washingtontimes--2020-12-22--In South Africa, child homicides show violence 'entrenched'

CAPE TOWN , South Africa ( AP ) - At night , Amanda Zitho worries her little boy is shivering and cold in his coffin and yearns to take him a blanket .
She knows Wandi ’ s dead and gone and it ’ s senseless , but that doesn ’ t stop the ache .
Wandi was 5 when he was killed in April , allegedly strangled with a rope by a Johannesburg neighbor - another dead child in a land where there are too many .
According to official figures , around 1,000 children are murdered every year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day .
But that statistic , horrific as it is , may be an undercount .
Shanaaz Mathews thinks many more children are victims of homicides that are not investigated properly , not prosecuted or completely missed by authorities .
The official figures are “ just the tip of the iceberg , ” said Mathews , the director of the Children ’ s Institute at the University of Cape Town and probably the country ’ s leading expert on child homicides .
In a country where more than 50 people are murdered every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not spared .
“ Violence has become entrenched ” in the psyche of South Africa , Mathews said .
“ How do we break that cycle ?
” she asked .
In 2014 , she embarked on a research project to uncover the real extent of those child deaths .
She did it by getting forensic pathologists to put the dead bodies of hundreds of newborn babies , infants , toddlers and teenagers on examination tables to determine exactly how they died .
Child death reviews are common in developed countries but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before Mathews ’ project .
As she feared , the findings were grim .
Over a year , the pathologists examined the corpses of 711 children at two mortuaries in Cape Town and Durban and concluded that more than 15 % of them died as a result of homicides .
For context , Britain ’ s official child death review last year found 1 % of its child deaths were homicides .
Mathews ’ research showed homicide was the second most common cause of death for children in those two precincts .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said .
“ If anything , they are going up.
” There are two patterns in South Africa .
Teenagers are being swallowed up in the country ’ s desperately high rate of violent street crime .
But also , large numbers of young children aged 5 and under are victims of deadly violence meted out not by an offender with a gun or a knife on a street corner , but by mothers and fathers , relatives and friends , in kitchens and living rooms , around dinner tables @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child abuse is where the justice system often fails and cases are “ falling through the cracks , ” Mathews said .
There was , she says , the case of a 9-month-old child who had seizures after being dropped off at day care .
Though rushed to the hospital , the child died .
Doctors found severe head injuries and told the mother to go to the police , but no one followed up .
The mother never reported the death .
When investigators tried to revive the case nearly two years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buried and the evidence was cold .
“ I sometimes go through stages when I am more angry with the system than I am with the perpetrators and that ’ s not good , ” she said .
She said justice for children in South Africa is unacceptably “ hard to achieve.
” And failures of justice sometimes lead to more deaths .
The neighbor originally charged with killing Wandi Zitho was released and the case provisionally dropped because the police didn ’ t deliver enough evidence , possibly because of a backlog @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one policeman working the case .
Months later , the woman was arrested again and charged with murdering two other children .
Then there was the case of Tazne van Wyk .
Tazne was 8 when her body was found in February dumped in a drain near a highway nearly two weeks after she disappeared .
She had been abducted , raped and murdered , police said .
Tazne ’ s parents blame the correctional system for paroling the man charged with their daughter ’ s murder despite a history of violent offenses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violated his parole once .
They also fault police for failing to act on a tip that might have saved Tazne in the hours after her disappearance .
The case was high profile .
The Minister of Police spoke at Tazne ’ s funeral and admitted errors .
“ We have failed this child , ” he conceded , pointing at Tazne ’ s small white coffin , trimmed in gold .
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the van Wyk home and promised meaningful action .
Nine months later , Tazne ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service .
“ How many children after Tazne have already passed away ?
Have been kidnapped ?
Have been murdered ?
Still nothing is happening , ” said her mother , Carmen van Wyk .
She sheds no tears .
Instead , anger bubbles inside her and her community .
Houses connected with the suspect and members of his family were set on fire in the wake of Tazne ’ s killing .
It ’ s not just on the police to stop the abuse , said Marc Hardwick , who was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them as a detective in a child protection unit .
He recalls one case , from 20 years ago .
A 6-year-old girl was beaten to death by her father because she was watching cartoons and , distracted as any 6-year-old would be , wasn ’ t listening to him .
When they arrested the father and took him away - he was later sentenced to life in prison - the victim ’ s 9-year-old cousin approached Hardwick and said : “ I think you stopped my bad dreams today.
” Clearly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nightmare , and the other adults had remained silent , said Hardwick : “ The reality is that child abuse is not a topic people want to talk about .
”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - At night, Amanda Zitho worries her little boy is shivering and cold in his coffin and yearns to take him a blanket. She knows Wandi’s dead and gone and it’s senseless, but that doesn’t stop the ache.
Wandi was 5 when he was killed in April, allegedly strangled with a rope by a Johannesburg neighbor - another dead child in a land where there are too many.
According to official figures, around 1,000 children are murdered every year in South Africa, nearly three a day. But that statistic, horrific as it is, may be an undercount.
Shanaaz Mathews thinks many more children are victims of homicides that are not investigated properly, not prosecuted or completely missed by authorities. The official figures are “just the tip of the iceberg,” said Mathews, the director of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town and probably the country’s leading expert on child homicides.
In a country where more than 50 people are murdered every day, children are not special and are not spared.
“Violence has become entrenched” in the psyche of South Africa, Mathews said.
“How do we break that cycle?” she asked.
In 2014, she embarked on a research project to uncover the real extent of those child deaths. She did it by getting forensic pathologists to put the dead bodies of hundreds of newborn babies, infants, toddlers and teenagers on examination tables to determine exactly how they died.
Child death reviews are common in developed countries but had never been done in South Africa before Mathews’ project. As she feared, the findings were grim.
Over a year, the pathologists examined the corpses of 711 children at two mortuaries in Cape Town and Durban and concluded that more than 15% of them died as a result of homicides. For context, Britain’s official child death review last year found 1% of its child deaths were homicides. Mathews’ research showed homicide was the second most common cause of death for children in those two precincts.
“And the numbers are not going down,” she said. “If anything, they are going up.”
There are two patterns in South Africa. Teenagers are being swallowed up in the country’s desperately high rate of violent street crime. But also, large numbers of young children aged 5 and under are victims of deadly violence meted out not by an offender with a gun or a knife on a street corner, but by mothers and fathers, relatives and friends, in kitchens and living rooms, around dinner tables and in front of TVs.
Fatal child abuse is where the justice system often fails and cases are “falling through the cracks,” Mathews said.
There was, she says, the case of a 9-month-old child who had seizures after being dropped off at day care. Though rushed to the hospital, the child died.
Doctors found severe head injuries and told the mother to go to the police, but no one followed up. The mother never reported the death. When investigators tried to revive the case nearly two years later, the baby had long been buried and the evidence was cold.
Joan van Niekerk, a child protection expert, recounts numerous cases tainted by police ineptitude and corruption.
“I sometimes go through stages when I am more angry with the system than I am with the perpetrators and that’s not good,” she said. She said justice for children in South Africa is unacceptably “hard to achieve.”
And failures of justice sometimes lead to more deaths.
The neighbor originally charged with killing Wandi Zitho was released and the case provisionally dropped because the police didn’t deliver enough evidence, possibly because of a backlog in analyzing forensic evidence, according to one policeman working the case. Months later, the woman was arrested again and charged with murdering two other children.
Then there was the case of Tazne van Wyk.
Tazne was 8 when her body was found in February dumped in a drain near a highway nearly two weeks after she disappeared. She had been abducted, raped and murdered, police said.
Tazne’s parents blame the correctional system for paroling the man charged with their daughter’s murder despite a history of violent offenses against children. He’d already violated his parole once. They also fault police for failing to act on a tip that might have saved Tazne in the hours after her disappearance.
The case was high profile. The Minister of Police spoke at Tazne’s funeral and admitted errors. “We have failed this child,” he conceded, pointing at Tazne’s small white coffin, trimmed in gold. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the van Wyk home and promised meaningful action.
Nine months later, Tazne’s parents feel it was all lip service.
“How many children after Tazne have already passed away? Have been kidnapped? Have been murdered? Still nothing is happening,” said her mother, Carmen van Wyk.
She sheds no tears. Instead, anger bubbles inside her and her community. Houses connected with the suspect and members of his family were set on fire in the wake of Tazne’s killing.
It’s not just on the police to stop the abuse, said Marc Hardwick, who was a policeman for 15 years, 10 of them as a detective in a child protection unit.
He recalls one case, from 20 years ago. A 6-year-old girl was beaten to death by her father because she was watching cartoons and, distracted as any 6-year-old would be, wasn’t listening to him.
When they arrested the father and took him away - he was later sentenced to life in prison - the victim’s 9-year-old cousin approached Hardwick and said: “I think you stopped my bad dreams today.”
Clearly, children in that household had been living a nightmare, and the other adults had remained silent, said Hardwick: “The reality is that child abuse is not a topic people want to talk about.”
___
Janssen reported from Johannesburg.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--AP PHOTOS: Europe Photos of the Year

