washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Fairfax schools backtrack on in-person reopening option

FALLS CHURCH , Va. ( AP ) - The nation ’ s 10th largest school system , which faced criticism from the Trump administration for offering only two days a week of in-person instruction in the fall , is now backing away from offering any in-person instruction .
The recommendation made Tuesday by Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand comes after weeks of planning for a hybrid opening in the fall , in which families could elect full-time distance learning , or an in-person option that featured two days of in-person learning plus two days of independent online learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chosen in-person learning .
A majority of teachers , though - 52 percent - said they wanted to teach online only .
Brabrand cited a resurgence of the virus nationally as a major reason for the change , even though in Fairfax County and northern Virginia the rate of coronavirus cases has essentially remained steady for more than a month after falling dramatically from a peak in in April and May .
“ We are not in the same position we were just three weeks ago , ” Brabrand said .
The vast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington , D.C. , region are opening online only .
Neighboring Loudoun County was the only major school system in the region that had been forging ahead with a plan for in-person learning , but on Tuesday the school board there also announced its intention to backtrack and begin the year fully online .
Fairfax County found itself a punching bag for critics in the national debate over school reopening .
The most prominent criticism of FCPS has come from Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos , who said even before the school system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the choices offered were “ not valid options and choices for families and it ’ s not full-time instruction.
” On the other side , teachers ’ unions faulted the school system for offering any kind of in-person instruction , saying it puts staff at unnecessary risk of infection .
One teachers ’ union has said instruction should remain virtual until a vaccine is available .
The attention paid to the nation ’ s 10th largest school system , located just outside the nation ’ s capital in one of America ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brabrand said in an interview last week .
“ For a lot of the policymakers at the national levels , Fairfax County is their local school system , ” Brabrand said .
Exacerbating the situation , he said , is the fact that “ school reopening has been politicized as an issue at the national electoral level.
” School board member Megan McLaughlin called Brabrand ’ s backtrack a “ breach of trust , ” noting that Fairfax County has not seen the surge or uptick in cases that has occurred nationally and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a majority of board members indicated at Tuesday ’ s work session that they ’ d support Brabrand ’ s recommendation .
School board member Abrar Omeish had been advocating throughout for a full-time online opening , perhaps allowing for small exceptions for special-education students and those for whom English is a second language .
She was concerned that offering a choice to families placed such a massive strain on the system such that neither option would be successful .
“ In my view trying to build up essentially two campuses in two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s conducive for success , ” she said in a phone interview Monday .
Some parents are leery of the online option after Fairfax County schools fumbled the transition to distance learning in the spring with reports of widespread technical failures and misbehavior .
Brabrand acknowledged the initial problems but said the online experience “ soared ” in the final two months after an initial two weeks of struggles .
Kathy Haight , whose daughter Christine will be attending George C. Marshall High School in the fall , had opted for in-person instruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She said she was reassured about the safety of in-person instruction by the school ’ s principal , who conducted an online town hall meeting and emphasized strict enforcement of mask wearing and other preventive measures .
“ I know she needs to be at school .
She needs the in-person instruction , ” Haight said of her daughter .
Dionna Wise , who has three children at Marshall , chose full-time distance learning over their objections .
She said the risk of virus exposure is too high , especially considering that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home with them .
“ All the reasons the kids want to be in school are not going to be the reality , ” she said .
“ They ’ re not going to be able to go to school and stand in the hallway and talk to friends .
It ’ s not going to be what you think it ’ s going to be , ” she said .
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https : //apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https : //apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - The nation’s 10th largest school system, which faced criticism from the Trump administration for offering only two days a week of in-person instruction in the fall, is now backing away from offering any in-person instruction.
The recommendation made Tuesday by Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand comes after weeks of planning for a hybrid opening in the fall, in which families could elect full-time distance learning, or an in-person option that featured two days of in-person learning plus two days of independent online learning.
Roughly 60 percent of families had chosen in-person learning. A majority of teachers, though - 52 percent - said they wanted to teach online only.
Brabrand cited a resurgence of the virus nationally as a major reason for the change, even though in Fairfax County and northern Virginia the rate of coronavirus cases has essentially remained steady for more than a month after falling dramatically from a peak in in April and May.
“We are not in the same position we were just three weeks ago,” Brabrand said.
The vast majority of public school systems in the Washington, D.C., region are opening online only. Neighboring Loudoun County was the only major school system in the region that had been forging ahead with a plan for in-person learning, but on Tuesday the school board there also announced its intention to backtrack and begin the year fully online.
Fairfax County found itself a punching bag for critics in the national debate over school reopening. The most prominent criticism of FCPS has come from Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who said even before the school system backed away from its in-person option that the choices offered were “not valid options and choices for families and it’s not full-time instruction.”
On the other side, teachers’ unions faulted the school system for offering any kind of in-person instruction, saying it puts staff at unnecessary risk of infection. One teachers’ union has said instruction should remain virtual until a vaccine is available.
The attention paid to the nation’s 10th largest school system, located just outside the nation’s capital in one of America’s wealthiest counties, is not surprising, Brabrand said in an interview last week.
“For a lot of the policymakers at the national levels, Fairfax County is their local school system,” Brabrand said. Exacerbating the situation, he said, is the fact that “school reopening has been politicized as an issue at the national electoral level.”
School board member Megan McLaughlin called Brabrand’s backtrack a “breach of trust,” noting that Fairfax County has not seen the surge or uptick in cases that has occurred nationally and in other parts of Virginia.
But a majority of board members indicated at Tuesday’s work session that they’d support Brabrand’s recommendation.
School board member Abrar Omeish had been advocating throughout for a full-time online opening, perhaps allowing for small exceptions for special-education students and those for whom English is a second language. She was concerned that offering a choice to families placed such a massive strain on the system such that neither option would be successful.
“In my view trying to build up essentially two campuses in two months is not a plan that’s conducive for success,” she said in a phone interview Monday.
Some parents are leery of the online option after Fairfax County schools fumbled the transition to distance learning in the spring with reports of widespread technical failures and misbehavior. Brabrand acknowledged the initial problems but said the online experience “soared” in the final two months after an initial two weeks of struggles.
Kathy Haight, whose daughter Christine will be attending George C. Marshall High School in the fall, had opted for in-person instruction despite real concerns about the virus. She said she was reassured about the safety of in-person instruction by the school’s principal, who conducted an online town hall meeting and emphasized strict enforcement of mask wearing and other preventive measures.
“I know she needs to be at school. She needs the in-person instruction,” Haight said of her daughter.
Dionna Wise, who has three children at Marshall, chose full-time distance learning over their objections. She said the risk of virus exposure is too high, especially considering that the children’s grandmother lives in the home with them.
“All the reasons the kids want to be in school are not going to be the reality,” she said. “They’re not going to be able to go to school and stand in the hallway and talk to friends. It’s not going to be what you think it’s going to be,” she said.
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Cops: 14 people injured after South Side Chicago shooting

CHICAGO ( AP ) - Fourteen people were injured in connection with a shooting late Tuesday outside a funeral home on Chicago ’ s South Side , police officials said Tuesday .
First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said mourners outside a funeral home were fired upon from a passing SUV .
Carter says several targets of the shooting returned fire .
The SUV later crashed and the occupants fled in several directions .
One person of interest has been taken into custody .
Carter says all the victims were adults .
The victims were taken by the Chicago Fire Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said spokesman Larry Langford.. Arnita Geder and Kenneth Hughes said they heard gunshots while in their home watching television , adding that they came outside to find bodies that were shot up and “ laying everywhere.
” “ We thought it was a war out here , ” Geder told the Chicago Sun-Times .
“ It ’ s ridiculous all the shooting that ’ s going on out here , it really has to stop.
” The shooting comes as the Department of Homeland Security is planning to deploy dozens of federal agents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in violent crime in the city .
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot , after threatening to sue if President Donald Trump acted without her permission , said Tuesday the city would be working with federal agents to fight crime .
Lightfoot has been skeptical of federal agents being sent to Chicago by Trump due to the controversy in Portland , Oregon , where the Trump administration sent federal officers after weeks of protests there over police brutality and racial injustice that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
Lightfoot said she expects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into existing federal agencies that already work with the city , including the FBI , Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives .
Oregon ’ s governor and Portland ’ s mayor have expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents , saying that the city ’ s protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action .
Trump has framed such protests in the nation ’ s large cities as a failure by “ liberal Democrats ” who run them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he was looking to send agents to other cities .
He pointed to rising gun violence in Chicago , the nation ’ s third-largest city , where more than 63 people were shot , 12 fatally , over the weekend .

