCHORAGE , Alaska - Anchorage public health officials say they are investigating a coronavirus outbreak from a youth hockey tournament that drew teams from around Alaska .
Officials say more than 300 players , coaches and fans were in attendance at the Termination Dust Invitational over a three-day period last weekend .
Teams came from nine cities across the state .
Local health officials did not provide specific numbers as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a result of the event .
But , tournament organizers say they first learned of a positive case in one of the teams on Monday .
They also say they knew of two teams with a positive case each .
ST. LOUIS - Missouri reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday , more than doubling its previous daily record .
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said there have been a total of 144,230 confirmed cases since the outbreak started , up 5,066 cases from Friday .
The state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the total to 2,422 .
The new number more than doubles the previous single-day high of 2,084 new cases , which occurred on July 30 .
Data from the state shows that 1,313 people were hospitalized as of Friday , the second-most for any single day .
The rise in hospitalizations is occurring largely in Missouri ’ s rural communities .
Jayne Dees , administrator of the health department in New Madrid County in the Bootheel region of southeast Missouri , told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that people aren ’ t social distancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a doctor at the SEMO Health Network clinic in New Madrid , said some patients get upset when they are urged to wear masks in the clinic .

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea has confirmed 97 new cases of the coronavirus, a modest uptick from the daily levels reported last week, just as officials ease social distancing restrictions after concluding that transmissions have slowed following a resurgence in mid-August.
The figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Monday brought the national caseload to 24,703, including 433 deaths.
Sixty-three of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country’s 51 million people, where health workers have struggled to track infections tied to various places and groups, including churches, hospitals, schools, workers and troops.
Twenty-nine of the new cases were linked to international arrivals, including 13 passengers from Nepal, most of whom who came to South Korea for a Korean language program.
South Korea relaxed its social distancing guidelines beginning Monday, allowing high-risk businesses like nightclubs and karaoke bars to open as long as they employ preventive measures, such as requiring masks and keeping lists of visitors.
Spectators will also be re-allowed in professional sports, although teams will be initially allowed to only sell 30% of their seats in stadiums.
___
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
- The White House doctor says President Donald Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say whether Trump had tested negative. Some medical experts are skeptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early.
- Trump makes speech from White House balcony, 1st appearance since return to residence
- India’s coronavirus cases top 7 million, a re on track to surpass the United States
- As a second wave of coronavirus infections hit, European nations seem not to have learned their lessons from the first surge
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismisses the latest White House offer in COVID-19 aid talks but remains hopeful progress can be made toward a deal.
- Queen Elizabeth II honors the work of doctors, nurses, delivery drivers, fundraisers and volunteers during the coronavirus pandemic.
—
- Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A “database extract error” resulted in an incorrect inflation of the number of reported COVID-19 cases in Missouri going back over several days, Missouri health officials said Sunday. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said in a news release that it is in the process of migrating all COVID-19 testing and case data into one new consolidated system. Missouri incorrectly reported Saturday on its coronavirus website more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, more than double the previous single-day record. The agency said Sunday it is working urgently to resolve the issue and will update its website with the correct numbers once that is done. It said the problems with the data were limited to cumulative reporting on its Show Me Strong Covid-19 Public Health Dashboard.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The number of people hospitalized in Arkansas with the coronavirus hit a record-high on Sunday of 576. The Arkansas Department of Health said the number of people hospitalized rose by 22. Hospitalizations from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, reached records levels Tuesday through Friday before dropping by six on Saturday. The health department on Sunday reported 613 new cases for a total of 92,833 confirmed and probable cases. With 17 more deaths, the number of confirmed and probable deaths in the state so far rose to 1,569. Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNN on Sunday that he was concerned about the increase in hospitalizations. “Right now, we do have capacity,” Hutchinson said, adding that they’re “watching it very carefully and taking it seriously.”
___
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky’s governor says he will be in isolation after a member of his security detail who drove with his family tested positive for the coronavirus.
Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday that he and his family feel fine and have tested negative for the virus. Beshear’s wife and their two children also will stay isolated.