AP PHOTOS: Europe Photos of the Year

Few years in Europe ’ s postwar history will be so little missed as 2020 .
It kicked open the door to fear , upheaval and death on a scale unrivalled in peacetime for more than a century .
Death walked unabashed in cities and villages , the lonely rooms of retirement homes , the overwhelmed intensive care units of hospitals .
Across Europe , AP photographers have captured the images that encapsulate the year gone by .
Images of coffins in affluent northern Italy shocked the continent , just as a picture of a Spanish patient in his hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seaside promenade to recuperate spread a frisson of hope .
As COVID-19 ’ s full power to kill and disrupt invaded the consciousness of hundreds of millions of Europeans , many lives were cut short but all were turned topsy-turvy : Masks became mandatory , workplaces relocated to studies , kitchens and closets lit by the glow of video conferences - punctuated by the hum of household life and cameo appearances by children or pets .
For many , work stopped altogether or was suspended for months by repeated lockdowns , as government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ withered and travel largely ground to a halt , together with most forms of social gathering - this Christmas will be a feast of seclusion .
But the close of the year brought the hope of inoculation .
With vaccines approved in Britain and the European Union , and the first jabs administered , the continent keyed up for an gigantic vaccination race to outstrip the speed of infection .
2020 also unleashed a wave of protest and societal scrutiny , rising from the police killing of a Black man in the U.S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to assess the darker recesses of their own history and examine their enduring contemporary imprint .
Britain officially demolished its political ties with the continent by leaving the EU in January after nearly half a century , and the two sides spent the rest of the year failing to strike a deal on the economic terms of their divorce .
On Europe ’ s easternmost fringes , war in the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh killed thousands and offered an unsettling insight into future battlefields where drones can rain death on ill-prepared armor columns and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a strongman in power for 26 years , whose re-election in a tainted process triggered massive demonstrations that drew a heavy police crackdown .
Migrants and refugees continued to seek a better life in the continent , and hundreds died on their way to European shores .
In Greece , a notorious island camp burned down , only to be resurrected a few miles down the road .

Few years in Europe’s postwar history will be so little missed as 2020.
It kicked open the door to fear, upheaval and death on a scale unrivalled in peacetime for more than a century. Death walked unabashed in cities and villages, the lonely rooms of retirement homes, the overwhelmed intensive care units of hospitals.
Across Europe, AP photographers have captured the images that encapsulate the year gone by.
Images of coffins in affluent northern Italy shocked the continent, just as a picture of a Spanish patient in his hospital bed pushed out onto a sunlit, seaside promenade to recuperate spread a frisson of hope.
As COVID-19’s full power to kill and disrupt invaded the consciousness of hundreds of millions of Europeans, many lives were cut short but all were turned topsy-turvy: Masks became mandatory, workplaces relocated to studies, kitchens and closets lit by the glow of video conferences - punctuated by the hum of household life and cameo appearances by children or pets. For many, work stopped altogether or was suspended for months by repeated lockdowns, as government aid replaced monthly paychecks.
Economic activity withered and travel largely ground to a halt, together with most forms of social gathering - this Christmas will be a feast of seclusion.
But the close of the year brought the hope of inoculation. With vaccines approved in Britain and the European Union, and the first jabs administered, the continent keyed up for an gigantic vaccination race to outstrip the speed of infection.
2020 also unleashed a wave of protest and societal scrutiny, rising from the police killing of a Black man in the U.S. Many European societies were called upon to assess the darker recesses of their own history and examine their enduring contemporary imprint.
Britain officially demolished its political ties with the continent by leaving the EU in January after nearly half a century, and the two sides spent the rest of the year failing to strike a deal on the economic terms of their divorce.
On Europe’s easternmost fringes, war in the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh killed thousands and offered an unsettling insight into future battlefields where drones can rain death on ill-prepared armor columns and troops.
In Belarus, opposition swelled to a strongman in power for 26 years, whose re-election in a tainted process triggered massive demonstrations that drew a heavy police crackdown.
Migrants and refugees continued to seek a better life in the continent, and hundreds died on their way to European shores. In Greece, a notorious island camp burned down, only to be resurrected a few miles down the road.
___
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washingtontimes--2020-12-22--Welcome back, NBA: Here's 10 things to know about the season