CHICAGO (AP) - Fourteen people were injured, one person was being questioned and multiple suspects were being sought after gunfire erupted outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side where at least one squad car was present, police officials said Tuesday.
First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said mourners outside a funeral home in the Gresham neighborhood were fired upon from a passing vehicle. Carter said several targets of the shooting returned fire. The vehicle later crashed and the occupants fled in several directions. Carter said all the victims were adults.
A person of interest was being questioned Tuesday night but no arrests had been made, said police spokesman Hector Alfaro.
The victims were taken by the Chicago Fire Department to nearby hospitals in serious condition, said spokesman Larry Langford. They include at least four women between the ages of 25 and 38, one of whom was shot in the chest, police said. Other victims include a 40-year-old man who was shot in the chest, arm and forearm, and two men, 32 and 22, who were shot in a hand, police said.
Police said the shooting happened at or near the site of a funeral or post-funeral event for a man fatally shot last week in the Englewood neighborhood.
Arnita Geder and Kenneth Hughes said they heard gunshots while in their home watching television, adding that they came outside to find bodies that were shot up and “laying everywhere.”
“We thought it was a war out here,” Geder told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s ridiculous all the shooting that’s going on out here, it really has to stop.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday night in a series of Twitter posts that “far too many people” have attended funerals and attempted to begin the process of healing entire communities following another “senseless tragedy.” She added that people with information should speak up, even if anonymously.
“When a person picks up a gun, we suffer as a city. This cannot be who we are. Too many guns are on our streets and in the hands of people who should never possess them,” Lightfoot continued. “These individuals will be held accountable.”
Carter said at least 60 shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting. It wasn’t immediately known if anyone other than attendees of the funeral were victims, nor if anyone in the SUV had been wounded. The person being questioned was uninjured, according to authorities. Investigators haven’t determined how many people were involved in the shooting.
A squad car was assigned to monitor the funeral as a precaution because of the sizable number of mourners attending, Carter said, adding that he was unaware of any warnings from community activists that trouble at the funeral was imminent.
“The district commander took every precaution that he could,” Carter said.
The shooting comes as the Department of Homeland Security is planning to deploy dozens of federal agents to Chicago to deal with an uptick in violent crime in the city.
Lightfoot, after threatening to sue if President Donald Trump acted without her permission, also noted earlier Tuesday that the city would be working with federal agents to fight crime.
Lightfoot has been skeptical of federal agents being sent to Chicago by Trump due to the controversy in Portland, Oregon, where the Trump administration sent federal officers after weeks of protests there over police brutality and racial injustice that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Lightfoot said she expects Chicago will receive resources that will plug into existing federal agencies that already work with the city, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Oregon’s governor and Portland’s mayor have expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents, saying that the city’s protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action.
Trump has framed such protests in the nation’s large cities as a failure by “liberal Democrats” who run them, praised the officers’ actions and said he was looking to send agents to other cities.
He pointed to rising gun violence in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, where more than 63 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the weekend.
___
Associated Press writer Torrance Latham contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--New Zealand minister fired for improper affair with staffer

WELLINGTON , New Zealand ( AP ) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday she has fired her immigration minister for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate .
Ardern said Iain Lees-Galloway had a consensual affair for about a year with a woman who was at first employed in one of the agencies he oversaw and later worked as a staff member in his office .
Ardern , who leads the liberal Labour Party , said she was wary about passing moral judgment but the minister had opened himself up to accusations of improperly using the power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had oversight of workplace relations and safety .
Lees-Galloway , 41 , said he accepted Ardern ’ s decision and apologized .
He said he wouldn ’ t seek reelection at the upcoming general election , which is being held in September .
“ I have acted completely inappropriately in my position and can not continue as a minister , ” Lees-Galloway said in a statement .
The development was the latest in a series of scandals from both sides of the aisle in the New Zealand parliament which have amounted to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier , opposition lawmaker Andrew Falloon abruptly resigned after allegedly sending sexually explicit images to several women , including a university student .
Falloon hasn ’ t commented on the allegations , other than to say he apologized for making unspecified mistakes , and had been getting mental health counselling .
In both cases , the allegations were first sent to the leaders of the opposing political parties , suggesting there may have been an element of politics at play .
But the developments also suggested that behavior which may have previously been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zealand parliament would no longer be tolerated .
Ardern said she learned about the allegations on Tuesday afternoon and questioned Lees-Galloway about them in the evening .
She said he ’ d shown a significant lack of judgment over the course of a year .
“ His actions have ultimately led me to lose confidence in him as a minister , ” Ardern said .
Ardern said that as she understood it , the relationship had ended several months ago .
She said the parliament had long had a culture and an environment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short of saying the blame lay with male lawmakers .
“ We all have a role to make sure that we maintain standards in this environment , ” Ardern said .
“ I ’ m not going to start casting judgments on specific genders here .
”

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday she has fired her immigration minister for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
Ardern said Iain Lees-Galloway had a consensual affair for about a year with a woman who had worked as a staff member in his office and also at one of the agencies he oversaw.
Ardern, who leads the liberal Labour Party, said she was wary about passing moral judgment but the minister had opened himself up to accusations of improperly using the power of his role, especially since he had oversight of workplace relations and safety.
Lees-Galloway, 41, said he accepted Ardern’s decision and apologized. He said he wouldn’t seek reelection at the upcoming general election, which is being held in September.
“I have acted completely inappropriately in my position and can not continue as a minister,” Lees-Galloway said in a statement.
The development was the latest in a series of scandals from both sides of the aisle in the New Zealand parliament which have amounted to a reckoning of sorts.
Just a day earlier, opposition lawmaker Andrew Falloon abruptly resigned after allegedly sending sexually explicit images to several women, including a university student.
Falloon hasn’t commented on the allegations, other than to say he apologized for making unspecified mistakes, and had been getting mental health counselling.
In both cases, the allegations were first sent to the leaders of the opposing political parties, suggesting there may have been an element of politics at play. But the developments also suggested that behavior which may have previously been accepted or kept quiet in the New Zealand parliament would no longer be tolerated.
Ardern said she learned about the allegations on Tuesday afternoon and questioned Lees-Galloway about them in the evening. She said he’d shown a significant lack of judgment over the course of a year.
“His actions have ultimately led me to lose confidence in him as a minister,” Ardern said.
Ardern said that as she understood it, the relationship had ended several months ago.
She said the parliament had long had a culture and an environment that needed improving. But she stopped short of saying the blame lay with male lawmakers.
“We all have a role to make sure that we maintain standards in this environment,” Ardern said. “I’m not going to start casting judgments on specific genders here.”
Opposition Leader Judith Collins said she wrote to Ardern on Wednesday saying the culture of parliament needed to change and the two of them should work out how to achieve that.
“Parliament and these precincts are not always a safe working place. And it’s not OK,” Collins said. “And I believe she and I have an opportunity to fix it.”


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Chicago police: At least nine wounded in South Side shooting as federal government plans to send fed

CHICAGO ( AP ) - Chicago police : At least nine wounded in South Side shooting as federal government plans @ @ @ @ @

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago police: At least nine wounded in South Side shooting as federal government plans to send federal agents.
Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Man sentenced to 30 years in prison in Oklahoma slaying

CACHE , Okla. ( AP ) - A man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty @ @ @ @ @ slaying of a 26-year-old man last year in southwestern Oklahoma , authorities said Tuesday .
@ @ @ @ @ Investigation said Shannon Freeman , 22 , entered the guilty plea Monday .
The OSBI @ @ @ @ @ with the investigation , said Freeman is the third of three people to be sentenced @ @ @ @ @ 2019 fatal shooting of Nathan Morrow in Cache , about 85 miles ( 137 kilometers @ @ @ @ @ .
The OSBI said that last week , Devon Cannon was sentenced to 30 years @ @ @ @ @ to second-degree murder in the case .
And in June , Bre ’ lon Johnson @ @ @ @ @ prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery .
Morrow was shot following @ @ @ @ @ an apartment building in Cache , the OSBI said .
His body was found outside @ @ @ @ @ and he was pronounced dead at the scene .

CACHE, Okla. (AP) - A man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of a 26-year-old man last year in southwestern Oklahoma, authorities said Tuesday.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Shannon Freeman, 22, entered the guilty plea Monday.
The OSBI, which assisted Cache police with the investigation, said Freeman is the third of three people to be sentenced in connection to the June 2019 fatal shooting of Nathan Morrow in Cache, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Oklahoma City.
The OSBI said that last week, Devon Cannon was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the case. And in June, Bre’lon Johnson was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Morrow was shot following an early morning altercation at an apartment building in Cache, the OSBI said. His body was found outside his residence with gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Bolivia police recover 420 dead in possible COVID-19 cases

LA PAZ , Bolivia ( AP ) - A special police unit collected 420 bodies over the preceding five days in two Bolivian cities , and 80 % to 90 % of the deceased were thought to have succumbed to COVID-19 , authorities said Tuesday .
Col. Ivan Rojas , director of the special crime-fighting force , said his officers recovered the bodies from streets , vehicles and homes in the capital , La Paz , and in Bolivia ’ s biggest city , Santa Cruz .
Bolivia ’ s Institute of Forensic Investigations said that nationally from April 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,016 bodies of people in possible COVID-19 cases .
Andrés Flores , director of the agency , said the Santa Cruz department which includes the city of that name , had the highest number of deaths , followed by Cochabamba .
As of Tuesday , officials said Bolivia has recorded 60,991 confirmed coronavirus infections and 2,218 deaths from COVID-19 .
Earlier in the day , a scientific committee advising the Bolivian government proposed that the presidential election scheduled for Sept. 6 be postponed because of the pandemic .
Bolivia is trying to resolve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when street protests over allegations of election fraud led President Evo Morales to resign after nearly 14 years in power .

