washingtontimes--2020-08-22--University of Utah pays $450K to stop cyberattack on servers

The University of Utah paid extortionists almost half a million dollars after a ransomware attack on some of its computer servers , and is now telling students , staff and faculty to change their university passwords .
According to a statement issued by the university , it paid $ 457,059.24 to an “ unknown entity ” that hacked the College of Social and Behavioral Science servers on July 19 , rendering them “ temporarily inaccessible.
” The cyber criminals encrypted about 0.02 % of the data stored there before the U.
’ s Information Security Office detected the attack .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but ransomware attacks involve criminal groups that hack into and steal data ; encrypt it so that its owners can not access it ; and demand payment to release the data - often threatening to release sensitive information if their demands are not met .
The police were contacted and the university engaged “ an outside consultant with expertise in handling these types of situations.
” The affected servers were “ immediately isolated from the rest of the university and the internet.
” The servers were “ cleaned , and college data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because it included employee and student information - and after “ careful consideration ” - the ransom was paid “ as a proactive and preventive step to ensure information was not released on the internet.
” According to the statement , the U.
’ s cyber insurance policy paid “ part of ” the $ 457,059.24 ransom , and “ the university covered the remainder.
” The U. did not specify the breakdown , but added that “ no tuition , grant , donation , state or taxpayer funds were used to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still reviewing ” exactly what data was accessed , and promised an update “ when more information is available.
” Ten days after the attack , students , staff and faculty were told to change their university passwords .
According to the university , the delay was because there had to be “ a full understanding of what information may have been stolen and how access was gained ” as it worked “ with law enforcement to determine what steps ” should be taken .

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -
The University of Utah paid extortionists almost half a million dollars after a ransomware attack on some of its computer servers, and is now telling students, staff and faculty to change their university passwords.
According to a statement issued by the university, it paid $457,059.24 to an “unknown entity” that hacked the College of Social and Behavioral Science servers on July 19, rendering them “temporarily inaccessible.”
The cyber criminals encrypted about 0.02% of the data stored there before the U.’s Information Security Office detected the attack. The university did not specify the threat, but ransomware attacks involve criminal groups that hack into and steal data; encrypt it so that its owners cannot access it; and demand payment to release the data - often threatening to release sensitive information if their demands are not met.
The police were contacted and the university engaged “an outside consultant with expertise in handling these types of situations.”
The affected servers were “immediately isolated from the rest of the university and the internet.” The servers were “cleaned, and college data was reinstalled from system backups.” But because it included employee and student information - and after “careful consideration” - the ransom was paid “as a proactive and preventive step to ensure information was not released on the internet.”
According to the statement, the U.’s cyber insurance policy paid “part of” the $457,059.24 ransom, and “the university covered the remainder.” The U. did not specify the breakdown, but added that “no tuition, grant, donation, state or taxpayer funds were used to pay the ransom.”
The university is “still reviewing” exactly what data was accessed, and promised an update “when more information is available.”
Ten days after the attack, students, staff and faculty were told to change their university passwords. According to the university, the delay was because there had to be “a full understanding of what information may have been stolen and how access was gained” as it worked “with law enforcement to determine what steps” should be taken.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Dog reduces wildlife, aircraft encounters at WVa airport

CHARLESTON , W.Va. ( AP ) - Hercules , the 3-year-old border collie charged with keeping birds and other forest-dwelling animals off Yeager Airport ’ s runways and taxiways , is credited with dramatically reducing the number of wildlife strikes to aircraft at the Charleston airport , including a rare strike-free three-month period .
Since joining the staff at Yeager in October 2018 after undergoing training in wildlife management protocols , Hercules has made 2- to 3-mile patrols of the airport ’ s operations area each day to keep animals out of the path of aircraft .
Like other U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of wildlife strikes at Yeager , and Hercules is more than happy to chase them out of harm ’ s way — for both flight crews and feathered fliers .
During the third quarter of the 2020 fiscal year , when the no-strike period took place , Hercules chased or otherwise harassed nearly 900 birds and other animals to keep them away from aircraft , according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture .
The USDA has a longstanding wildlife management agreement with the Charleston airport .
“ Wildlife strikes can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nick Keller , Yeager Airport ’ s CEO .
“ That is why we take this issue seriously , and why we have our wildlife dog Hercules .
To have zero strikes three months in a row is incredible.
” “ Bird strikes are dangerous because birds usually fly in fig flocks , ” said Russ Kennedy , Yeager ’ s operations manager .
Birds can cause serious mechanical issues if they “ can get into a jet engine or other parts of a plane , ” Kennedy said .
Hercules makes his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full-time wildlife management specialist .
Bird strikes to commercial aircraft at Yeager Airport in 2019 included two incidents involving hawks , one involving cuckoos , and single-bird incidents involving a chimney swift and a ruby crowned kinglet , according to an FAA wildlife strike database .
None of those bird strikes caused damage to the aircraft .
Prior to Hercules ’ tenure at the airport , wildlife strikes have included at least two coyotes , two deer , three bats , three geese and a yellow bellied sapsucker .
The only strike resulting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the deer encounters , according to the FAA data .
“ We are so proud of Hercules , ” Keller said .
“ He has an incredibly important job and he does it very well.
” Hercules was bought and trained with a $ 7,500 allocation from the Kanawha County Commission .