The governor has stressed the importance of following the advice of health experts to limit the virus’s spread and says that by going into isolation he will be “walking the walk, not just talking the talk.”
Beshear says his family was not in contact with anyone else following the exposure. He says that his family and the state police trooper who accompanied his family all wore facial coverings.
___
MIAMI - Florida officials have reported the state’s biggest one-day total of confirmed coronavirus cases since late August, a day after not releasing any pandemic data because of a problem with a private testing laboratory.
The Florida Department of Health said Sunday there were 3,700 new cases in the previous 24 hours and 1,790 for the day before that. It said there were 180 COVID-19 over both days.
Health officials say they received 400,000 previously reported test results late Friday from Helix Laboratory, which prevented them from processing and releasing the daily data report Saturday. Epidemiologists needed to verify results to make sure cases weren’t counted more than once.
Florida has reported 734,491 known cases of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic and 15,552 deaths.
___
ATHENS, Greece - Greek health authorities have announced a daily record of 13 deaths from COVID-19, along with 280 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections.
The country’s total number of cases since the pandemic started is 22,358, with 449 deaths.
New restrictions on the number of people allowed inside restaurants, museums and archaeological site are being imposed Monday in Athens and several regions around Greece where the incidence of new cases is considered particularly high.
___
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi has been infected with the coronavirus. The Palestine Liberation Organization announced the news Sunday.
The 74-year-old Ashrawi is a senior member of the PLO. Over the decades, the U.S.-educated Ashrawi has made frequent appearances in the international media defending the Palestinian cause.
Last week, another top Palestinian official - Saeb Erekat - also announced he had been infected with the coronavirus.
___
CARBONDALE, Ill. - U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois has tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest lawmaker to confirm being infected. He says he has experienced a mild cough and the loss of taste and smell.
The Republican from southern Illinois released a statement saying he tested positive Thursday night. He says he is suspending his public schedule while isolates himself and staff members with whom he has been in contact with will do the same.
Bost office says he is contacting constituents he has met with in recent days.
___
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Slovakia is imposing new restrictive measures in hopes of curbing a surge in coronavirus infections.
Starting Thursday, it will again be mandatory to wear face masks outside in all cities, towns and villages and there will be a ban on public events, including religious services in churches. Exceptions include weddings, funerals and baptisms with a limited number of participants.
Major professional sports competitions are allowed to continue without fans.
Fitness and wellness centers and public swimming pools will be closed. Restaurants are banned from serving meals indoors, and the number of people in stores and shopping centers is limited.
Starting Monday, all high schools across Slovakia will provide only remote teaching.
This past week, Slovakia reported new highs for confirmed coronavirus cases for four straight days, with a record 1,887 Friday. The country has had a total of 19,851 cases, with 61 deaths.
___
MILAN - Italian experts are meeting to consider new restrictions expected later in the week as Italy continues to pile on new coronavirus infections at a rate of more than 5,000 a day.
The number of new infections spiked by nearly 5,500 Sunday, slightly lower than a day earlier. After reaching lows of even 100 a day early in the summer, new infections have pushed up for the last 2½ months, causing concern among experts and officials.
The government last week mandated masks outdoors, with the exception of physical exercise. Nearly 100 anti-masks protesters in Rome were issued fines for failing to comply during demonstrations this weekend.
Officials reported 26 more deaths from COVID-19 over the previous 24 hours. That Italy’s pandemic death toll to 36,166, the second highest in Europe behind Britain. Italy has registered nearly 355,000 infections.
___
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has announced its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus - 251.
Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said Sunday that Iran’s total death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 28,544, making Iran the hardest-hit country in its region. It’s previous daily high for deaths of 239 came just four days earlier.
Officials reported 3,822 newly confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, raising its total during the pandemic to 500,075. Among those recently infected is the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization, the latest senior official to test positive for the virus.
The government has largely resisted imposing widescale lockdowns as the economy teeters from continued U.S. economic sanctions that effectively bar Iran from selling its oil internationally. Iran’s currency plunged to its lowest level ever Sunday.
___
MOSCOW — Russia’s coronavirus infections have hit a new record for a 24-hour period, with authorities reporting over 13,000 new confirmed cases in the highest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic.