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - A special police unit collected 420 bodies over the preceding five days in two Bolivian cities, and 80% to 90% of the deceased were thought to have succumbed to COVID-19, authorities said Tuesday.
Col. Ivan Rojas, director of the special crime-fighting force, said his officers recovered the bodies from streets, vehicles and homes in the capital, La Paz, and in Bolivia’s biggest city, Santa Cruz.
Bolivia’s Institute of Forensic Investigations said that nationally from April 1 through Sunday, its workers had recovered 3,016 bodies of people in possible COVID-19 cases. Andrés Flores, director of the agency, said the Santa Cruz department which includes the city of that name, had the highest number of deaths, followed by Cochabamba.
As of Tuesday, officials said Bolivia has recorded 60,991 confirmed coronavirus infections and 2,218 deaths from COVID-19.
Earlier in the day, a scientific committee advising the Bolivian government proposed that the presidential election scheduled for Sept. 6 be postponed because of the pandemic. Bolivia is trying to resolve the political crisis that erupted last November when street protests over allegations of election fraud led President Evo Morales to resign after nearly 14 years in power.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Dems push universal health care, police overhaul in platform

Democratic officials are moving toward a 2020 platform that promises universal access to health care , an overhaul to the U.S. criminal justice system and sharp reductions in carbon pollution driving the climate crisis , but it stops short of many goals pursued by the party ’ s left flank .
An 80-page draft platform obtained Tuesday evening by The Associated Press presents a broadly liberal program for the country .
The approach reflects presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden ’ s effort to balance the center-left establishment that has been his political home for decades with the party ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been to avoid the kind of rancor that hobbled Hillary Clinton ’ s general election campaign four years ago , even as President Donald Trump and Republicans lambaste the former vice president as “ captive ” to a “ radical left.
” The latest draft from the party ’ s drafting committee , led by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms , was sent to members of the platform committee , which is scheduled to begin debating the platform in a Monday meeting held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic .
Convention delegates will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead of the party ’ s nearly all-virtual convention set to begin Aug. 17 .
Bottoms ’ committee based its work in part on policy groups that Biden ’ s campaign convened with progressives chosen by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders , who has twice consecutively finished as runner-up for the nomination and used that leverage to pull the establishment toward him .
Still , the draft as written has key marks of Biden ’ s victory , chiefly on health care and climate issues .
The party , as it did in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insurance plan to be added to existing private insurance markets but makes no mention of the single-payer insurance system that Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocated during the presidential primary campaign .
The draft does state that “ finally covering every American through the public and private insurance system alone is not enough to guarantee universal access.
” On climate , the platform appears not to go even as far as Biden ’ s proposals .
The draft calls for rejoining international alliances of nations agreeing to sharp reductions in carbon pollution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressives , agreed explicitly to the goal of making the nation ’ s energy grid carbon neutral by 2035 .
The platform makes no mention of some Democrats ’ Green New Deal legislative proposals that includes even more aggressive timelines .
The party ’ s discussion of law enforcement reflects the nation ’ s reckoning with systemic racism that was more muted four years ago .
“ Our criminal justice system is failing to keep communities safe , ” the draft reads , adding that “ police brutality is a stain on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls for “ strict national standards governing the use of force ” and for the nation to “ reimagine policing for the benefit and safety of the American people , ” with the U.S. Justice Department taking a more active role in collecting statistics on police violence and investigating departments where it is alleged .
But the document stops short of activists ’ calls to “ defund the police , ” reflecting Biden ’ s position on the matter .
Trump has erroneously sought to link Biden to the activists ’ calling for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats ’ draft language on policing and law enforcement is significantly sharper than a much shorter section on the matter in 2016 .
That platform called for improving police-community relations but emphasized : “ Across the country , there are police officers inspiring trust and confidence , honorably doing their duty … demonstrating that it is possible to prevent crime without relying on unnecessary force .
They deserve our respect and support .
”

Democratic officials are moving toward a 2020 platform that promises universal access to health care, an overhaul to the U.S. criminal justice system and sharp reductions in carbon pollution driving the climate crisis, but it stops short of many goals pursued by the party’s left flank.
An 80-page draft platform obtained Tuesday evening by The Associated Press presents a broadly liberal program for the country. The approach reflects presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden’s effort to balance the center-left establishment that has been his political home for decades with the party’s ascendant progressive wing. His goal has been to avoid the kind of rancor that hobbled Hillary Clinton’s general election campaign four years ago, even as President Donald Trump and Republicans lambaste the former vice president as “captive” to a “radical left.”
The latest draft from the party’s drafting committee, led by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, was sent to members of the platform committee, which is scheduled to begin debating the platform in a Monday meeting held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Convention delegates will vote on the platform by mail ballot ahead of the party’s nearly all-virtual convention set to begin Aug. 17.
Bottoms’ committee based its work in part on policy groups that Biden’s campaign convened with progressives chosen by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has twice consecutively finished as runner-up for the nomination and used that leverage to pull the establishment toward him.
Still, the draft as written has key marks of Biden’s victory, chiefly on health care and climate issues. The party, as it did in 2016, calls for a public option government insurance plan to be added to existing private insurance markets but makes no mention of the single-payer insurance system that Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocated during the presidential primary campaign. The draft does state that “finally covering every American through the public and private insurance system alone is not enough to guarantee universal access.”
On climate, the platform appears not to go even as far as Biden’s proposals. The draft calls for rejoining international alliances of nations agreeing to sharp reductions in carbon pollution. But Biden, after working with progressives, agreed explicitly to the goal of making the nation’s energy grid carbon neutral by 2035. The platform makes no mention of some Democrats’ Green New Deal legislative proposals that includes even more aggressive timelines.
The party’s discussion of law enforcement reflects the nation’s reckoning with systemic racism that was more muted four years ago.
“Our criminal justice system is failing to keep communities safe,” the draft reads, adding that “police brutality is a stain on the soul of our nation.” The platform calls for “strict national standards governing the use of force” and for the nation to “reimagine policing for the benefit and safety of the American people,” with the U.S. Justice Department taking a more active role in collecting statistics on police violence and investigating departments where it is alleged. But the document stops short of activists’ calls to “defund the police,” reflecting Biden’s position on the matter.
Trump has erroneously sought to link Biden to the activists’ calling for eliminating traditional law enforcement.
Still, Democrats’ draft language on policing and law enforcement is significantly sharper than a much shorter section on the matter in 2016. That platform called for improving police-community relations but emphasized: “Across the country, there are police officers inspiring trust and confidence, honorably doing their duty … demonstrating that it is possible to prevent crime without relying on unnecessary force. They deserve our respect and support.”


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Body recovered after fall in  Three Finger Jack area

SALEM , Ore. ( AP ) - Authorities have recovered the body of an man who fell hundreds of feet @ @ @ @ @ of Three Fingered Jack in Oregon ’ s Cascade Range .
Deputies and search crews @ @ @ @ @ to a report of a hiker who fell from the mountain located around 71 miles @ @ @ @ @ of Sweet Home , according to officials from the Linn County Sheriff ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ man , identified as 19-year-old Todd Adelman of Aumsville , was climbing when rocks gave @ @ @ @ @ , the Statesman Journal reported .
Adelman was found at the bottom of the cliff @ @ @ @ @ .
Responders worked through the night to carry Adelman out of the remote area .
@ @ @ @ @ popular place for technical mountaineers , though it is known to have poor rock quality @ @ @ @ @ summit , authorities said .

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Authorities have recovered the body of an man who fell hundreds of feet just before reaching the summit of Three Fingered Jack in Oregon’s Cascade Range.
Deputies and search crews responded around 1 p.m. Sunday to a report of a hiker who fell from the mountain located around 71 miles (114 kilometers) east of Sweet Home, according to officials from the Linn County Sheriff’s office.
A witness said the man, identified as 19-year-old Todd Adelman of Aumsville, was climbing when rocks gave way causing him to fall, the Statesman Journal reported.
Adelman was found at the bottom of the cliff where he was pronounced dead. Responders worked through the night to carry Adelman out of the remote area.
Three Fingered Jack is a popular place for technical mountaineers, though it is known to have poor rock quality and steep cliffs near the summit, authorities said.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Chicago mass shooting reported at funeral home

A mass shooting at a funeral home in the South Side of Chicago has claimed more than a dozen victims .
Chicago TV station ABC-7 , citing the Chicago Fire Department , reported that 11 people were hospitalized , “ all in serious to critical condition.
” Police Superintendent Eric Carter said at an evening press conference that 14 people sustained gunshot wounds , but provided no other details on conditions , the victims , or any suspects or motive .
According to ABC-7 , the victims were at Rhodes Funeral Services in the city ’ s Auburn Gresham neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital counts may arise from people self-transporting to hospital .
The shots , from an unknown number of gunmen , rang out around 6:30 p.m. CDT as a service for a shooting victim was ending and people were starting to leave .
Neighborhood residents Arnita Geder and Kenneth Hughes told the Chicago Sun Times that they heard numerous gunshots while at home watching TV .
“ We went out in the street and all we saw was bodies just laying everywhere , ” Ms. Geder said .
“ They were shot up everywhere.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ thought it was a war out here .
It ’ s ridiculous all the shooting that ’ s going on out here .
It really has to stop.
” More than 30 bullet holes and/or shell casings were marked at the scene .
Kenneth Hughes , another witness at the scene , told Chicago ’ s NBC-5 station that “ we saw a car with about six bullet holes in it and it was turned facing the grass like he lost control .
We saw a hat down on the ground and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen an epidemic of shootings and murders in recent months , which has prompted much sniping between the city ’ s Democrat-dominated government and the White House .
President Trump has offered federal help in securing the city ’ s streets .
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said earlier Tuesday that some federal agents will be deployed , but she added emphatically that it would not be on terms like what happened in Portland , which she called “ unconstitutional ” and the stuff of “ dictatorship .
”