The NBA ’ s new season starts Tuesday with a pair of games ; Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets welcoming Durant ’ s former team in Golden State , while the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers open with the Los Angeles Clippers in the renewal of rivals who share a building .
For the first time since March , all 30 NBA teams are playing this week .
When the season resumed in July , only 22 teams went to the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista , Florida .
So , for eight teams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Charlotte , New York , Chicago , Detroit and Cleveland - games will be played for the first time since March .
For others , it ’ s the first time since August .
Others , the first time since September .
And for the Lakers and Miami Heat , who met in last season ’ s NBA Finals , the offseason only started in mid-October .
The league has had 30 teams since 2004 , and on Monday , NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested that it might be time to consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure to mean extra revenue , and while nothing is imminent - really , it ’ s years away if it happens - Silver did say that it is something under advisement .
“ It ’ s an economic issue and it ’ s a competitive issue for us , ” Silver said .
“ So , it ’ s one that we ’ ll continue to study , but we ’ re spending a little bit more time on it than we were pre-pandemic.
” For now and for the foreseeable future @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teams .
The first half of the season goes through March 4 , the second half starts March 11 and runs through May 16 , the play-in tournament goes from May 18 through May 21 , the playoffs start May 22 and the last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22 .
All that is pandemic-permitting , of course .
Everything is subject to change .
But Opening Night , at least , has arrived .
Here ’ s some of what to know going into this season : Larry Bird @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only players in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP awards .
Milwaukee ’ s Giannis Antetokounmpo has a chance this season to join their club .
The Bucks ’ star from Greece - and proud owner of a newly signed supermax extension - is already the first two-time MVP hailing from Europe and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win the award twice before turning 26 .
LeBron James is about at the point where every game he plays creates a new entry in the NBA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this season with 995 consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points scored , the longest such run in NBA history and in position to reach the 1,000 double-digit games in a row milestone when the Los Angeles Lakers play at San Antonio on Dec. 30 - which just happens to be James ’ 36th birthday .
The last time James didn ’ t have at least 10 points in a regular-season game was Jan. 5 , 2007 , when he was held to eight at Milwaukee .
Other milestones within reach for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six triple-doubles shy of 100 ; 654 assists from 10,000 ; 759 points away from 35,000 ; and 1,448 minutes from 50,000 .
Stephen Curry played in only five games last season with Golden State , part of the long list of injured players that derailed any chance the Warriors had of being competitive .
Curry returns this season and likely won ’ t need long to move into No .
2 on the all-time 3-pointers made list .
He enters with 2,495 , just 65 away from Reggie Miller ’ s total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-time mark of 2,973 makes from 3-point range .
At Curry ’ s current career pace of 3.6 made 3 ’ s per game , he would need 134 more games to catch Allen - which means the record could be his in the latter stages of the 2021-22 season .
Houston ’ s John Wall is scheduled to return to the court Wednesday , in what will be his first game since Dec. 26 , 2018 .
To put in context how much time he ’ s missed while recovering from heel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared in a league-high 158 games since Wall ’ s last appearance , 114 of them wins ; Rockets guard James Harden has scored 4,887 points since Wall ’ s last game ; Nikola Jokic has handed out 1,085 assists ( and LeBron James has 1,079 going into Tuesday ) ; and Giannis Antetokounmpo has grabbed 1,664 rebounds .
ALL OR NOTHING The Miami Heat are either going back to the NBA Finals or missing the playoffs entirely .
That is , if the trend from the last seven seasons holds true .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 2013 finals , teams that lost the title series one year either go back to it the following year or completely miss the postseason .
Of the last seven runners-up : The Spurs won the 2014 title , the Heat missed the 2015 playoffs , Cleveland won the title in 2016 , Golden State won the title in 2017 , the Cavaliers lost the finals in 2018 and missed the playoffs in 2019 , and the Warriors missed the playoffs last season .
Sometime in the coming days - possibly as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Christmas games Friday - someone will make the 500,000th 3-pointer in NBA history , including regular-season and playoff games .
There have been 499,549 made 3 ’ s in NBA history .
At last season ’ s pace of made 3 ’ s , with teams combining for almost 25 per game , the 500,000th would come during the matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas night .
So far , 2,337 NBA players have made at least one 3-pointer ; that ’ s 72.9 % of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the league added the shot in the 1979-80 season .
Of the 530 players who appeared in at least one game last season , 463 - or 87.4 % - made at least one 3-pointer .
Toronto enters the season with the longest active streak of season-opening wins ; the Raptors have started 1-0 in each of the last seven seasons .
Brooklyn is the other end of the spectrum ; the Nets have started 0-1 in seven consecutive years .
Another note on opening games : San Antonio ’ s Gregg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are pretty much automatic .
Popovich is entering his 25th season as coach of the Spurs , a stint he started 18 games into the 1996-97 season .
He ’ s coached 23 season-openers , going an absurd 21-2 in those games .
Casey has gone 10-1 in his openers with Minnesota , Toronto and Detroit - with wins in his last seven .
Something to watch this season : how the Los Angeles Clippers handle close games without coach Doc Rivers .
Over the past three seasons , the Clippers went a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both regular-season and playoff matchups .
That .733 winning percentage is the best in the league over that span , well ahead of No .
2 Denver ( 33-16 , .673 ) and No .
3 Cleveland ( 22-15 , .595 ) .
Rivers is coaching Philadelphia now .
The 76ers ranked 21st in the NBA in three-points-or-less games over the last three years , going 20-23 ( .465 ) .
Could Rivers change that ?
Time will tell .
The team that has struggled most in games decided by three points or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 12-27 in those games over the last three seasons and lost a league-high 11 such contests last season .
As Luka Doncic ’ s game keeps evolving , as it will , expect that to change .
Miami ’ s Udonis Haslem - he ’ s 40 , turning 41 in June - is the oldest player in the NBA to start the season , now that Vince Carter is retired .
Jamal Crawford played one game last season ; like Carter , he ’ s older than Haslem but isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the league right now is Oklahoma City ’ s Aleksej Pokusevski .
If he plays in the Thunder opener on Wednesday at Houston , he ’ ll be able to say he debuted in the NBA at 18 - the Serbian rookie doesn ’ t turn 19 until Saturday .
Pokusevski could become the 28th 18-year-old in NBA history .
He won ’ t come anywhere near the record for games played before turning 19 ; that one is held by Kobe Bryant , who appeared in 80 games for the Lakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playoffs .
Sekou Doumbouya played in five games as an 18-year-old for Detroit last season .
He was the first 18-year-old in the NBA since Dragan Bender played nine games at that age for Phoenix in 2016 .
The NBA doesn ’ t expect fans to like every call .
The league also won ’ t mind if fans study the rules a bit deeper as well .
A video rulebook site with hundreds of videos that explain the nuances of certain rules of the game has been revamped and relaunched in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ a deeper look at some of the game ’ s most misunderstood rules and violations .
”

And … it’s back.
The NBA’s new season starts Tuesday with a pair of games; Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets welcoming Durant’s former team in Golden State, while the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers open with the Los Angeles Clippers in the renewal of rivals who share a building.
For the first time since March, all 30 NBA teams are playing this week. When the season resumed in July, only 22 teams went to the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. So, for eight teams - Golden State, Minnesota, Atlanta, Charlotte, New York, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland - games will be played for the first time since March.
For others, it’s the first time since August. Others, the first time since September. And for the Lakers and Miami Heat, who met in last season’s NBA Finals, the offseason only started in mid-October.
The league has had 30 teams since 2004, and on Monday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested that it might be time to consider expansion once again. Extra teams would figure to mean extra revenue, and while nothing is imminent - really, it’s years away if it happens - Silver did say that it is something under advisement.
“It’s an economic issue and it’s a competitive issue for us,” Silver said. “So, it’s one that we’ll continue to study, but we’re spending a little bit more time on it than we were pre-pandemic.”
For now and for the foreseeable future, though, the NBA is 30 teams. The first half of the season goes through March 4, the second half starts March 11 and runs through May 16, the play-in tournament goes from May 18 through May 21, the playoffs start May 22 and the last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22.
All that is pandemic-permitting, of course. Everything is subject to change.
But Opening Night, at least, has arrived. Here’s some of what to know going into this season:
MVP GIANNIS
Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP awards.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has a chance this season to join their club.
The Bucks’ star from Greece - and proud owner of a newly signed supermax extension - is already the first two-time MVP hailing from Europe and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win the award twice before turning 26.
LEBRON’S STATS
LeBron James is about at the point where every game he plays creates a new entry in the NBA’s record book.
He enters this season with 995 consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points scored, the longest such run in NBA history and in position to reach the 1,000 double-digit games in a row milestone when the Los Angeles Lakers play at San Antonio on Dec. 30 - which just happens to be James’ 36th birthday.
The last time James didn’t have at least 10 points in a regular-season game was Jan. 5, 2007, when he was held to eight at Milwaukee.
Other milestones within reach for James this season: He’s six triple-doubles shy of 100; 654 assists from 10,000; 759 points away from 35,000; and 1,448 minutes from 50,000.
WELCOME BACK
Stephen Curry played in only five games last season with Golden State, part of the long list of injured players that derailed any chance the Warriors had of being competitive.
Curry returns this season and likely won’t need long to move into No. 2 on the all-time 3-pointers made list. He enters with 2,495, just 65 away from Reggie Miller’s total of 2,560.
Ray Allen holds the all-time mark of 2,973 makes from 3-point range. At Curry’s current career pace of 3.6 made 3’s per game, he would need 134 more games to catch Allen - which means the record could be his in the latter stages of the 2021-22 season.
WALL’S RETURN
Houston’s John Wall is scheduled to return to the court Wednesday, in what will be his first game since Dec. 26, 2018.
To put in context how much time he’s missed while recovering from heel and Achilles injuries: Danny Green has appeared in a league-high 158 games since Wall’s last appearance, 114 of them wins; Rockets guard James Harden has scored 4,887 points since Wall’s last game; Nikola Jokic has handed out 1,085 assists (and LeBron James has 1,079 going into Tuesday); and Giannis Antetokounmpo has grabbed 1,664 rebounds.
ALL OR NOTHING
The Miami Heat are either going back to the NBA Finals or missing the playoffs entirely.
That is, if the trend from the last seven seasons holds true.
Starting with San Antonio’s loss in the 2013 finals, teams that lost the title series one year either go back to it the following year or completely miss the postseason. Of the last seven runners-up: The Spurs won the 2014 title, the Heat missed the 2015 playoffs, Cleveland won the title in 2016, Golden State won the title in 2017, the Cavaliers lost the finals in 2018 and missed the playoffs in 2019, and the Warriors missed the playoffs last season.
MILESTONE 3
Sometime in the coming days - possibly as early as Wednesday, more likely during the Christmas games Friday - someone will make the 500,000th 3-pointer in NBA history, including regular-season and playoff games.
There have been 499,549 made 3’s in NBA history. At last season’s pace of made 3’s, with teams combining for almost 25 per game, the 500,000th would come during the matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas night.
So far, 2,337 NBA players have made at least one 3-pointer; that’s 72.9% of the players who have appeared in the league since the league added the shot in the 1979-80 season. Of the 530 players who appeared in at least one game last season, 463 - or 87.4% - made at least one 3-pointer.
FOR OPENERS
Toronto enters the season with the longest active streak of season-opening wins; the Raptors have started 1-0 in each of the last seven seasons.
Brooklyn is the other end of the spectrum; the Nets have started 0-1 in seven consecutive years.
Another note on opening games: San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Detroit’s Dwane Casey are pretty much automatic.
Popovich is entering his 25th season as coach of the Spurs, a stint he started 18 games into the 1996-97 season. He’s coached 23 season-openers, going an absurd 21-2 in those games. Casey has gone 10-1 in his openers with Minnesota, Toronto and Detroit - with wins in his last seven.
CLOSE GAMES
Something to watch this season: how the Los Angeles Clippers handle close games without coach Doc Rivers.
Over the past three seasons, the Clippers went a league-best 22-8 in one-possession games, including both regular-season and playoff matchups. That .733 winning percentage is the best in the league over that span, well ahead of No. 2 Denver (33-16, .673) and No. 3 Cleveland (22-15, .595).
Rivers is coaching Philadelphia now. The 76ers ranked 21st in the NBA in three-points-or-less games over the last three years, going 20-23 (.465). Could Rivers change that? Time will tell.
The team that has struggled most in games decided by three points or less? Dallas. The Mavericks are 12-27 in those games over the last three seasons and lost a league-high 11 such contests last season. As Luka Doncic’s game keeps evolving, as it will, expect that to change.
THE OG
Miami’s Udonis Haslem - he’s 40, turning 41 in June - is the oldest player in the NBA to start the season, now that Vince Carter is retired.
Jamal Crawford played one game last season; like Carter, he’s older than Haslem but isn’t currently under contract.
The youngest player in the league right now is Oklahoma City’s Aleksej Pokusevski. If he plays in the Thunder opener on Wednesday at Houston, he’ll be able to say he debuted in the NBA at 18 - the Serbian rookie doesn’t turn 19 until Saturday.
Pokusevski could become the 28th 18-year-old in NBA history. He won’t come anywhere near the record for games played before turning 19; that one is held by Kobe Bryant, who appeared in 80 games for the Lakers as an 18-year-old in 1996-97, including playoffs.
Sekou Doumbouya played in five games as an 18-year-old for Detroit last season. He was the first 18-year-old in the NBA since Dragan Bender played nine games at that age for Phoenix in 2016.
VIDEO RULEBOOK
The NBA doesn’t expect fans to like every call. The league also won’t mind if fans study the rules a bit deeper as well.
A video rulebook site with hundreds of videos that explain the nuances of certain rules of the game has been revamped and relaunched in recent weeks. The league says it offers “a deeper look at some of the game’s most misunderstood rules and violations.”
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--Australian regulator delays decision on Google-Fitbit merger