The 13,634 new infections registered Sunday brought the country’s total to nearly 1.3 million, the world’s fourth largest caseload. Russia has also reported over 22,500 deaths.
The Russian authorities have been reporting over 10,000 new cases every day this past week, but maintain there are no plans to impose a second lockdown. Russia has lifted most of the virus-related restrictions imposed in the spring.
At the same time in Moscow, which reported 4,501 new cases on Sunday, officials have recommended the elderly to self-isolate at home and have extended this month’s school holidays by a week. Moscow mayor also ordered employers to have at least 30% of their staff work from home.
___
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey will start reporting its total number of coronavirus infection cases later this week, after coming under criticism for releasing only figures for patients showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in an interview published Sunday by the newspaper Hurriyet that asymptomatic cases will also be included in Turkey’s published data beginning Friday.
Turkey’s latest daily figures from Saturday showed 1,649 new patients and 56 deaths. The country has reported more than 334,000 coronavirus patients since the outbreak started, and 8,778 fatalities.
___
BEIRUT - Lebanon’s Interior Ministry has ordered a lockdown in 169 villages and towns as well as ordering all nightclubs and pubs to close around the country amid a sharp increase of coronavirus cases.
The Ministry said Sunday that the lockdown will begin Monday morning and last until Oct. 19. Pubs and nightclubs will be closed until further notice, it said.
The new lockdown comes a week after the ministry ordered a lockdown in 111 villages and towns that ends Monday morning. Some of those towns are included under the new restrictions.
On Saturday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry registered 1,388 new cases of coronavirus, raising the country’s confirmed total to 52,558 infections and 455 deaths.
Cases in Lebanon have been rising since early July when the country eased a nationwide lockdown and opened its only international airport. The numbers increased dramatically following an Aug. 4 blast in Beirut that killed and wounded many, as people gathered at hospitals, funerals and anti-government protests.
___
LONDON — One of the main medical advisers to the British government has warned that the country is at a “tipping point” in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic, a day before Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce fresh lockdown restrictions for virus hot spots in the north of England.
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said in a statement that the country is at a “tipping point similar to where we were in March.”
The U.K. has experienced Europe’s deadliest outbreak with more than 42,750 deaths.
Van-Tam laid out his hope that history won’t repeat itself in light of better testing and treatments, as well as greater knowledge of the virus itself.
Johnson is on Monday expected to impose additional restrictions in areas where the virus has been spreading fastest in recent weeks. Pubs and restaurants in northern cities like Liverpool or Manchester are expected to be closed.
___
NEW DELHI - India’s confirmed coronavirus toll has crossed 7 million with a number of new cases dipping in recent weeks, even as health experts warn of mask and distancing fatigue setting in.
The Health Ministry on Sunday registered another 74,383 infections in the past 24 hours. India is expected to become the pandemic’s worst-hit country in coming weeks, surpassing the U.S., where more than 7.7 million infections have been reported.
The ministry also reported 918 additional deaths, taking total fatalities to at least 108,334. Experts say all reported numbers seriously understate the impact of the pandemic, due to limited testing, missed cases and in some instances, concealment by authorities.
India, which has nearly 1.4 billion people, saw a steep rise in cases in July and added more than 2 million in August and another 3 million in September. But it is seeing a slower pace of coronavirus spread since mid-September, when the daily infections touched a record high of 97,894.
It’s averaging more than 70,000 new cases daily so far this month.
—
WASHINGTON - The White House doctor says President Donald Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it. The diagnosis came as the president prepared to resume campaign rallies and other activities.
In a memo released Saturday night by the White House, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley said Trump met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognized standards” he was no longer considered a transmission risk.
The memo did not declare Trump had tested negative for the virus. But sensitive lab tests - like the PCR test cited in the doctor’s statements - detect virus in swab samples taken from the nose and throat. Dr. William Morice, who oversees laboratories at the Mayo Clinic, said earlier this week that using the PCR tests, the president’s medical team could hypothetically measure and track the amount of virus in samples over time and watch the viral load go down.