A service for a shooting victim on the South Side of Chicago ended with a drive-by shooting and a gun battle that claimed more than a dozen victims.
Police First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said at an evening press conference that 14 people sustained gunshot wounds, but police confirmed on Wednesday morning that 15 were injured.
Chicago TV station ABC-7, citing the Chicago Fire Department, reported that 11 people were hospitalized, “all in serious to critical condition.” The discrepancies in the hospital counts may arise from people self-transporting to hospital.
Superintendent Carter provided no other details on conditions, the victims, or any suspects or motive during the press conference. On Wednesday morning, police said a person of interest was being questioned.
According to ABC-7, the gunfight happened at Rhodes Funeral Services in the city’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
The shots, from an unknown number of gunmen, rang out around 6:30 p.m. CDT as the service was ending and people were starting to leave.
Police told reporters that the occupants of a black car driving westbound on 79th Street began firing at the funeral and that people at the funeral returned gunfire.
Kenneth Hughes, another witness at the scene, told Chicago’s NBC-5 station that “we saw a car with about six bullet holes in it and it was turned facing the grass like he lost control. We saw a hat down on the ground and evidently it was his.”
More than 60 bullet holes and/or shell casings were marked at the scene.
According to police, the drive-by gunmen fled in different directions after the car crashed. Police said “a person of interest” is being interviewed, but there is no indication he is a suspect.
Neighborhood residents Arnita Geder and Kenneth Hughes told the Chicago Sun Times that they heard numerous gunshots while at home watching TV.
“We went out in the street and all we saw was bodies just laying everywhere,” Ms. Geder said. “They were shot up everywhere.”
Ms. Geder added that the two “thought it was a war out here. It’s ridiculous all the shooting that’s going on out here. It really has to stop.”
Chicago has seen an epidemic of shootings and murders in recent months, which has prompted much sniping between the city’s Democrat-dominated government and the White House.
President Trump has offered federal help in securing the city’s streets.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said earlier Tuesday that some federal agents will be deployed, but she added emphatically that it would not be on terms like what happened in Portland, which she called “unconstitutional” and the stuff of “dictatorship.”
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Mike Pompeo China speech defends Trump hawkish position