CANBERRA , Australia ( AP ) - Australia ’ s competition regulator on Tuesday delayed for three months its decision on Google ’ s plan to buy fitness gadget maker Fitbit for $ 2.1 billion despite the European Union giving conditional approval to the deal .
Shares of Fitbit Inc. tumbled almost 7 % before the opening bell .
The European Union regulators last week approved the deal after Google promised to restrict user data and ensure Android phones work with other wearable devices for at least 10 years .
But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undertaking from the Silicon Valley tech giant .
“ We are not satisfied that a long term behavioral undertaking of this type in such a complex and dynamic industry could be effectively monitored and enforced in Australia , ” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement .
“ The ACCC continues to have concerns that Google ’ s acquisition of Fitbit may result in Fitbit ’ s rivals , other than Apple , being squeezed out of the wearables market , as they are reliant on Google ’ s Android system and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work effectively , ” Sims said .
The ACCC would continue its investigation and set March 25 as its decision date , Sims said .
Google said in a statement it was disappointed at the delay but would continue to engage with the ACCC to answer the regulators ’ questions .
Sims said his concerns about the deal were aligned with those of the U.S. Department of Justice than those of the European Union .
Australia wanted to see what the U.S. decided before making its own decision , Sims said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s use of data , he said .
“ We at the ACCC and the DOJ have a very different theory of harm , ” Sims told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “ We ’ re concerned that if Google gets hold of Fitbit , that could mean , just like you ’ ve got a bit of a duopoly with apps , you ’ d have a duopoly with wearables , which in our view would significantly reduce competition , ” he added .
Human rights and consumer groups have called on authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antitrust concerns .

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia’s competition regulator on Tuesday delayed for three months its decision on Google’s plan to buy fitness gadget maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion despite the European Union giving conditional approval to the deal.
Shares of Fitbit Inc. tumbled almost 7% before the opening bell.
The European Union regulators last week approved the deal after Google promised to restrict user data and ensure Android phones work with other wearable devices for at least 10 years.
But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was not prepared to accept a similar court-enforceable undertaking from the Silicon Valley tech giant.
“We are not satisfied that a long term behavioral undertaking of this type in such a complex and dynamic industry could be effectively monitored and enforced in Australia,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement.
“The ACCC continues to have concerns that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit may result in Fitbit’s rivals, other than Apple, being squeezed out of the wearables market, as they are reliant on Google’s Android system and other Google services to make their devices work effectively,” Sims said.
The ACCC would continue its investigation and set March 25 as its decision date, Sims said.
Google said in a statement it was disappointed at the delay but would continue to engage with the ACCC to answer the regulators’ questions.
Sims said his concerns about the deal were aligned with those of the U.S. Department of Justice than those of the European Union.
Australia wanted to see what the U.S. decided before making its own decision, Sims said.
The EU decision was largely focused on Google’s use of data, he said.
“We at the ACCC and the DOJ have a very different theory of harm,” Sims told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We’re concerned that if Google gets hold of Fitbit, that could mean, just like you’ve got a bit of a duopoly with apps, you’d have a duopoly with wearables, which in our view would significantly reduce competition,” he added.
Human rights and consumer groups have called on authorities to block the deal over privacy and antitrust concerns.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years

JERUSALEM ( AP ) - Israel appeared headed to its fourth election in two years on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort to keep the government afloat and push off the automatic dissolution of parliament failed .
Negotiations meant to bring about a budget compromise between the government ’ s two main parties broke down early Tuesday and in a late-night Knesset session , members of the Likud and Blue and White parties voted against a proposal to postpone Tuesday ’ s budget deadline for another two weeks .
The measure failed by 49 votes to 47 .
If the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday , Israeli law stipulates that the Knesset dissolve and triggers snap elections in 90 days .
Most avenues to evade that deadline have been closed off .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’ s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz ’ s Blue and White party have been at loggerheads over the national budget issue since forming a unity government in May .
Netanyahu and Gantz had proposed pushing off Tuesday ’ s deadline by two more weeks in an effort to reach a compromise on the 2020 budget .
But members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motion in a late-night , 11th hour break from party ranks .
“ We do not want elections and we voted against them this evening , but we are not afraid of elections - because we will win !
” the prime minister wrote on Twitter .
Once parliament dissolves , Israelis will head to the polls in March for a fourth time since early 2019 , this time in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic , a major economic recession , and while Netanyahu is on trial for a series of corruption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from within his own camp , Gideon Saar , who broke from the Likud party earlier this month and has called for the long-ruling prime minister ’ s ouster .
Several members of Netanyahu ’ s party who shot down Tuesday ’ s proposal are expected to join ranks with Saar .