Some medical experts had been skeptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early in the course of his illness. Just 10 days since an initial diagnosis of infection, there was no way to know for certain that someone was no longer contagious, they said.
___
SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea says it’ll will ease its social distancing rules as its caseload has continuously displayed a slowing trend ever after the five-day Chuseok autumn holidays.
Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told reporters Sunday that South Korea has counted an average of 59.4 new cases each day in the past two weeks, compared with 91.5 cases in the earlier two weeks. Earlier Sunday, South Korea reported 58 new cases, taking the country’s total to 24,606 including 432 deaths.
Under relaxed distancing guidelines effective Monday, Park says some high-risk facilities like nightclubs and karaoke bars will be allowed to reopen but they’re required to follow anti-virus steps like wearing masks and keeping a list of clients.
Park says South Korea will lift a ban on the gatherings of more than 50 people indoor and more than 100 outdoor. He says community welfare centers will also be reopened while professional sports leagues can have a limited number of fans back, up to 30% of the stadium capacity.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--U.S. scrambling to hit back at China's 'magic weapon' amid global power grab

China is making a concerted push for control of the post-World War II institutions created to uphold the international order , often using bribery and economic coercion to get its way .
The expanding campaign has prompted calls for the U.S. government to fight back with a permanent entity to craft and implement American strategy to counter China on the global stage .
Analysts say Beijing ’ s campaign has accelerated since 2017 , with a particular focus on securing leadership posts for Chinese officials in U.N. agencies that hold sway over international law and standards for human rights , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health and other matters .
It ’ s a sharp break from past practice .
China , a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council , previously was reluctant to take the diplomatic lead .
Although President Trump has shaken up U.S. policy toward China over the past three years , the Chinese offensive to colonize and dominate multilateral institutions has not gotten the pushback it deserves , say experts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies , a Washington think tank known for hawkish policy recommendations .
“ We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and all-of-country one , and I think precedent has taught us that we can ’ t engage in that kind of a competition unless we have an independent body that is supraordinate and is tasked with this as a mandate , ” said Emily de La Bruyere , a senior fellow with the think tank , said on a recent conference call with The Washington Times .
Congress should create and fund an entity that would “ report directly to the president but otherwise be independent from the National Security Council and existing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bruyere said .
She said the entity should not be large , but nimble and capable of harnessing an all-of-government strategic plan .
Two congressional reports last week found that the Chinese challenge to U.S. interests is rising and that the U.S. lacks the necessary diplomatic , economic and military responses .
One report was by Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence , and the other was by a Republican-run China task force that Democrats declined to endorse .
Both offered a broad range of recommendations , but neither called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency that Ms. de La Bruyere is advocating .
She and other analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warned that China is stepping up its bid for influence in leading agencies such as the World Health Organization just as the Trump administration is disengaging on many fronts .
“ The Chinese government is keen to turn the U.N. and international organizations in general into platforms for its foreign policy agenda … while stifling dissent and democracy and generally hollowing out the rules-based order , ” said Craig Singleton , an analyst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who works on China issues .
“ What ’ s needed now more than ever is a bipartisan approach to addressing the China challenge regardless of which party proves victorious in November , ” Mr. Singleton said .
Analysts say China ’ s expanding influence at the United Nations is not surprising .
It is the organization ’ s second-largest financial contributor after the U.S. and is a rising economic and military superpower .
China and Russia pose a formidable tandem challenge to U.S. interests .
They vetoed resolutions this summer that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration ’ s push to preserve sanctions on Iran .
Veteran American diplomat Jeffrey Feltman , now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution , said fears of a Chinese takeover of the United Nations are “ if not overblown , at least premature , ” but he added that the U.S. has lost some clout even though it remains the biggest single source of U.N. funds .
“ The U.N. can still be a force multiplier for the values and interests of the United States , but only if Washington now competes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deference , ” he wrote in a Brookings survey of Chinese influence issued last month .
“ The U.N. can be characterized as ‘ home turf ’ for the United States , but walking off the field will facilitate China moving in to fill the vacuum , ” he wrote .
If personnel is policy , then China ’ s influence is clearly on the rise .