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week will deliver a major speech on the shortcomings of American foreign policy toward China , arguing that the record clearly supports President Trump ’ s new and tougher approach to Beijing .
The policy speech , set for Thursday at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum near Los Angeles , will be the fourth in a series of addresses by the most senior national security officials of the Trump administration .
Taken together , the speeches mark the most systematic and comprehensive response by a U.S. administration to address the challenges posed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global economic and military power .
“ We put together a series of remarks aimed at making sure the American people understood the ongoing , serious threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to our fundamental way of life here in the United States of America , ” Mr. Pompeo told The Washington Times in an interview .
Mr. Pompeo contends that the basis for U.S.-Chinese relations since the 1970s — ever-deeper engagement and large-scale business , manufacturing and investment ties — is obsolete .
The Trump administration , he said , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more in line with American values and principles .
The secretary of state also is expected to meet with a group of Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates during his one-day visit to California .
In the interview , Mr. Pompeo said he plans to explain in detail how Mr. Trump has recognized the threat from China and the decades of harm it has caused to U.S. and other Western economies .
In response , the administration has begun to take “ true concrete responses that can begin to reshape the relationship in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reciprocal for the American people , middle-class workers in America , ” he said .
Past engagement policies , he said , failed to produce a moderate , pro-Western China .
Mr. Trump is pursuing polices aimed at making sure China treats Americans “ in a way that ’ s consistent with how we ask every country to behave , ” Mr. Pompeo said .
The Pompeo speech will be the culmination of a series of high-level efforts to highlight the threat posed by China .
White House National Security Adviser Robert O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wray and Attorney General William Barr also have weighed in on various aspects of U.S.-Chinese policy , each time drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing .
In the wide-ranging interview , Mr. Pompeo discussed the problem of bureaucratic resistance in the State Department and in the CIA , which he used to run , to Mr. Trump ’ s “ America First ” agenda .
He said the administration is well-positioned to protect the security of the upcoming presidential election from foreign threats .
Mr. Pompeo also warned China not to arm Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Tehran ends in October .
Beijing and Tehran are reportedly discussing a major economic and security pact in defiance of U.S. sanctions on Iran .
On the “ deep state ” opposition within the U.S. government , Mr. Pompeo said he has dealt with the resistance at the State Department , with its 75,000 employees , and during his role as CIA director .
“ As for my experience now , 3½ years in , having first run the CIA and now as America ’ s chief diplomat , these are indeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There are big bureaucracies in the private sector too , but inside government it takes a special capacity to get them all moving in the right direction.
” Policy opposition comes from “ those who sit inside these bureaucracies and have policy differences.
” “ I ’ m fine with people having different judgments , different views , ” he said .
“ Even the senior leadership team at the State Department has different views .
Air and vet them , make the case , build data sets around your argument @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is rational and convincing.
” Disagreements also arise at the Cabinet level , but they are sorted out .
“ When we ’ re done with [ debate ] and all that ’ s been sorted through , and the president has given guidance and I ’ ve issued implementation directions , the entire team has to work together to do that , ” he said .
“ There have been those who have decided they didn ’ t want be part of that , ” he said .
“ So be it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who remains , everybody who ’ s got their oar in the water still trying to pull America in the right direction has the true responsibility to execute in a way that ’ s consistent with President Trump ’ s foreign policy objective .
And my mission is to make sure this organization , the State Department , and the CIA before that , did precisely that.
” Mr. Trump in May fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick .
Mr. Pompeo said Mr. Linick was dismissed for “ undermining ” the State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congressional Democrats have said Mr. Linick was dismissed for investigating policy and personal matters related directly to Mr. Pompeo .
On Iran , recent news reports said Beijing is in the final stages of concluding an economic and military deal with Iran worth $ 400 billion for infrastructure , and closer defense and intelligence cooperation .
China , which supports the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that the Trump administration repudiated in 2018 , in the past has provided missiles and other military hardware to Iran despite nuclear sanctions .
“ We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Iran and China , ” Mr. Pompeo said .
“ We will hold every nation accountable that violates U.S. sanctions .
“ I hope that the Chinese Communist Party sees that it is not in their best interest to support and provide weapons systems to the world ’ s largest state sponsor of terror.
” Mr. Pompeo said he hopes Beijing will support U.S. efforts at the United Nations to block the lifting of the arms embargo on Iran .
China , Russia and even some European allies have sent strong signals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts to preserve the embargo , a provision of the 2015 nuclear deal .
“ It should not be the case that the world is going to stand by and allow an Iranian regime that continues to sponsor terror all around the world to allow them to be an arms merchant , allow them to purchase air defense systems and other capabilities that will protect them so that they are more capable of delivering nuclear weapons , ” Mr. Pompeo said .
“ We ’ re not going to allow that to happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party will join alongside of us.
” Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration is seeking to overhaul and improve U.S. radio broadcasting and information programs now that the first chief executive , Michael Pack , is now in place at the U.S. Agency for Global Media .
Mr .
Pack dismissed all the directors of several government-funded radios , and the director of the flagship Voice of America , Amanda Bennett , stepped down before she could be fired .
Mr. Trump has criticized VOA broadcasts , leading some critics to accuse the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalistic independence .
The message to be beamed abroad will be that “ America is a force for good and that the threats that emanate from regimes like the Chinese Communist Party need not be tolerated and that America will be there to support those freedom-loving nations , ” Mr. Pompeo said .
On recent tensions between Taiwan and mainland China , Mr. Pompeo said Mr. Trump is following the path forged by President Reagan in supporting Taipei ’ s defenses .
For the first time in decades , the administration agreed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has supplied other important weaponry in a bid to bolster the island ’ s defenses against China ’ s growing encroachment in waters along its periphery , Mr. Pompeo said .
Mr. Pompeo also said that what he called China ’ s failure to abide by its commitments in Hong Kong — Beijing recently approved a tough security law for the enclave that critics say violates a 1997 handover agreement to respect self-rule and autonomy in the former British colony — is raising worries about China ’ s threats to use force against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of commitments they ’ ve made to the people who live in Taiwan and to the world , the fact that they will not use military force , ” Mr. Pompeo said .
“ We set out in every conversation we have with our Chinese counterparts our expectation that they will live up to those commitments.
” China ’ s neighbors in the region , he added , increasingly appreciate the American security commitments in the face of Beijing ’ s aggressiveness .
Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration is actively supporting Hong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rule .
Asked whether the curbs on freedom can be rolled back and democracy restored , Mr. Pompeo said , “ The people of Hong Kong are going to demand it.
” An election is set for September , and Hong Kong voters will have a chance to “ raise their voices ” against Beijing in “ demanding the freedom that the Communist Party promised them.
” China ignored the appeals .
As a result , the administration has rescinded Hong Kong ’ s special economic status , Mr. Pompeo said .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the South China Sea , Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. conducted a careful legal review before the State Department declared last week that those claims are illegal under international law .
“ The Obama-Biden administration turned the other cheek when China violated basic promises ” on not building military bases on disputed islands in the sea , he said .
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Obama in 2015 that China had no plans to deploy military forces on disputed islands .
Mr. Xi “ then did , and the previous administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Beginning in April 2018 , the Pentagon detected the deployment of Chinese anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles on several South China Sea islands .
Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. is preparing a series of actions in response to Chinese militarization in the sea .
The Trump administration has begun providing assistance to nations China has challenged in the South China Sea .
After last week ’ s statement from Washington , Mr. Pompeo said , China seems to have backed off the legal claim and is now negotiating agreements with individual states in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pick them off one by one.
” “ We ’ re going to do everything we can to make sure that [ the Chinese ] are not successful at that , ” he said .
“ We can not let China claim all of that sea as their maritime empire .
This is a free and open Indo-Pacific region .
”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week will deliver a major speech on the shortcomings of American foreign policy toward China, arguing that the record clearly supports President Trump’s new and tougher approach to Beijing.
The policy speech, set for Thursday at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum near Los Angeles, will be the fourth in a series of addresses by the most senior national security officials of the Trump administration. Taken together, the speeches mark the most systematic and comprehensive response by a U.S. administration to address the challenges posed by China’s rise as a global economic and military power.
“We put together a series of remarks aimed at making sure the American people understood the ongoing, serious threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to our fundamental way of life here in the United States of America,” Mr. Pompeo told The Washington Times in an interview.
The speech will explain that the basis for U.S.-China relations since the 1970s —unfettered engagement and large-scale business ties with China — is obsolete. Mr. Pompeo will explain that the administration is fashioning new U.S. policies based on a relationship more in line with American values and principles.
The secretary of state also is expected to meet with a group of Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates during his one-day visit to California.
In the interview, Mr. Pompeo said he plans to explain in detail how Mr. Trump has recognized the threat from China and the decades of harm it has caused to U.S. and other Western economies.
In response, the administration has begun to take “true concrete responses that can begin to reshape the relationship in a way that is fundamentally more fair and reciprocal for the American people, middle-class workers in America,” he said.
Past engagement policies, he said, failed to produce a moderate, pro-Western China. Mr. Trump is pursuing polices aimed at making sure China treats Americans “in a way that’s consistent with how we ask every country to behave,” Mr. Pompeo said.
The Pompeo speech will be the culmination of a series of high-level efforts to highlight the threat posed by China. White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Attorney General William P. Barr also have weighed in on various aspects of U.S.-Chinese policy, each time drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
Taking on the deep state
In the wide-ranging interview, Mr. Pompeo discussed the problem of bureaucratic resistance in the State Department and in the CIA, which he used to run, to Mr. Trump’s “America First” agenda. He said the administration is well-positioned to protect the security of the upcoming presidential election from foreign threats.
Mr. Pompeo also warned China not to arm Iran with advanced weapons when the arms embargo on Tehran ends in October. Beijing and Tehran are reportedly discussing a major economic and security pact in defiance of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
On the “deep state” opposition within the U.S. government, Mr. Pompeo said he has dealt with the resistance at the State Department, with its 75,000 employees, and during his role as CIA director.
“As for my experience now, 3½ years in, having first run the CIA and now as America’s chief diplomat, these are indeed big bureaucracies,” Mr. Pompeo said. “There are big bureaucracies in the private sector too, but inside government it takes a special capacity to get them all moving in the right direction.”
Policy opposition comes from “those who sit inside these bureaucracies and have policy differences.”
“I’m fine with people having different judgments, different views,” he said. “Even the senior leadership team at the State Department has different views. Air and vet them, make the case, build data sets around your argument, present them in a way that is rational and convincing.”
Disagreements also arise at the Cabinet level, but they are sorted out.
“When we’re done with [debate] and all that’s been sorted through, and the president has given guidance and I’ve issued implementation directions, the entire team has to work together to do that,” he said.
“There have been those who have decided they didn’t want be part of that,” he said. “So be it. They should leave. But everyone who remains, everybody who’s got their oar in the water still trying to pull America in the right direction has the true responsibility to execute in a way that’s consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy objective. And my mission is to make sure this organization, the State Department, and the CIA before that, did precisely that.”
Mr. Trump in May fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. Mr. Pompeo said Mr. Linick was dismissed for “undermining” the State Department. He did not elaborate. Congressional Democrats have said Mr. Linick was dismissed for investigating policy and personal matters related directly to Mr. Pompeo.
Ties with Iran
On Iran, recent news reports said Beijing is in the final stages of concluding an economic and military deal with Iran worth $400 billion for infrastructure, and closer defense and intelligence cooperation. China, which supports the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that the Trump administration repudiated in 2018, in the past has provided missiles and other military hardware to Iran despite nuclear sanctions.
“We’re watching the reporting … about the relationship between Iran and China,” Mr. Pompeo said. “We will hold every nation accountable that violates U.S. sanctions.
“I hope that the Chinese Communist Party sees that it is not in their best interest to support and provide weapons systems to the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.”
Mr. Pompeo said he hopes Beijing will support U.S. efforts at the United Nations to block the lifting of the arms embargo on Iran. China, Russia and even some European allies have sent strong signals that they will oppose Washington’s efforts to preserve the embargo, a provision of the 2015 nuclear deal.
“It should not be the case that the world is going to stand by and allow an Iranian regime that continues to sponsor terror all around the world to allow them to be an arms merchant, allow them to purchase air defense systems and other capabilities that will protect them so that they are more capable of delivering nuclear weapons,” Mr. Pompeo said. “We’re not going to allow that to happen. I hope that the Chinese Communist Party will join alongside of us.”
Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration is seeking to overhaul and improve U.S. radio broadcasting and information programs now that the first chief executive, Michael Pack, is now in place at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Mr. Pack dismissed all the directors of several government-funded radios, and the director of the flagship Voice of America, Amanda Bennett, stepped down before she could be fired. Mr. Trump has criticized VOA broadcasts, leading some critics to accuse the administration of threatening the service’s journalistic independence.
The message to be beamed abroad will be that “America is a force for good and that the threats that emanate from regimes like the Chinese Communist Party need not be tolerated and that America will be there to support those freedom-loving nations,” Mr. Pompeo said.
China and its neighbors
On recent tensions between Taiwan and mainland China, Mr. Pompeo said Mr. Trump is following the path forged by President Reagan in supporting Taipei’s defenses.
For the first time in decades, the administration agreed to sell new F-16 jets to Taiwan and has supplied other important weaponry in a bid to bolster the island’s defenses against China’s growing encroachment in waters along its periphery, Mr. Pompeo said.
Mr. Pompeo also said that what he called China’s failure to abide by its commitments in Hong Kong — Beijing recently approved a tough security law for the enclave that critics say violates a 1997 handover agreement to respect self-rule and autonomy in the former British colony — is raising worries about China’s threats to use force against Taiwan.
China has “a series of commitments they’ve made to the people who live in Taiwan and to the world, the fact that they will not use military force,” Mr. Pompeo said. “We set out in every conversation we have with our Chinese counterparts our expectation that they will live up to those commitments.”
China’s neighbors in the region, he added, increasingly appreciate the American security commitments in the face of Beijing’s aggressiveness.
Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration is actively supporting Hong Kong activists in their challenge to Chinese rule. Asked whether the curbs on freedom can be rolled back and democracy restored, Mr. Pompeo said, “The people of Hong Kong are going to demand it.”
An election is set for September, and Hong Kong voters will have a chance to “raise their voices” against Beijing in “demanding the freedom that the Communist Party promised them.”
China ignored the appeals. As a result, the administration has rescinded Hong Kong’s special economic status, Mr. Pompeo said.
On Chinese expansive maritime claims to own most of the South China Sea, Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. conducted a careful legal review before the State Department declared last week that those claims are illegal under international law.
“The Obama-Biden administration turned the other cheek when China violated basic promises” on not building military bases on disputed islands in the sea, he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Obama in 2015 that China had no plans to deploy military forces on disputed islands.
Mr. Xi “then did, and the previous administration did nothing,” Mr. Pompeo said.
Beginning in April 2018, the Pentagon detected the deployment of Chinese anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles on several South China Sea islands. Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. is preparing a series of actions in response to Chinese militarization in the sea.
The Trump administration has begun providing assistance to nations China has challenged in the South China Sea. After last week’s statement from Washington, Mr. Pompeo said, China seems to have backed off the legal claim and is now negotiating agreements with individual states in the region in a bid to “pick them off one by one.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that [the Chinese] are not successful at that,” he said. “We cannot let China claim all of that sea as their maritime empire. This is a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--D.C. Council postpones vote on ad sales tax, budget