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel’s divided government collapsed early Wednesday, triggering the country’s fourth election in under two years and bringing an unprecedented threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lengthy grip on power.
Netanyahu, who is used to labeling his opponents as weak leftists, finds himself confronted by a trio of disgruntled former aides who share his hard-line ideology, led by a popular lawmaker who recently broke away from the prime minister’s Likud party. Whether Netanyahu can fend off these challengers or not, the country is almost certain to be led by a right-wing politician opposed to concessions to the Palestinians, complicating hopes of the incoming Biden administration to restart peace talks.
The prospects of Israel’s center-left bloc appear worse than in previous contests because its leader, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, entered into the ill-fated alliance with Netanyahu. Gantz has lost the support of much of his disappointed base, and the bloc has been left leaderless.
Netanyahu and Gantz formed their coalition last May after battling to a stalemate in three consecutive elections. They said they were putting aside their personal rivalry to form an “emergency” government focused on guiding the country through the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic. Under the deal, Gantz assumed the new role of “alternate prime minister” and was assured he would trade places with Netanyahu next November in a rotation agreement halfway through their term.
The immediate cause of the collapse was their failure to pass a budget by the midnight Tuesday deadline. That caused the parliament to automatically dissolve and set new elections for late March.
But the deeper cause was their troubled partnership, which was plagued by mutual hostility and mistrust from the outset. For seven months, Gantz has suffered a number of humiliations and been kept out of the loop on key decisions, such as a series of U.S.-brokered diplomatic agreements with Arab countries. Netanyahu accuses Gantz’s Blue and White party of acting as an “opposition within the government.”
At the heart of this dysfunctional relationship is Netanyahu’s corruption trial. Gantz has accused Netanyahu of undermining their power-sharing deal in hopes of remaining in office throughout his trial, which is to kick into high gear in February when witnesses begin to take the stand. He and other critics believe Netanyahu ultimately hopes to form a new government capable of appointing loyalists to sensitive positions who could grant him immunity or dismiss the charges against him.
“A criminal defendant with three indictments is dragging the country to a fourth round of elections,” Blue and White said Tuesday night. “If there wasn’t a trial, there would be a budget and there wouldn’t be elections.”
Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals in which he is accused of offering favors to powerful media figures in exchange for positive news coverage about him and his family. His legal troubles, and questions about his suitability to govern, have been the central issue in the string of recent elections.
“The ongoing political crisis will continue as long as Mr. Netanyahu remains prime minister and no government can be formed without him,” said Yohanan Plesner, a former lawmaker who is president of the Israel Democracy Institute.
“I think it is quite safe to assume that this won’t end until either Mr. Netanyahu is replaced or if he finds a way, through legislation or political maneuvering, to either put his trial on hold or suspend it altogether,” he said.
In the previous three elections, Netanyahu was unable to put together a majority coalition with his traditional religious and nationalist allies. Yet he controlled enough seats to prevent his opponents from cobbling together an alternate coalition.
According to recent opinion polls, that equation may be changing, with a number of rivals poised to control a parliamentary majority without him.
Those rivals are led by Gideon Saar, a stalwart in Netanyahu’s Likud who announced this month that he was breaking away and forming a new party. Saar, who once served as Netanyahu’s Cabinet secretary, has accused the prime minister of turning the Likud into a “personality cult” focused on ensuring its leader’s political survival.
If elections were held today, Saar’s party would finish second behind the Likud, appearing to give him a veto over a Netanyahu-led government, according to polls. Saar has vowed he will not serve under Netanyahu.
Naftali Bennett, another former aide who had a falling out with Netanyahu, leads a religious right-wing party that also has surged in the polls. And Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff and a longtime Cabinet minister who now leads his own party, also says the prime minister is unfit to lead.
All of these rivalries are more personal than ideological, meaning that Israel’s next government - led by Netanyahu or not - almost certainly will have a right-wing ideology that opposes Palestinian independence and supports continued Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
The recent polls indicate that Gantz, who appealed to left-wing voters in previous elections, may not receive enough votes to even enter the next Knesset.
Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, appears to be gaining some of those voters, but not enough to lead the next government, according to the polls. The left-wing Labor Party, which established Israel and led the country for its first 30 years, is not expected to cross the threshold, while the far-left Meretz party is expected to barely scrape in.
The Arab-majority Joint List has been plagued by infighting, and it is unclear whether any mainstream party is ready to share power with them. An Arab-led party has never been part of an Israeli government.
In a televised address Tuesday night, Netanyahu turned to his standard playbook, blaming Blue and White for the political breakdown and saying any of his challengers would have to rely on Lapid and “the left” to form a government without him.
“We are against elections; this is a wrong decision by Blue and White,” Netanyahu said. “But If elections are forced upon us, I promise you we will win.”
In addition to his right-wing rivals, Netanyahu will have other factors working against him. In the previous elections, he used his close alliance with President Donald Trump as an electoral asset.
That option will no longer be there after Joe Biden is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Biden is expected to return to the policies of his former boss, President Barack Obama, who had a stormy relationship with Netanyahu over his treatment of the Palestinians.
Netanyahu also must face the voters over his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu scored an achievement this week by making Israel one of the first countries in the world to begin vaccinating its population.
But it remains unclear how many people will be vaccinated by March. And with Israel facing a raging outbreak and the possibility of a third lockdown, angry voters could still punish him for the economic damage caused by the pandemic.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--The Latest: Germany puts more curbs on travel from UK

LONDON - Ireland ’ s prime minister says coronavirus restrictions will be tightened in the country amid concerns that the new variant of the virus identified in southeast England has spread across the Irish Sea .
In an address to the nation , Prime Minister Micheal Martin said the government was acting “ quickly and aggressively ” in response to rising infection rates and that it was proceeding on the assumption that the new variant , which is said to be more virulent than existing strains , was already in Ireland .
He said that in the last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the spread of the virus.
” Figures , he said , suggest the virus is growing by around 10 % a day .
Among the new restrictions to be imposed over the coming days and to last until Jan. 12 , Martin said restaurants and pubs selling food will have to close at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24 .
So-called “ wet pubs ” - those that don ’ t sell food - are already closed .
Shops and schools can stay open , he added .
Congress has easily passed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It would deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths .
The bill has been sent to President Donald Trump for his signature , expected in the coming days .
The effort comes at the end of a year that ’ s become the deadliest in U.S. history .
Preliminary data on U.S. deaths show the coronavirus pandemic contributing to a 15 % or more increase in deaths over last year .
U.S. deaths topped 3 million for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the largest in a single year since 1918 .
HERE ’ S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING : PRAGUE - The lower house of the Czech Parliament has approved a government plan to cut income taxes in an effort to help revive an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic .
The lawmakers have reduced the main tax rate from 20.1 % to 15 % while the top earners will pay 23 % .
The annual cost of the cuts will reach some 100 billion Czech crowns ( $ 4.6 billion ) .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house agreed to increase the flat write-off on personal income tax by 3,000 crowns annually for the next two years .
The cuts split the ruling coalition .
It was pushed through by the centrist ANO ( YES ) movement by Prime Minister Andrej Babis with help from the right-wing opposition .
The other coalition party , the leftist Social Democrats , was against it , arguing it is unjust for low-income employees .
The tax reform had already been approved by the upper house , the Senate .
President Milos Zeman said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will become effective in January .
The Czech central bank expects the economy to contract by 7.2 % this year before bouncing back with 1.7 % growth next year .
BANJA LUKA , Bosnia-Herzegovina - The Serb chairman of Bosnia ’ s rotating three-member presidency , Milorad Dodik , has tested positive for the coronavirus , doctors say .
The 61-year-old leader of Bosnian Serbs was hospitalized on Saturday with stomach pains and nausea after first self-isolating following a meeting with a person infected with COVID-19 .
Doctors said Tuesday that Dodik @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a third test .
They said he has pneumonia but is stable and feeling fine .
Bosnia ’ s health authorities reported 674 new cases and 85 deaths on Tuesday .
The death toll is one of the highest in Bosnia since the start of the pandemic .
BERLIN - The head of Germany ’ s disease control center says it will probably be several weeks before infections in the country , which is nearly a week into a toughened lockdown , start to decline .
Germany has seen new coronavirus cases and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over recent weeks , despite a partial shutdown in place since early November .
Last Wednesday , nonessential shops and schools were closed in a bid to reverse the trend .
Lothar Wieler , the head of the Robert Koch Institute disease control center , said Tuesday that he fears the Christmas period is making the situation worse , despite restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather .
He appealed to people not to travel , to minimize contacts beyond their closest family and where possible meet others outdoors .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19,528 new cases over the past 24 hours , up from 14,432 a week earlier and bringing Germany ’ s total to 1.53 million .
It recorded 731 more deaths , bringing the total to 27,006 .
BELGRADE , Serbia - Serbia has received the first batch of 4,800 vaccines against the new coronavirus .
The vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer arrived Tuesday by cargo plane at Belgrade airport .
Video footage shows workers unloading special containers with the vaccines and transferring them into a truck .
Authorities have said that vaccination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s nursing homes for the elderly in the coming days .
They say more vaccines will arrive in the weeks and months ahead .
Serbia is also testing the Russian vaccine .
Officials have said the citizens will be able to choose which vaccine they want to take .
PARIS - France ’ s Health Minister Olivier Veran says that authorities are expected to approve a coronavirus vaccine by Saturday .
Tuesday ’ s televised remark follows a tweet in which Veran said the first vaccines in the country would be administered from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European Medicines Agency had earlier approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech .
Veran said there is no indication that the new strain of COVID-19 detected in southern England has reached in France .
France ’ s freight and travel connections with the U.K. are suspended until midnight .
TAIPEI , Taiwan - Taiwan has reported a locally transmitted case of COVID-19 - the first in 253 days .
The country ’ s Central Epidemic Command Center said on Tuesday that the patient is as a 30-year old female .
She was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a foreign pilot who was previously confirmed as having contracted the coronavirus .
Health officials are in touch with 167 contacts of both individuals , and have asked 13 of them to quarantine at home .
An official said the pilot , who did not mention the woman as a close contact may be found in violation of Taiwan ’ s epidemic prevention laws and could be fined up to $ 10,000 .
Taiwan has largely shielded itself during the pandemic , recording just seven deaths and 770 confirmed COVID-19 cases .
LJUBLJANA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antigen testing across the country as part of efforts to curb coronavirus infections .
Testing began Tuesday at a central square in the capital Ljubljana .
Authorities say twelve more cities and towns also will designate venues for free testing .
Dozens of people have lined up by mid-morning in Ljubljana to get tested .
The results are back in 15 minutes and the citizens are informed by a message sent to their phones , the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia says .
Slovenian epidemiologists have said rapid tests could be particularly useful in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symptoms of COVID-19 .
Slovenia in the past several days has seen a fall in the numbers of new cases of infection after weeks of strict anti-virus measures .
BERLIN - Germany has expanded its ban on passenger flights from the U.K. to forbid passenger transport by rail , bus and ship .
Health Minister Jens Spahn said the measure took effect at midnight , a day after flights were halted .
A similar measure applies to South Africa , where a new variant of the coronavirus also has been detected .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are exceptions for freight and mail transport , and for medical and humanitarian flights .
A string of European and other countries halted air travel from Britain because of a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England .
A leading German virologist who was initially skeptical about reports that the strain was much more contagious voiced concern after seeing more data .
Christian Drosten , a professor of virology at Berlin ’ s Charite hospital , tweeted that “ unfortunately it doesn ’ t look good.
” But Drosten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased only in areas where there was a high or rising rate of infection , meaning that reducing contacts works against its spread .
ANKARA , Turkey - Turkey has identified and quarantined 4,603 airline passengers who arrived from the United Kingdom on and after Dec. 14 , Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Tuesday .
Flights from the U.K. , South Africa , Denmark and the Netherlands were suspended on Sunday evening in response to a new strain of coronavirus said to be circulating there .
Koca tweeted that 335 passengers flying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sunday ’ s announcement were tested for the virus on arrival in Turkey and isolated .
Many countries have restricted travel , primarily from Britain , after the new strain was described as spreading rapidly there .
SEOUL , South Korea - South Korea will prohibit private social gatherings of five or more people and shut down ski resorts and major tourist spots nationwide starting on Christmas Eve as it contends with a surge in coronavirus infections .
The restrictions announced Tuesday extend to a national level similar rules set earlier by authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the most serious step the government has taken to reinstate social distancing after months of easing .
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun says the measures will be in place at least until Jan. 3 .
The Seoul area has been at the center of a viral resurgence that has overwhelmed hospitals and increased death tolls .
The surge has put pressure on the government to raise social distancing restrictions to maximum levels , something policymakers have resisted for weeks out of economic concerns .
Visitors will also be prohibited at nursing homes and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other religious facilities will be shut .
Restaurants can not seat groups of five or more people , must maintain social distancing between diners and could face fines for violations .
OLYMPIA , Wash. - Washington state Gov .
Jay Inslee has announced new travel restrictions for people arriving from the United Kingdom and South Africa , where a seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus is circulating .
Inslee said Monday he will order travelers coming from either of those two nations to quarantine for 14 days .
He says the order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those countries in the past few days .
Inslee says the quarantine measures are precautionary and meant to stem a possible surge in cases that could overwhelm hospitals .
The quarantine is mandatory and although it is legally enforceable , Inslee says no one will be taken into custody over it .
WASHINGTON - Two of the U.S. military ’ s top officers have received the coronavirus vaccine .
Army Gen. Mark Milley , who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , and Air Force Gen. John Hyten , the vice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their shots Monday .
They received the Pfizer vaccine .
Other members of the Joint Chiefs are also expected to get shots as part of a campaign to reassure those serving in the military branches that the vaccine is safe .