Chinese candidates put forward by the ruling Chinese Communist Party have won nearly every major election within the U.N. system for several years , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Democracies .
Chinese officials are now at the helm of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization as well as the International Telecommunication Union , which sets global technical standards for digital communications such as the emerging 5G national data networks .
Despite private and at times public opposition from the U.S. , the Chinese now also heads the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs , the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Industrial Development Organization .
UNIDO has increasingly provided official support for China ’ s Belt and Road global infrastructure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of using the Belt and Road Initiative to push predatory loans to weaker nations under the guise of development assistance while it gains financial and political leverage over the borrowers .
Chinese officials sharply reject the allegations and claim Washington engages in such tactics .
Beijing recently won an uncontested election for one of its judges to serve a nine-year term on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea , although China summarily rejected a 2016 tribunal ruling rejecting its expansionist territorial claims in the South China Sea .
The report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ task force highlighted China ’ s success in expanding influence at the United Nations .
The push , the report said , is tied to the Communist Party ’ s United Front Work Department , which is aimed at building international support for Chinese policies .
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping , the department has “ taken on even greater importance within the [ party ] hierarchy , and Xi himself has singled it out as a ‘ magic weapon , ’ ” the report said .
“ This magic weapon can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it typically involves co-opting elites in foreign governments as well as in international organizations in a way that subtly but steadily reshapes the international system away from Western or universal values , ” it said .
“ Corruption is central to the CCP ’ s strategy to reorient the values of the international system.
” Mr. Singleton said China has “ actively sought to weaponize this growing influence at the U.N. ” with the goal of getting the world to turn a blind eye on Chinese domestic vulnerabilities , such as its treatment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record of human rights abuses regarding Tibet and the Uighur population in Xinjiang .
“ Just recently , the world began to express a lot of concern about China ’ s brutal security crackdowns in Hong Kong , as well as China ’ s ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims , ” said Mr. Singleton .
“ [ But ] Beijing was able to leverage its enormous influence at the U.N. Human Rights Council , where a number of other very prominent authoritarian regimes hold seats , to secure a vote in its favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for mass sterilizations in concentration camps .
“ It ’ s kind of unfathomable to think through , ” he said .
“ There have been a lot of examples where Chinese officials have dangled Belt and Road Initiative funding as a corruptive means to convince U.N. member states , particularly ones in Africa , to vote for U.N. leadership candidates so they can set standards on issues affecting everyone in the world .
China has no qualms about holding countries hostage in exchange for their compliance.
” The Trump administration , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with like-minded allies to block Chinese candidates that Beijing often spends years strategically maneuvering into positions of U.N. power .
“ We seem to be finding out about China ’ s wins at the near-last minute , when Beijing is taking months and in some cases years to tee up a candidate and buy support , ” Mr. Singleton said .
“ It ’ s sort of shocking to watch that we ’ re so flat-footed.
” Ms. de La Bruyere added that “ the U.S. can ’ t rival China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the capacity to do this unless we do it in conjunction with allies and partners.
” The private sector must also be marshaled , she said .
“ One of the challenges facing the U.S. is to sit down and say what existing systems for multilateral partnerships still work and haven ’ t been co-opted and can now be repurposed to engage in this new kind of competition over international rules and systems , ” Ms. de La Bruyere said .
“ NATO , might be an example , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a competitive mechanism vis-a-vis China , with allies and not just in a strictly military sense , but across industrial sectors and standards in what China might conceive of as the ‘ military-fusion domain.
’ ” Talk of such initiatives has gained steam recently within Trump administration as well as among NATO member nations .
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said China ’ s emergence as a rising superpower is “ fundamentally shifting the global balance of power ” in ways that should motivate NATO itself to “ become more global.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ E. Biegun recently suggested that an informal defense alignment of the U.S. , Japan , Australia and India , known as the “ Quad , ” could be the core of a NATO-style alliance in Asia .

China is making a concerted push for control of the post-World War II institutions created to uphold the international order, often using bribery and economic coercion to get its way.
The expanding campaign has prompted calls for the U.S. government to fight back with a permanent entity to craft and implement American strategy to counter China on the global stage.