During what one lawmaker called a “ dumpster fire of a legislative process , ” the D.C. Council on Tuesday debated an amendment to scale back a proposed 3 % tax on advertising sales that would generate more than $ 18 million in the city ’ s $ 16.7 billion budget .
Lawmakers criticized the amendment , saying it didn ’ t address their concerns about how the tax would hurt newspapers and public libraries and describing it as another example of the council creating a last-minute tax policy without input from the public .
The debate became so heated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one-hour recess to find a way to cut $ 18 million from the budget in order to scrap the ad sales tax .
The council later postponed further debate and its second vote on the budget until 12:30 p.m. Thursday .
Mr. Mendelson , at-large Democrat , introduced the amendment just before Tuesday ’ s meeting .
He said he was “ surprised ” to learn Monday night that the ad sales tax he had included in the budget was written as a value-added tax , meaning it would tax the creation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an ad , as he had intended .
The amendment would cut more than $ 1 million the council had allotted in the budget for the D.C. Public Library system to prevent shorter hours of operation during the pandemic .
Mr. Mendelson cited approval for the amendment from council member David Grosso , at-large independent and chairman of the committee that oversees the library system .
Mr. Grosso said the libraries can handle the reduced funding .
“ The way we are doing taxation — ad hoc tax here , tax there , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do tax policy , ” said council member Mary Cheh , Ward 3 Democrat , who pitched reviving the city ’ s tax policy commission and making it permanent .
A few lawmakers had expressed concern about the ad sales tax ’ s impact on local media when the council gave unanimous , preliminary approval to the budget on July 7 .
Before Tuesday ’ s second and final vote on the budget , other council members expressed concerns about how the proposed tax would affect businesses in general and how cutting funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents during the pandemic .
Council member Trayon White , Ward 8 Democrat , said he offered an amendment that included exemptions to the tax but it wasn ’ t cleared by the budget office .
“ So here we are with , I would say , a 3 % tax , which is modest , on expanding the sales tax bases , which is good public policy , that I know businesses are saying [ it ] will be the end of the world for them .
But we heard that when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We heard that when we increased the sales tax on health clubs , and those increases were 6 % not 3 % , ” he said , challenging his colleagues to find other ways to cut spending by the next meeting .
“ We are not talking about Uber , and we are not talking about health cubs , alright ?
” said council member Kenyan McDuffie .
“ We are talking about the fact that a lot of these larger , corporate-driven papers don ’ t represent certain perspectives very well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alright ?
” The Ward 5 Democrat said he had spoken with the owners of the local , independent newspapers The Afro , The Blade and The Washington Informer .
They told him they already are facing revenue losses of 50 % to 75 % since the start of the pandemic , he said .
Those newspapers , Mr. McDuffie said , are more important now amid protests over police brutality and the pandemic , both of which disproportionately impact Black people .

During what one lawmaker called a “dumpster fire of a legislative process,” the D.C. Council on Tuesday debated an amendment to scale back a proposed 3% tax on advertising sales that would generate more than $18 million in the city’s $16.7 billion budget.
Lawmakers criticized the amendment, saying it didn’t address their concerns about how the tax would hurt newspapers and public libraries and describing it as another example of the council creating a last-minute tax policy without input from the public.
The debate became so heated that council Chairman Phil Mendelson proposed a one-hour recess to find a way to cut $18 million from the budget in order to scrap the ad sales tax. The council later postponed further debate and its second vote on the budget until 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat, introduced the amendment just before Tuesday’s meeting. He said he was “surprised” to learn Monday night that the ad sales tax he had included in the budget was written as a value-added tax, meaning it would tax the creation of an ad instead of the placement of an ad, as he had intended.
The amendment would cut more than $1 million the council had allotted in the budget for the D.C. Public Library system to prevent shorter hours of operation during the pandemic.
Mr. Mendelson cited approval for the amendment from council member David Grosso, at-large independent and chairman of the committee that oversees the library system. Mr. Grosso said the libraries can handle the reduced funding.
“The way we are doing taxation — ad hoc tax here, tax there, tax there — is no way to do tax policy,” said council member Mary Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat, who pitched reviving the city’s tax policy commission and making it permanent.
A few lawmakers had expressed concern about the ad sales tax’s impact on local media when the council gave unanimous, preliminary approval to the budget on July 7.
Before Tuesday’s second and final vote on the budget, other council members expressed concerns about how the proposed tax would affect businesses in general and how cutting funds for libraries would hurt the most disadvantaged residents during the pandemic.
Council member Trayon White, Ward 8 Democrat, said he offered an amendment that included exemptions to the tax but it wasn’t cleared by the budget office.
Mr. Mendelson was unmoved.
“So here we are with, I would say, a 3% tax, which is modest, on expanding the sales tax bases, which is good public policy, that I know businesses are saying [it] will be the end of the world for them. But we heard that when we increased the sales tax on Uber. We heard that when we increased the sales tax on health clubs, and those increases were 6% not 3%,” he said, challenging his colleagues to find other ways to cut spending by the next meeting.
“We are not talking about Uber, and we are not talking about health cubs, alright?” said council member Kenyan McDuffie. “We are talking about the fact that a lot of these larger, corporate-driven papers don’t represent certain perspectives very well. They just don’t, alright?”
The Ward 5 Democrat said he had spoken with the owners of the local, independent newspapers The Afro, The Blade and The Washington Informer. They told him they already are facing revenue losses of 50% to 75% since the start of the pandemic, he said.
Those newspapers, Mr. McDuffie said, are more important now amid protests over police brutality and the pandemic, both of which disproportionately impact Black people.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Joey Votto, Reds players kneel as MLB anthem protests spread

Kneeling during the national anthem is no longer an NFL thing .
It ’ s spreading into Major League Baseball , too .
Before Tuesday ’ s exhibition game at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati , four Reds players took the knee during “ The Star Spangled Banner.
” According to photos taken at the game with the Detroit Tigers , the four players were Joey Votto , Amir Garrett , Phillip Ervin and Alex Blandino .
Three other players who stood during the anthem put their hands on their teammates in a gesture of support .
Mike Moustakas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the shoulder of , respectively , Ervin and Garrett .
Sal Romano ’ s hand was on Blandino ’ s back .
All four players have worn Black Lives Matter T-shirts during spring-training games .
Ervin and Garrett are African-Americans , the only two on the team .
It wasn ’ t the first protest of the national anthem in the post-lockdown baseball pre-season .
The regular season starts Thursday night .
Several members of the San Francisco Giants , including manager Gabe Kapler , knelt during the anthem before their game @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pitcher both took a knee and held up his right fist , the “ Black Power ” salute .
The Reds themselves gave an official endorsement Tuesday , tweeting a photo of the four kneeling players with the word “ Unity ” and a “ heart / love ” symbol .

Kneeling during the national anthem is no longer an NFL thing. It’s spreading into Major League Baseball, too.
Before Tuesday’s exhibition game at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, four Reds players took the knee during “The Star Spangled Banner.”
According to photos taken at the game with the Detroit Tigers, the four players were Joey Votto, Amir Garrett, Phillip Ervin and Alex Blandino.
Three other players who stood during the anthem put their hands on their teammates in a gesture of support.
Mike Moustakas and Cory Reed each put one hand on the shoulder of, respectively, Ervin and Garrett. Sal Romano’s hand was on Blandino’s back.
All four players have worn Black Lives Matter T-shirts during spring-training games. Ervin and Garrett are African-Americans, the only two on the team.
It wasn’t the first protest of the national anthem in the post-lockdown baseball pre-season. The regular season starts Thursday night.
Several members of the San Francisco Giants, including manager Gabe Kapler, knelt during the anthem before their game Monday, and a Los Angeles Angels pitcher both took a knee and held up his right fist, the “Black Power” salute.
The Reds themselves gave an official endorsement Tuesday, tweeting a photo of the four kneeling players with the word “Unity” and a “heart / love” symbol.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-07-21--Navajo Nation reports 22 more COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths

WINDOW ROCK , Ariz. ( AP ) - Navajo Nation health officials on Tuesday reported 22 more confirmed cases of @ @ @ @ @ deaths .
The total of infected tribal members on the vast reservation now stands at @ @ @ @ @ .
Health officials also said 74,045 people have been tested and 6,437 have recovered from @ @ @ @ @ the reservation that extends into Arizona , New Mexico and Utah have been under a @ @ @ @ @ out in public .
The tribe also has daily , nighttime curfews and weekend lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ businesses .
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said officials are working on an order that @ @ @ @ @ to areas known as hot spots for coronavirus infections to quarantine for 14 days when @ @ @ @ @ .
For most people , the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms , such @ @ @ @ @ clear up in two to three weeks .
But for some , especially older adults @ @ @ @ @ problems , it can cause more severe illness , including pneumonia and death .