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea has added 1,092 new coronavirus cases in a resurgence that is erasing hard-won epidemiological gains and eroding public confidence in the government’s ability to handle the outbreak.
The national caseload has jumped by a quarter in the last two weeks alone, the death toll is rising and the number of sick patients is raising concerns of a shortage in intensive care beds.
South Korea had been seen as a success story against COVID-19 after health workers managed to contain a major outbreak in its southeastern region in the spring. But critics say the country gambled on its own success by easing social distancing restrictions to help the economy.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
Congress has easily passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package. It would deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The bill has been sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, expected in the coming days. The effort comes at the end of a year that’s become the deadliest in U.S. history. Preliminary data on U.S. deaths show the coronavirus pandemic contributing to a 15% or more increase in deaths over last year. U.S. deaths topped 3 million for the first time, and the percentage increase was the largest in a single year since 1918.
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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
LIMA, Peru - Peru has passed 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. It is the fifth nation in Latin America to report that number as the region struggles with the pandemic’s economic and health effects.
Peru’s government was quick to declare lockdown measures for its 32 million people last March as the pandemic spread in Europe. But in spite of closing its airports for almost six months and ordering most of its residents to stay at home it has struggled to contain the virus.
Officials say they had recorded 1,000,153 cases as of Tuesday evening.
More than 37,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Peru. That gives the Andean nation the world’s second highest per capita death toll from the pandemic, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
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MEXICO CITY - Mexican officials have reported a new daily high in confirmed coronavirus cases as the country awaits its first shipment of vaccine.
The Health Department reported 12,511 infections Tuesday, bringing the total to almost 1.34 million since the pandemic began. The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths rose by 897 to almost 119,500, though because so little testing is done in Mexico officials estimate the real death toll is closer to 180,000.
Hundreds of health care workers are being flown into Mexico City from less hard-hit states since the capital has become the epicenter of the country’s pandemic. Roughly 86% of the city’s hospital beds are in use, and authorities are racing to open expansion facilities.
Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard says Mexico expects to receive its first shipment of the Pfzier-BioNTech vaccine Wednesday. Priority will be given to front-line health workers and the elderly.
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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - The Navajo Nation is reporting 151 new coronavirus cases and seven more deaths related to COVID-19.
The latest figures were reported Tuesday by the Navajo Department of Health for the reservation that extends over parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Navajo Nation has reported 755 deaths since the pandemic hit.
The Health Department says the first doses of the recently approved vaccine made by Moderna have arrived at the Navajo Area Indian Health Service.
The Navajo Nation is in a three-week lockdown requiring all residents to stay home except for dealing with emergencies, shopping for essentials like food and medicine or traveling to an essential job.
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SYDNEY - Authorities in Australia have announced a temporary relaxation of pandemic restrictions for most of the Sydney area, allowing unlimited numbers of children to attend Christmas gatherings despite a cluster of coronavirus cases linked to the city’s northern beaches.
While Sydney residents will still be limited to 10 for gatherings, children under age 12 will not be counted in that number from Thursday through Saturday.
The northern beaches region at the heart of the virus cluster has been under stricter restrictions since Saturday. That region was divided in two Wednesday, with the lower part under a less severe lockdown.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the Christmas concessions are “very modest” and will be reviewed daily.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says two facilities will be constructed to provide over 100 additional hospital beds in case they are needed for COVID-19 patients.
The governor said Tuesday that while the state’s existing capacity has been able to manage the current caseload, there could be a spike in cases following the Christmas holiday, as there was after Thanksgiving. He says that “we have to be ready for whatever comes in January.”
He says the “alternative care sites” will provide a total of 124 new beds and cost $7.4 million.
Hutchinson says there are 1,103 people now hospitalized in Arkansas for COVID-19. He says the state has had 205,048 confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections so far, with 3,338 deaths.
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MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says his administration has partnered with a medical testing company to provide free at-home coronavirus tests for people lacking health insurance coverage.
Officials are concerned that fewer people are getting tested, leading to a false picture of the virus’ prevalence in Wisconsin. Some 6,852 people were tested in the preceding 24 hours, compared to about 20,000 a day in mid-November.
The governor says the deal with Vault Medical Services takes effect immediately, and anyone can order an at-home saliva test through the Department of Health Services website. The person will take a sample as a Vault testing supervisor looks on via a Zoom connection and return the sample using a prepaid label. Results will take two to three days.
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BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is extending pandemic restrictions on businesses and activities, and he’s warning the holidays threaten to exacerbate the states latest coronavirus surge.
The governor’s announcement Tuesday came as Louisiana reached its highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients since April.
Edwards’ rules were toughened in late November. They were set to expire Wednesday, but he is renewing them through Jan. 13.
He says that “it remains a very perilous situation for the state with respect to COVID.”
The state health department says at least 22,000 hospital workers and EMS employees in Louisiana have received their first of two vaccinations so far.
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TUNIS, Tunisia - Tunisia is extending its curfew until Jan. 15 to cover the New Year’s holiday and urging people not to hold end-of-year festivities or travel around the country to slow the virus spread.
Health Minister Faouzi Madhi announced the decision Tuesday, saying the country has seen an average of 50 virus-related deaths per day over the last quarter of this year. He blamed the infections on growing complacency toward masks and social distancing.
The head of the Pasteur Institute in Tunis, Hachemi Louzir, said that the country has not registered any cases of the new virus variant identified in Britain so far. Tunisia suspended all flights with Britain, South Africa and Australia this week because of new, apparently more contagious virus variants.
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ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says the state will again use a convention center for patient beds amid a surge in coronavirus cases that is straining hospital capacity.
The Republican governor said Tuesday the Georgia World Congress Center will have 60 beds and should be able to take patients starting next week. He expects the center to serve as an overflow hospital through January.
Kemp said the virus remained a threat despite the rollout of a vaccine. He encouraged residents to meet virtually over the holidays or gather outdoors with just a few people in the same household.
The convention center has served as a hospital before during the pandemic. In April, the state signed a contract to build a 200-bed health care facility at the site.
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BOISE, Idaho - The governor of Idaho says the state is in a race to get people vaccinated against the coronavirus while simultaneously limiting its spread long enough to avoid running out of healthcare capacity.
Republican Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday that the vaccination program is a high priority for him and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen.
Little says the state on Tuesday received 28,000 doses of a recently approved vaccine from Moderna Inc. That is in addition to the 23,700 doses the state has been receiving from Pfizer-BioNTech.
The first round of vaccines is going to an estimated 130,000 front-line healthcare workers and people in long-term care facilities.
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BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia’s president says that Venezuelan migrants who are living in the country without residence permits won’t be given free COVID-19 vaccines when those arrive in the South American country - possibly leaving hundreds of thousands unvaccinated.
In an interview Monday with Blu Radio, President Ivan Duque said that giving free vaccines to undocumented immigrants could “unleash a stampede” of Venezuelans crossing into neighboring Colombia to get vaccinated.
Duque said migrants who have regularized their status in Colombia would also be eligible for free vaccines as long as they fall into the categories that the Ministry of Health has outlined for who gets vaccinated first.
Columbian immigration authorities say more than 1.8 million Venezuelans currently live in Colombia and about 60% of them do not have a residence permit.
Duque’s comments were widely rejected by health experts and migrants’ rights groups, who said that leaving out a vulnerable group from a vaccination program would be counterproductive and unethical.
Dr. Juan Carlos Viloria, who leads an association of Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia, said not vaccinating everyone could put thousands of people at risk.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. - The governor of Kentucky and his wife received COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday along with other top state lawmakers.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, joined by his wife, first lady Britainy Beshear, thanked the top two Republican legislative leaders, Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers, for joining him in “setting the right example for the people of Kentucky.”
Beshear said the head of the Kentucky national guard, lieutenant governor, and state police commissioner will receive vaccines on Wednesday.
About 7,000 Kentucky residents, the vast majority of them health care workers in hospitals, have been vaccinated since Dec. 14.
Kentucky reports 3,057 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 28 virus-related deaths Tuesday. The state’s test positivity rate is 8.48%, down slightly from Monday.
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WASHINGTON - Health officials have paused part of three global studies testing blood thinners in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, saying the treatment does not seem to be helping those most seriously ill and that they cannot rule out the chance it could be harmful.
Blood clots and inflammation plague many with COVID-19, and the studies are testing various medicines to see if they can prevent organ damage.
A statement from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which is involved in some of the studies, says independent monitors recommended pausing enrollment after seeing no benefit from blood thinners in critically ill patients needing intensive care.
The statement notes that increased bleeding is a common complication with these drugs but gives no details on whether or how often that occurred in these studies.
They are underway in many countries and are supported by health agencies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and European nations.
___
AUSTIN, Texas - The governor of Texas has joined the ranks of governors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on live television in hopes of assuring the public that the inoculations are safe.
Republican Greg Abbott said after getting the vaccine Tuesday at a hospital in the state capital that federal health officials have urged governors to set an example. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also received the first dose this week, while other governors have said they’ll wait.
A resurgence of the virus in Texas has put the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients back over 10,000 for only the second time during the pandemic. Nearly 11,000 people were hospitalized in July during a deadly summer outbreak.
But Abbott says this time he won’t impose new lockdown measures again as cases climb.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--Coast Guard looking for whale protection violations off VA