Analysts say Beijing’s campaign has accelerated since 2017, with a particular focus on securing leadership posts for Chinese officials in U.N. agencies that hold sway over international law and standards for human rights, global trade, digital communications, public health and other matters.
It’s a sharp break from past practice. China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, previously was reluctant to take the diplomatic lead.
Although President Trump has shaken up U.S. policy toward China over the past three years, the Chinese offensive to colonize and dominate multilateral institutions has not gotten the pushback it deserves, say experts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank known for hawkish policy recommendations.
“We’re in a great-power competition, an all-of-society and all-of-country one, and I think precedent has taught us that we can’t engage in that kind of a competition unless we have an independent body that is supraordinate and is tasked with this as a mandate,” said Emily de La Bruyere, a senior fellow with the think tank, said on a recent conference call with The Washington Times.
Congress should create and fund an entity that would “report directly to the president but otherwise be independent from the National Security Council and existing bureaucratic structures,” Ms. de La Bruyere said.
She said the entity should not be large, but nimble and capable of harnessing an all-of-government strategic plan.
Two congressional reports last week found that the Chinese challenge to U.S. interests is rising and that the U.S. lacks the necessary diplomatic, economic and military responses.
One report was by Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the other was by a Republican-run China task force that Democrats declined to endorse. Both offered a broad range of recommendations, but neither called for the creation of the kind of agency that Ms. de La Bruyere is advocating.
She and other analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warned that China is stepping up its bid for influence in leading agencies such as the World Health Organization just as the Trump administration is disengaging on many fronts.
“The Chinese government is keen to turn the U.N. and international organizations in general into platforms for its foreign policy agenda … while stifling dissent and democracy and generally hollowing out the rules-based order,” said Craig Singleton, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who works on China issues.
“What’s needed now more than ever is a bipartisan approach to addressing the China challenge regardless of which party proves victorious in November,” Mr. Singleton said.
Analysts say China’s expanding influence at the United Nations is not surprising. It is the organization’s second-largest financial contributor after the U.S. and is a rising economic and military superpower.
China and Russia pose a formidable tandem challenge to U.S. interests. They vetoed resolutions this summer that were critical of Syria and blocked the Trump administration’s push to preserve sanctions on Iran.
Veteran American diplomat Jeffrey Feltman, now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said fears of a Chinese takeover of the United Nations are “if not overblown, at least premature,” but he added that the U.S. has lost some clout even though it remains the biggest single source of U.N. funds.
“The U.N. can still be a force multiplier for the values and interests of the United States, but only if Washington now competes for influence rather than assume automatic U.N. deference,” he wrote in a Brookings survey of Chinese influence issued last month.
“The U.N. can be characterized as ‘home turf’ for the United States, but walking off the field will facilitate China moving in to fill the vacuum,” he wrote.
Winning streak
If personnel is policy, then China’s influence is clearly on the rise.
Chinese candidates put forward by the ruling Chinese Communist Party have won nearly every major election within the U.N. system for several years, according to a tally by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Chinese officials are now at the helm of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization as well as the International Telecommunication Union, which sets global technical standards for digital communications such as the emerging 5G national data networks.
Despite private and at times public opposition from the U.S., the Chinese now also heads the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Industrial Development Organization. UNIDO has increasingly provided official support for China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure investment initiative.
U.S. officials accuse Beijing of using the Belt and Road Initiative to push predatory loans to weaker nations under the guise of development assistance while it gains financial and political leverage over the borrowers. Chinese officials sharply reject the allegations and claim Washington engages in such tactics.
Beijing recently won an uncontested election for one of its judges to serve a nine-year term on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, although China summarily rejected a 2016 tribunal ruling rejecting its expansionist territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The report released last week by the House Republicans’ task force highlighted China’s success in expanding influence at the United Nations. The push, the report said, is tied to the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, which is aimed at building international support for Chinese policies.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the department has “taken on even greater importance within the [party] hierarchy, and Xi himself has singled it out as a ‘magic weapon,’” the report said.