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - Navajo Nation health officials on Tuesday reported 22 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three additional known deaths.
The total of infected tribal members on the vast reservation now stands at 8,639 with 425 known deaths.
Health officials also said 74,045 people have been tested and 6,437 have recovered from the coronavirus.
Residents of the reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have been under a mandate to wear masks when out in public.
The tribe also has daily, nighttime curfews and weekend lockdowns that include the closure of businesses.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said officials are working on an order that would require residents who travel to areas known as hot spots for coronavirus infections to quarantine for 14 days when they return to the reservation.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--Police in riot gear clear NYC's 'Occupy City Hall' camp

NEW YORK ( AP ) - Police in riot gear moved in early Wednesday to clear a month-long encampment of protesters and homeless people from a park near New York ’ s City Hall .
A line of officers with helmets and shields entered City Hall Park shortly before 4 a.m. and forced the remaining people who were camped there out .
At least seven people were arrested .
Charges were pending .
The encampment in City Hall Park started last month forming following weeks of protests sparked by the May death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” protest was part of a national “ defund the police ” movement seeking to redirect funds from policing to community needs like housing and education .
Mayor Bill de Blasio , a Democrat , had resisted calls to move the protesters out of the park that adjoins the historic building where he works .
Asked about it Tuesday , de Blasio cited “ a balance we always strike between the right to protest and especially public safety.
” He added , “ That decision will be made by the NYPD as things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the situation every day .
But again , I think we look at the specific facts of what ’ s going on and then decisions will be made day by day.
” De Blasio said Wednesday he ’ ll resist any effort by President Donald Trump to send federal officers to New York as the president has done in Portland and has threatened to do in other cities .
De Blasio said on MSNBC ’ s “ Morning Joe ” that if Trump sends officers to the city , “ We will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
”

NEW YORK (AP) - Police in riot gear raided an encampment of protesters and homeless people near New York’s City Hall before dawn Wednesday, clearing out the camp that formed a month ago to push for budget cuts and other changes to the nation’s largest police department.
A line of New York Police Department officers with helmets and shields entered City Hall Park shortly before 4 a.m. and forced out what officials said were about 50 people, many of them homeless, who remained at the encampment. The move spurred criticism from those involved in the camp for throwing away homeless people’s possessions and the camp’s supplies.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the move was unrelated to President Donald Trump’s threats to send federal law enforcers to New York to take on protesters, as the Republican president has done in Portland, Oregon.
“We do always respect the right to protest, but we have to think about health and safety first, and the health and safety issues were growing,” said de Blasio, a Democrat. “So it was time to take action.”
Speaking later in Albany, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Trump told him by phone that he wouldn’t deploy extra federal law enforcement forces to New York for now, and that the two leaders would speak before any such action happened.
Video from the police raid at City Hall Park shows officers moving through the camp, taking down tents and other temporary structures and tossing them into garbage trucks to be hauled away. Cleaning crews arrived later to scrub graffiti from buildings in the area.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said officers instructed people to leave, let them do so and many did, but about six were given summonses for refusing to disperse. One person was arrested for throwing a brick at an officer, denting his shield, Shea said. The commissioner said that no injuries were reported and that there was “no real use of force,” though he said there was “some tugging and back and forth.” He called the episode “one for the win column … another step towards getting back to normalcy here in New York.”
But some protesters disputed Shea’s account, saying they didn’t hear a warning before police poured in, threw people’s possessions away and pushed them around.
“They tried to run us over with bikes,” Nene Thompkins, a 19-year-old woman living at the camp, told Gothamist. “They pushed us with shields. They told us we couldn’t be on the sidewalk so walk on the street, then as soon as we got on the street they ambushed us.”
De Blasio said shelter services were offered to homeless people at the encampment.
The encampment, sometimes called “Occupy City Hall” or “Abolition Plaza,” started in late June with several hundred people following weeks of protests sparked by the May death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The New York camp was part of a national “defund the police” movement seeking to redirect funds from policing to community needs like housing and education.
Protesters said they would camp out until the city reduced the New York Police Department’s budget by $1 billion. The City Council responded by passing a budget that shifts roughly $1 billion from the police department, but some activists criticized the funding cuts as cosmetic or insufficient.
De Blasio had earlier resisted calls to move the protesters.
The encampment was reminiscent of 2011’s Occupy Wall Street, when protesters against income inequality took over Zuccotti Park, a few blocks from City Hall. Police removed them after two months. De Blasio, who was then the city’s elected public advocate, criticized then-mayor Mike Bloomberg’s deployment of police to clear Occupy Wall Street.
De Blasio said Wednesday’s raid was different, drawing a distinction between Occupy Wall Street as “a protest situation” and the City Hall Park camp, which he characterized as having become “less and less about protests” and more a homeless camp where “health and safety issues came to the fore.”
People involved in the camp have said it served in part to demonstrate that the city was failing the homeless.
Scores of supporters of the Occupy City Hall demonstration gathered Wednesday evening in a thunderstorn at a different New York park to re-sound their calls for stopping funding of the police department and ultimately abolishing it.
Aaron Gamman said he had been at the encampment every day since it started, though he had gone home for the night by the time the raid happened.
In recent days, “it’s just been a spot for homeless people and a way for them to get food and clothes,” the 20-year-old film student said.
“The fact that the NYPD handled it with no care just goes to show why we were protesting them,” the native New Yorker said.
___
Associated Press writer Marina Villeneuve contributed to this story from Albany, New York.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--South Asia floods displace millions, kill 550

DHAKA , Bangladesh ( AP ) - More than 9.6 million people across South Asia have been affected by severe floods , with hundreds of thousands struggling to get food and medicine , officials and aid organizations said Wednesday .
About 550 people have died in India , Bangladesh and Nepal , while millions have been displaced from their homes since the flooding began last month , said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies , or IFRC .
The organization warned of a humanitarian crisis , saying that close to one third of Bangladesh has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the coming weeks .
It said that 2.8 million people have been affected , and that more than 1 million are isolated .
In India , over 6.8 million people have been affected by the flooding , mainly in the northern states of Assam , West Bengal , Bihar and Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh , the IFRC said , citing official figures .
In India ’ s northeastern state of Assam alone , some 2.5 million people were affected and at least 113 have died , authorities said .
M.S .
Manivannan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Authority , said many rivers were still flowing above the danger level .
More than 100 animals , mostly deer , have died in floods that have submerged Kaziranga National Park , 225 kilometers ( 139 miles ) east of the state capital , Gauhati .
More rain is expected in the next few days .
In Bangladesh , experts say this year ’ s monsoon is going to last longer than usual because more waters are expected to rush in from upstream India , which shares 53 common rivers with downstream Bangladesh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center , said floodwaters were not expected to start receding before the second week of August .
In Kurigram , one of the worst affected districts in northern Bangladesh , thousands of people took shelter at higher ground , leaving their homes and belongings behind .
“ Many people are not having three meals a day , ” Mizanur Rahman Soikat , a volunteer for the Bidyanondo Foundation , a local charity , said by phone .
“ The government and volunteer groups are trying to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is getting harder to keep track of the affected people because of rising waters.
” Jagan Chapagain , secretary general of the IFRC , said South Asia could face a humanitarian crisis .
“ People in Bangladesh , India and Nepal are sandwiched in a triple disaster of flooding , the coronavirus and an associated socioeconomic crisis of loss of livelihoods and jobs , ” he said .
“ Flooding of farmlands and destruction of crops can push millions of people , already badly impacted by COVID-19 , further into poverty , ”

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - More than 9.6 million people across South Asia have been affected by severe floods, with hundreds of thousands struggling to get food and medicine, officials and aid organizations said Wednesday.
About 550 people have died in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, while millions have been displaced from their homes since the flooding began last month, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or IFRC.
The organization warned of a humanitarian crisis, saying that close to one third of Bangladesh has already been flooded, with more flooding expected in the coming weeks. It said that 2.8 million people have been affected, and that more than 1 million are isolated.
In India, over 6.8 million people have been affected by the flooding, mainly in the northern states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh, the IFRC said, citing official figures.
In India’s northeastern state of Assam alone, some 2.5 million people were affected and at least 113 have died, authorities said.
M.S. Manivannan, head of Assam’s Disaster Management Authority, said many rivers were still flowing above the danger level.
More than 100 animals, mostly deer, have died in floods that have submerged Kaziranga National Park, 225 kilometers (139 miles) east of the state capital, Gauhati. More rain is expected in the next few days.
In Bangladesh, experts say this year’s monsoon is going to last longer than usual because more waters are expected to rush in from upstream India, which shares 53 common rivers with downstream Bangladesh.
Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, the executive engineer at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, said floodwaters were not expected to start receding before the second week of August.
In Kurigram, one of the worst affected districts in northern Bangladesh, thousands of people took shelter at higher ground, leaving their homes and belongings behind.
“Many people are not having three meals a day,” Mizanur Rahman Soikat, a volunteer for the Bidyanondo Foundation, a local charity, said by phone. “The government and volunteer groups are trying to give them food and medicine, but it is getting harder to keep track of the affected people because of rising waters.”
Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the IFRC, said South Asia could face a humanitarian crisis.
“People in Bangladesh, India and Nepal are sandwiched in a triple disaster of flooding, the coronavirus and an associated socioeconomic crisis of loss of livelihoods and jobs,” he said. “Flooding of farmlands and destruction of crops can push millions of people, already badly impacted by COVID-19, further into poverty,”
___
Hussain reported from in Gauhati, India.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--Liz Cheney: I'm not going anywhere

Liz Cheney: I'm not going anywhere

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney on Wednesday said she ’ s not going anywhere , a day after a fellow House Republican called on her to step down from her post .
“ Whether or not we have debates and discussions internally , as I ’ m sure we will continue to do , we are going to be absolutely united going forward on the big issues , and I ’ m not going anyplace , ” the Wyoming Republican said on “ Fox & Friends.
” Rep. Matt Gaetz , Florida Republican , on Tuesday said Ms. Cheney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her leadership post , deeming her insufficiently supportive of President Trump .
Conservatives had griped about Ms. Cheney ’ s financial support for a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie , Kentucky Republican .
Ms. Cheney said she and Mr. Massie “ had a nice long talk ” on Tuesday .
“ We are in a good place , ” she said .
“ I made the point , actually , that President Trump was harder on Thomas Massie than I was.
” In March , Mr. Trump had called for Mr. Massie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the congressman had threatened to delay quick passage of a coronavirus relief bill .