The U.S. Coast Guard is looking out for violations of rules designed to protect a rare species of whale from @ @ @ @ @ Guard Sector Virginia said it has become aware of “ potential violations of the North @ @ @ @ @ reduction speed restrictions in place for the entrance to Chesapeake Bay .
” The whales @ @ @ @ @ they are vulnerable to ship strikes .
The Coast Guard said vessels that are 65 @ @ @ @ @ at 10 knots or less when they come within 20 nautical miles of the entrance @ @ @ @ @ 1 and April 30 .
The whales come north in the spring to feed and @ @ @ @ @ England and Canada .

The U.S. Coast Guard is looking out for violations of rules designed to protect a rare species of whale from collisions with ships.
Coast Guard Sector Virginia said it has become aware of “potential violations of the North Atlantic right whale ship strike reduction speed restrictions in place for the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. ” The whales number less than 400 and they are vulnerable to ship strikes.
The Coast Guard said vessels that are 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots or less when they come within 20 nautical miles of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay between Nov. 1 and April 30. The whales come north in the spring to feed and are often seen off New England and Canada.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--Afghan police say bomb tears through car, killing 5

KABUL , Afghanistan ( AP ) - A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in the Afghan capital of Kabul Tuesday , killing at least five people , three of them doctors , police said .
The doctors worked at the Puli Charkhi prison , Kabul ’ s main penitentiary , and were killed as they were on the way to their office in the city ’ s Doghabad neighborhood .
It was not immediately clear if the doctors were targeted in the attack .
Their car , a white sedan , did not appear to have any markings on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical workers .
The vehicle was almost completely destroyed in the blast .
Ferdaws Faramarz , a spokesman for the Kabul police chief , said two others were wounded in the attack .
Farhad Bayani , a spokesman for the office of the prison administration , said that four prison staff were killed in the blast , including the three doctors and their driver .
He said that among those killed was Nazefa Ibrahimi , the acting health director of the prison .
Another doctor was in serious condition .
The identity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known .
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack , which damaged nearby buildings and shops .
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital of Kabul in recent months , including on educational institutions that killed 50 people , most of them students .
IS also claimed responsibility for Saturday ’ s rocket attacks at the major U.S. base in Afghanistan .
There were no casualties in that assault , according to NATO and provincial officials .
In other violence , late on Monday Taliban insurgents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ northern Baghlan province , killing two security officers and wounding two others , according to Jawed Basharat , a spokesman for the provincial police chief .
He added that four Taliban were also killed while two others were wounded in the battle .
Also Monday , in northern Faryab province , at least two security officers were killed and five others were wounded when Taliban militants detonated a vehicle full of explosives in a market , said Hanif Rezaie , a spokesman for the army in the country ’ s north .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and around 20 others including a member of the parliament were wounded in Kabul when legislator Khan Mohammad Wardak ’ s convoy was targeted by a car bomb , according to the Afghan Interior Ministry .
Wardak was wounded in the attack .
Violence in Afghanistan has spiked even as the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators hold talks in Qatar , trying to hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war .
At the same time , the Taliban have waged bitter battles against IS fighters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their insurgency against government forces .