“This magic weapon can take a variety of forms, but it typically involves co-opting elites in foreign governments as well as in international organizations in a way that subtly but steadily reshapes the international system away from Western or universal values,” it said. “Corruption is central to the CCP’s strategy to reorient the values of the international system.”
‘Weaponizing’ the U.N.
Mr. Singleton said China has “actively sought to weaponize this growing influence at the U.N.” with the goal of getting the world to turn a blind eye on Chinese domestic vulnerabilities, such as its treatment of Hong Kong and Taiwan and its record of human rights abuses regarding Tibet and the Uighur population in Xinjiang.
“Just recently, the world began to express a lot of concern about China’s brutal security crackdowns in Hong Kong, as well as China’s ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims,” said Mr. Singleton. “[But] Beijing was able to leverage its enormous influence at the U.N. Human Rights Council, where a number of other very prominent authoritarian regimes hold seats, to secure a vote in its favor, in effect providing diplomatic top cover for mass sterilizations in concentration camps.
“It’s kind of unfathomable to think through,” he said. “There have been a lot of examples where Chinese officials have dangled Belt and Road Initiative funding as a corruptive means to convince U.N. member states, particularly ones in Africa, to vote for U.N. leadership candidates so they can set standards on issues affecting everyone in the world. China has no qualms about holding countries hostage in exchange for their compliance.”
The Trump administration, he said, has squandered opportunities to work with like-minded allies to block Chinese candidates that Beijing often spends years strategically maneuvering into positions of U.N. power.
“We seem to be finding out about China’s wins at the near-last minute, when Beijing is taking months and in some cases years to tee up a candidate and buy support,” Mr. Singleton said. “It’s sort of shocking to watch that we’re so flat-footed.”
Ms. de La Bruyere added that “the U.S. can’t rival China’s scale and simply just doesn’t have the capacity to do this unless we do it in conjunction with allies and partners.” The private sector must also be marshaled, she said.
“One of the challenges facing the U.S. is to sit down and say what existing systems for multilateral partnerships still work and haven’t been co-opted and can now be repurposed to engage in this new kind of competition over international rules and systems,” Ms. de La Bruyere said.
“NATO, might be an example,” she said. “It could absolutely be repurposed into a competitive mechanism vis-a-vis China, with allies and not just in a strictly military sense, but across industrial sectors and standards in what China might conceive of as the ‘military-fusion domain.’”
Talk of such initiatives has gained steam recently within Trump administration as well as among NATO member nations.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said China’s emergence as a rising superpower is “fundamentally shifting the global balance of power” in ways that should motivate NATO itself to “become more global.”
Separately, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun recently suggested that an informal defense alignment of the U.S., Japan, Australia and India, known as the “Quad,” could be the core of a NATO-style alliance in Asia.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-10-11--How CIA tried to wave FBI off Trump-Russia conspiracy as it pointed the finger at Hillary Clinton

The CIA wrote a highly classified three-page memo to FBI Director James B. Comey and agent Peter Strzok telling them that 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to blame Russian computer hacking on rival Donald Trump .
The Washington Times obtained a copy of the heavily redacted memo sent to the FBI on Sept. 7 , 2016 , weeks after Mr. Strzok had opened the Crossfire Hurricane probe into the Trump campaign on suspicion of conspiring with the Kremlin .
Then-CIA Director John O. Brennan wrote in notes that Mrs. Clinton allegedly approved the plan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Intelligence John Ratcliffe had previously described the contents in a letter to Congress .
He declassified the memo and notes on Tuesday at the direction of Mr. Trump .
The president has repeatedly complained he is the victim of a “ Russia hoax ” that said he colluded with the Kremlin .
In a statement Tuesday , Mr. Trump ’ s reelection team said the campaign of Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden , the vice president at the time , should explain whether he had any role in the matter .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now learn what then-Vice President Joe Biden knew about this conspiracy and when he knew it , ” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said .
“ An exchange [ redacted ] discussing U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ’ s approval of a plan concerning U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of private email server , ” the CIA memo says .
Mr. Brennan wrote that on July 26 , Mrs. Clinton allegedly approved “ a proposal from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.
” The information came from a Crossfire Hurricane fusion cell , the memo said , an apparent joint operation of FBI , CIA and other agencies .