Rep. Liz Cheney said she’s not going anywhere.
Shrugging off conservatives in her own party calling for her ouster as chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, the Wyoming Republican said her colleagues need to stay focused on defeating former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and the Democrats this fall.
“Whether or not we have debates and discussions internally, as I’m sure we will continue to do, we are going to be absolutely united going forward on the big issues and I’m not going anyplace,” the congresswoman said on “Fox and Friends.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, demanded she step down or be removed from leadership because, he said, she is insufficiently supportive of President Trump.
In a tense conference meeting this week, conservatives griped about Ms. Cheney, including her financial support for a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican.
Ms. Cheney, the top-ranking female member of the House GOP leadership team, said there are a “wide range of views” in the conference and that the meeting had been more focused on what the country would look like if Mr. Biden is elected president and Democrats control the House and the Senate after the November elections.
She estimated that she votes with Mr. Trump about 97% of the time, though she acknowledged that they don’t always see eye-to-eye on issues tied to national security.
“I find, in my experience, the president appreciates people who are direct, people who explain what they think,” she said. “But I think most of the time, far more of the time, we agree than we disagree.”
Ms. Cheney is among the faction of Republicans who have criticized Mr. Trump for plans to draw down U.S. troops from Germany.
She said that she and Mr. Massie “had a nice long talk” on Tuesday.
“We are in a good place,” she said. “I made the point, actually, that President Trump was harder on Thomas Massie than I was.”
In March, Mr. Trump called for Mr. Massie to be thrown out of the GOP after the congressman had threatened to delay quick passage of a coronavirus relief bill.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a leading House conservative, tried to sidestep questions about Ms. Cheney on Wednesday, also saying that he’s focused on reelecting Mr. Trump.
“Matt Gaetz is a good friend, and Matt Gaetz wants President Trump to get reelected just as strongly as I do, just as strongly as everyone in the Republican conference does,” Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, said on Fox.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also entered the House fray by criticizing Ms. Cheney’s foreign policy views.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, weighed in on Twitter to back up Mr. Gaetz: “We already have one Mitt Romney, we don’t need another … we also don’t need the endless wars she advocates for.”
Ms. Cheney shot back: “Well, Donald Trump Jr. is not a member of the House Republican Conference.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stuck up for his lieutenant.
“We’re honored to have her as conference chair,” the California Republican said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--Hiker suffers medical emergency on trail, dies

THORNTON , N.H. ( AP ) - A 55-year-old hiker on a mountain trail in New Hampshire has died after @ @ @ @ @ state Fish and Game Department officers said .
Officers said the man , from Concord @ @ @ @ @ while hiking the Welch and Dickey Trail in Thornton on Tuesday .
People with him @ @ @ @ @ a medical professional immediately started CPR , and first responders assisted .
But they were @ @ @ @ @ ’ s name was not released .

THORNTON, N.H. (AP) - A 55-year-old hiker on a mountain trail in New Hampshire has died after suffering a medical emergency, state Fish and Game Department officers said.
Officers said the man, from Concord, Massachusetts, had collapsed while hiking the Welch and Dickey Trail in Thornton on Tuesday. People with him and a passer-by who was a medical professional immediately started CPR, and first responders assisted. But they were not successful.
The man’s name was not released.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--UN agencies warn of more food shortages in war-torn Yemen

CAIRO ( AP ) - U.N. agencies warned Wednesday that food shortages will rise sharply in parts of war-torn Yemen in the next six months , mainly because of the overall economic decline and the pandemic that has ripped through the Arab world ’ s poorest country .
A report by the World Food Program , the U.N. Children ’ s Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization said the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity is expected to increase from 2 million to 3.2 million in the country ’ s south .
Yemen has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world , mostly because of the war that pits the country ’ s Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the internationally recognized government .
Economic shocks , conflict , floods , desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen , the report said .
“ Yemen is facing a crisis on multiple fronts , ” said Laurent Bukera , the WFP director for Yemen .
“ We must act now .
In 2019 , thanks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partners were able to reverse the deterioration in the worst hit areas of Yemen.
” Yemen ’ s conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and created the world ’ s worst humanitarian disaster , with more than 3 million people internally displaced and two-thirds of the population reliant on food assistance for survival .
Donor countries recently cut back on aid to Yemen amid the coronavirus pandemic and also due to concerns that the aid might not be reaching intended recipients in territories controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis .
“ Yemen is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food security crisis .
… Unless we receive the funding we need now , we won ’ t be able to do the same this time , ” said Lise Grande , the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen .
She said the U.N. agencies faced the similar situation 18 months ago , but they were “ generously funded ” and “ prevented a famine.
” Some 24 million Yemeni people , which is 80 % of the country ’ s entire population , require some form of assistance or protection , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humanitarian Affairs , or OCHA .
And 75 % of U.N. programs for the country , covering essentially every sector , from food to health care and nutrition , have already shut their doors or reduced operations .

CAIRO (AP) - U.N. agencies warned Wednesday that food shortages will rise sharply in parts of war-torn Yemen in the next six months, mainly because of the overall economic decline and the pandemic that has ripped through the Arab world’s poorest country.
A report by the World Food Program, the U.N. Children’s Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization said the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity is expected to increase from 2 million to 3.2 million in the country’s south.
Yemen has been the site of the largest food crisis in the world, mostly because of the war that pits the country’s Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the internationally recognized government.
Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, the report said.
“Yemen is facing a crisis on multiple fronts,” said Laurent Bukera, the WFP director for Yemen. “We must act now. In 2019, thanks to a massive scale-up, WFP and partners were able to reverse the deterioration in the worst hit areas of Yemen.”
Yemen’s conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and created the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with more than 3 million people internally displaced and two-thirds of the population reliant on food assistance for survival.
Donor countries recently cut back on aid to Yemen amid the coronavirus pandemic and also due to concerns that the aid might not be reaching intended recipients in territories controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.
“Yemen is again on the brink of a major food security crisis. … Unless we receive the funding we need now, we won’t be able to do the same this time,” said Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.
She said the U.N. agencies faced the similar situation 18 months ago, but they were “generously funded” and “prevented a famine.”
Some 24 million Yemeni people, which is 80% of the country’s entire population, require some form of assistance or protection, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA. And 75% of U.N. programs for the country, covering essentially every sector, from food to health care and nutrition, have already shut their doors or reduced operations.


washingtontimes--2020-07-22--Community crime prevention groups stop outreach work

MINNEAPOLIS ( AP ) - Several crime prevention organizations say they ’ ve stopped doing outreach on the streets of Minneapolis because the city hasn ’ t paid them in weeks .
The groups , including We Push for Peace , have been patrolling high crime neighborhoods under the direction of the city ’ s Office of Violence Prevention .
Organizers would talk to gang members and try to ease tensions with rival gangs , among other things .
We Push for Peace founder Trey Pollard says most of the group ’ s workers rely on a steady paycheck .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting their lives in jeopardy out there , and walking around from 9 o ’ clock at night to 3 o ’ clock in the morning , ” Pollard said .
“ It ’ s been a month now , and we have yet to receive a payment - you can ’ t expect us to keep doing the work.
” Fourth Ward Council Member Phillipe Cunningham blamed the situation on the city ’ s inefficient process for paying contractors , the Star Tribune reported .
He said his office is working to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the matter will be resolved soon .
The community-based groups have been conducting outreach during an especially violent year in Minneapolis , which has seen homicides double from this time in 2019 and shootings increase about 70 % .

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Several crime prevention organizations say they’ve stopped doing outreach on the streets of Minneapolis because the city hasn’t paid them in weeks.
The groups, including We Push for Peace, have been patrolling high crime neighborhoods under the direction of the city’s Office of Violence Prevention. Organizers would talk to gang members and try to ease tensions with rival gangs, among other things.
We Push for Peace founder Trey Pollard says most of the group’s workers rely on a steady paycheck.
“They can’t continuously keep putting their lives in jeopardy out there, and walking around from 9 o’clock at night to 3 o’clock in the morning,” Pollard said. “It’s been a month now, and we have yet to receive a payment - you can’t expect us to keep doing the work.”
Fourth Ward Council Member Phillipe Cunningham blamed the situation on the city’s inefficient process for paying contractors, the Star Tribune reported. He said his office is working to speed up the outreach payments and hopes the matter will be resolved soon.
The community-based groups have been conducting outreach during an especially violent year in Minneapolis, which has seen homicides double from this time in 2019 and shootings increase about 70%.