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in the Afghan capital of Kabul Tuesday, killing at least five people, three of them doctors, police said.
The doctors worked at the Puli Charkhi prison, Kabul’s main penitentiary, and were killed as they were on the way to their office in the city’s Doghabad neighborhood.
It was not immediately clear if the doctors were targeted in the attack. Their car, a white sedan, did not appear to have any markings on it that indicated that its passengers were medical workers. The vehicle was almost completely destroyed in the blast.
Ferdaws Faramarz, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said two others were wounded in the attack.
Farhad Bayani, a spokesman for the office of the prison administration, said that four prison staff were killed in the blast, including the three doctors and their driver. He said that among those killed was Nazefa Ibrahimi, the acting health director of the prison. Another doctor was in serious condition.
The identity of the fifth person killed was not immediately known.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which damaged nearby buildings and shops.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital of Kabul in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people, most of them students.
IS also claimed responsibility for Saturday’s rocket attacks at the major U.S. base in Afghanistan. There were no casualties in that assault, according to NATO and provincial officials.
In other violence, late on Monday Taliban insurgents launched attacks against Afghan security checkpoints in northern Baghlan province, killing two security officers and wounding two others, according to Jawed Basharat, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.
He added that four Taliban were also killed while two others were wounded in the battle.
Also Monday, in northern Faryab province, at least two security officers were killed and five others were wounded when Taliban militants detonated a vehicle full of explosives in a market, said Hanif Rezaie, a spokesman for the army in the country’s north.
On Sunday at least nine people were killed and around 20 others including a member of the parliament were wounded in Kabul when legislator Khan Mohammad Wardak’s convoy was targeted by a car bomb, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry. Wardak was wounded in the attack.
Violence in Afghanistan has spiked even as the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators hold talks in Qatar, trying to hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war.
At the same time, the Taliban have waged bitter battles against IS fighters, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, while continuing their insurgency against government forces.


washingtontimes--2020-12-22--High court opening tops Pennsylvania's 2021 judicial races

HARRISBURG , Pa. ( AP ) - Statewide judicial races will be among Pennsylvania ’ s most closely watched election contests in the coming year , with lawyers and judges around the state already lining up supporters and trying to figure out if they can raise enough money to win .
The marquee race will be for Supreme Court , where the Democrats ’ 5-2 majority has flexed its muscle with a series of rulings this year about mail-in balloting and coronavirus restrictions .
Chief Justice Thomas Saylor , a Republican , will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in GOP hands is critical to his party ’ s hopes to eventually reclaim a majority on the high court .
While a lot can change , for now at least three Superior Court judges are running - Democrats Maria McLaughlin and Carolyn Nichols , and Republican Vic Stabile .
Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson , a Republican , is also considering it .
Pay for appeals court judges starts at $ 202,000 .
The two state party organizations will decide in the coming months whether to endorse a candidate in the May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be .
Endorsements would likely narrow the field .
They come with financial and logistical backing that are particularly important for judicial candidates , who are generally not career politicians and face special restrictions on their role in fundraising .
Stabile contacted members of the Republican State Committee last week to say he wants the endorsement .
“ I would run , of course , if I got the endorsement , ” Stabile said .
And if not ?
“ In all likelihood , I would respect that , wish the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I am in it to run , ” she said Monday .
“ I ’ m certainly out there attending virtual meetings and putting myself out there .
I ’ m in an early stage.
” On Superior Court , an intermediate appeals court that handles most criminal and civil appeals from county courthouses , two judges are seeking retention in unopposed , up-or-down contests .
Superior Court terms are 10 years , but if Republican Judge John T. Bender ’ s retention campaign is successful he will serve briefly before reaching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Judge Mary Jane Bowes , a Republican , will also stand for retention .
Nearly every statewide justice or judge who has ever run for retention has won .
The lone Superior Court vacancy is now held by Republican Judge Susan P. Gantman , who is retiring after 17 years .
Gantman said her plans include writing children ’ s books on the topic of civics .
At least three Democrats are running - Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Timika Lane and Pittsburgh civil litigation lawyers Jill Beck and Bryan Neft .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , front and back , up and down , ” said Beck , who worked as a judicial clerk and has handled cases before Superior Court as a lawyer .
“ It ’ s a role that I feel uniquely qualified to fill.
” Neft , a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association , said he has been setting up fundraising and meeting with party activists ahead of the Democratic endorsement decision .
In Commonwealth Court , which handles litigation in which government officials and entities are parties , President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year after two 10-year terms .
Multiple court and party officials said Republican judges Renee Cohn Jubelirer and Anne E. Covey are both expected to seek retention , although neither returned calls seeking comment .
Commonwealth Court Judge Drew Crompton , a Republican who was for many years a top GOP lawyer in the state Senate , was appointed to fill a vacancy early this year .
He said Monday he will be among those running in conventional , contested elections for the two openings .
At least one Democrat has announced a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thomas Street is a Philadelphia common pleas jurist who called her campaign part of her goal to “ create a fair and equitable court to resolve disputes with the respect and dignity that everyone rightfully deserves.
” Republican Mike Dimino , a Widener Law School professor from the Carlisle area , said late last week he was considering a run for Commonwealth Court .
“ I am assessing whether there would be some interest in my running .
There has been some , so I ’ m continuing to do that kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Statewide judicial races will be among Pennsylvania’s most closely watched election contests in the coming year, with lawyers and judges around the state already lining up supporters and trying to figure out if they can raise enough money to win.
The marquee race will be for Supreme Court, where the Democrats’ 5-2 majority has flexed its muscle with a series of rulings this year about mail-in balloting and coronavirus restrictions.
Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, a Republican, will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2021, and keeping his seat in GOP hands is critical to his party’s hopes to eventually reclaim a majority on the high court.
While a lot can change, for now at least three Superior Court judges are running - Democrats Maria McLaughlin and Carolyn Nichols, and Republican Vic Stabile. Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson, a Republican, is also considering it. Pay for appeals court judges starts at $202,000.
The two state party organizations will decide in the coming months whether to endorse a candidate in the May primary and if so, who that will be.
Endorsements would likely narrow the field. They come with financial and logistical backing that are particularly important for judicial candidates, who are generally not career politicians and face special restrictions on their role in fundraising.
Stabile contacted members of the Republican State Committee last week to say he wants the endorsement.
“I would run, of course, if I got the endorsement,” Stabile said. And if not? “In all likelihood, I would respect that, wish the other person good luck and step aside.”
Nichols plans a formal announcement next month.
“I am in it to run,” she said Monday. “I’m certainly out there attending virtual meetings and putting myself out there. I’m in an early stage.”
On Superior Court, an intermediate appeals court that handles most criminal and civil appeals from county courthouses, two judges are seeking retention in unopposed, up-or-down contests.
Superior Court terms are 10 years, but if Republican Judge John T. Bender’s retention campaign is successful he will serve briefly before reaching age 75. Party and court sources said Judge Mary Jane Bowes, a Republican, will also stand for retention. Nearly every statewide justice or judge who has ever run for retention has won.
The lone Superior Court vacancy is now held by Republican Judge Susan P. Gantman, who is retiring after 17 years. Gantman said her plans include writing children’s books on the topic of civics.
At least three Democrats are running - Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Timika Lane and Pittsburgh civil litigation lawyers Jill Beck and Bryan Neft.
“I know this court inside and out, front and back, up and down,” said Beck, who worked as a judicial clerk and has handled cases before Superior Court as a lawyer. “It’s a role that I feel uniquely qualified to fill.”
Neft, a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, said he has been setting up fundraising and meeting with party activists ahead of the Democratic endorsement decision.
In Commonwealth Court, which handles litigation in which government officials and entities are parties, President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt is retiring next year after two 10-year terms. Multiple court and party officials said Republican judges Renee Cohn Jubelirer and Anne E. Covey are both expected to seek retention, although neither returned calls seeking comment.
Commonwealth Court Judge Drew Crompton, a Republican who was for many years a top GOP lawyer in the state Senate, was appointed to fill a vacancy early this year. He said Monday he will be among those running in conventional, contested elections for the two openings.
At least one Democrat has announced a candidacy for Commonwealth Court. Judge Sierra Thomas Street is a Philadelphia common pleas jurist who called her campaign part of her goal to “create a fair and equitable court to resolve disputes with the respect and dignity that everyone rightfully deserves.”
Republican Mike Dimino, a Widener Law School professor from the Carlisle area, said late last week he was considering a run for Commonwealth Court.
“I am assessing whether there would be some interest in my running. There has been some, so I’m continuing to do that kind of investigation,” Dimino said Friday.