Mrs. Clinton received repeated scrutiny during the 2016 campaign for her practice of storing State Department emails on an at-home computer server .
By September , WikiLeaks had released a trove of Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails stolen by Russian military intelligence .
Mr. Ratcliffe sent the memo to Congress ’ intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CNN and accused Mr. Ratcliffe of releasing the memo to help the president politically .
He said he briefed President Barack Obama on the intelligence as well as other Russia election matters .
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff , California Democrat , has termed the intelligence “ Russian disinformation.
” Mr. Ratcliffe , who first notified Congress about the alleged scheme in a letter , issued a statement at the time saying the intelligence is not disinformation .
The documents released Tuesday back up his statement .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-Trump plan , her campaign had received anti-Trump information from its hired opposition researcher , Christopher Steele .
His dossier said there existed an “ extensive conspiracy ” between Russia and the Trump campaign to interfere in the election .
Special counsel Robert Mueller reported in March 2019 that he did not establish such a conspiracy , and no one was charged .
The CIA memo said it was provided to the FBI “ for the exclusive use of your bureau for background , investigative action or lead purposes , as appropriate.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Comey testified last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not recall the CIA memo , which was addressed directly to him .
The CIA directed the FBI to closely guard the memo by keeping it out of court filings and databases .

The CIA wrote a highly classified three-page memo to FBI Director James B. Comey and agent Peter Strzok telling them that 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to blame Russian computer hacking on rival Donald Trump.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of the heavily redacted memo sent to the FBI on Sept. 7, 2016, weeks after Mr. Strzok had opened the Crossfire Hurricane probe into the Trump campaign on suspicion of conspiring with the Kremlin.
Then-CIA Director John O. Brennan wrote in notes that Mrs. Clinton allegedly approved the plan, one declassified document shows.
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe had previously described the contents in a letter to Congress. He declassified the memo and notes on Tuesday at the direction of Mr. Trump.
The president has repeatedly complained he is the victim of a “Russia hoax” that said he colluded with the Kremlin.
In a statement Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s reelection team said the campaign of Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden, the vice president at the time, should explain whether he had any role in the matter.
“It is imperative that the American people now learn what then-Vice President Joe Biden knew about this conspiracy and when he knew it,” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said.
The Brennan memo refers to “the source,” a suspected Russian.
“An exchange [redacted] discussing U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of private email server,” the CIA memo says.
Mr. Brennan wrote in notes: “We’re gaining additional insight into Russian activities.”
Mr. Brennan wrote that on July 26, Mrs. Clinton allegedly approved “a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.”
The information came from a Crossfire Hurricane fusion cell, the memo said, an apparent joint operation of FBI, CIA and other agencies.
Mrs. Clinton received repeated scrutiny during the 2016 campaign for her practice of storing State Department emails on an at-home computer server.
By September, WikiLeaks had released a trove of Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails stolen by Russian military intelligence.
Mr. Ratcliffe sent the memo to Congress’ intelligence committee chairmen.
Mr. Brennan went on CNN and accused Mr. Ratcliffe of releasing the memo to help the president politically. He said he briefed President Barack Obama on the intelligence as well as other Russia election matters.
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat, has termed the intelligence “Russian disinformation.”
Mr. Ratcliffe, who first notified Congress about the alleged scheme in a letter, issued a statement at the time saying the intelligence is not disinformation. The documents released Tuesday back up his statement.
At the time Mrs. Clinton allegedly approved the anti-Trump plan, her campaign had received anti-Trump information from its hired opposition researcher, Christopher Steele. His dossier said there existed an “extensive conspiracy” between Russia and the Trump campaign to interfere in the election.
Special counsel Robert Mueller reported in March 2019 that he did not establish such a conspiracy, and no one was charged.
The CIA memo said it was provided to the FBI “for the exclusive use of your bureau for background, investigative action or lead purposes, as appropriate.”
Apparently the FBI took no action. Mr. Comey testified last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not recall the CIA memo, which was addressed directly to him.
The CIA directed the FBI to closely guard the memo by keeping it out of court filings and databases.
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.