RICK STEELHAMMER, The Charleston Gazette-Mail

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Hercules, the 3-year-old border collie charged with keeping birds and other forest-dwelling animals off Yeager Airport’s runways and taxiways, is credited with dramatically reducing the number of wildlife strikes to aircraft at the Charleston airport, including a rare strike-free three-month period.
Since joining the staff at Yeager in October 2018 after undergoing training in wildlife management protocols, Hercules has made 2- to 3-mile patrols of the airport’s operations area each day to keep animals out of the path of aircraft.
Like other U.S. airports, birds make up the majority of wildlife strikes at Yeager, and Hercules is more than happy to chase them out of harm’s way — for both flight crews and feathered fliers.
During the third quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, when the no-strike period took place, Hercules chased or otherwise harassed nearly 900 birds and other animals to keep them away from aircraft, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA has a longstanding wildlife management agreement with the Charleston airport.
“Wildlife strikes can bring a plane down,” said Nick Keller, Yeager Airport’s CEO. “That is why we take this issue seriously, and why we have our wildlife dog Hercules. To have zero strikes three months in a row is incredible.”
“Bird strikes are dangerous because birds usually fly in fig flocks,” said Russ Kennedy, Yeager’s operations manager. Birds can cause serious mechanical issues if they “can get into a jet engine or other parts of a plane,” Kennedy said.
Hercules makes his rounds in the company of a new full-time wildlife management specialist.
Bird strikes to commercial aircraft at Yeager Airport in 2019 included two incidents involving hawks, one involving cuckoos, and single-bird incidents involving a chimney swift and a ruby crowned kinglet, according to an FAA wildlife strike database. None of those bird strikes caused damage to the aircraft.
Prior to Hercules’ tenure at the airport, wildlife strikes have included at least two coyotes, two deer, three bats, three geese and a yellow bellied sapsucker. The only strike resulting in significant damage to an aircraft was one of the deer encounters, according to the FAA data.
“We are so proud of Hercules,” Keller said. “He has an incredibly important job and he does it very well.”
Hercules was bought and trained with a $7,500 allocation from the Kanawha County Commission.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Virginia restaurant showcases tool in fight against virus

GLEN ALLEN , Va. ( AP ) - As the food service industry fights to rebound from COVID-19 , restaurants around the world are brainstorming creative ways to get patrons back in their doors and comfortable with health and safety standards .
One such establishment is Silver Diner , which , on Aug. 12 , became the first restaurant chain in the U.S. to install air filtration , purification and ultraviolet light systems across all its 18 locations in Virginia , Maryland and New Jersey , plus two Silver New American Brasseries .
Its Richmond restaurant in Innsbrook features the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rawlings , founder and chief efficiency officer of Veteran LED , a Richmond-based lighting and energy management firm .
Rawlings , a Chesterfield County native and Iraq war veteran , said his company began researching advanced means of purification at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Germicidal ultraviolet light and HEPA filtration , two tools which have grown in popularity in the fight against the virus , came to the forefront of the search .
“ The science is now out there that germicidal light , HEPA filtration , ionization , these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they create a safer space , ” Rawlings said as he strolled about the restaurant , checking filters and testing UV lights .
A handful of wall-mounted systems are spread around the restaurant .
They look a bit like small , high-tech air conditioning units , and are on all the time , ionizing the air .
They have UV lights on the inside designed to stamp out any particulates the filters capture .
A larger UV light hangs above the bar , and comes on at night to provide a radiance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
UV lights are used as a disinfecting tool in the medical field , and Boston University in June released a study validating claims that ultraviolet light sources can deactivate the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 , Rawlings noted .
The virus that causes COVID-19 is roughly 125 nanometers in diameter , and HEPA ( high efficiency particulate absorbing ) filters are able to capture any particle 10 nanometers and above with exceptional efficiency , according to experts .
“ None of us can prevent COVID-19 completely .
But the bottom line is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Rawlings said .
Ype von Hengst , Silver Diner co-founder and executive chef , said the Maryland-based chain ’ s sales were up double digits in January and February in conjunction with its 30-year anniversary in 2019 .
“ Then all of a sudden the whole world collapsed , ” he said , adding that 1,600 layoffs ensued .
“ You get creative in these moments.
” To-go orders made up only about 25 % of sales in the first few months .
Business suffered and , even as physical spaces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way below average as restaurant goers remained apprehensive toward the idea of dining in .
“ Profit margins in the restaurant world are real small .
We need people to come in again , ” said von Hengst , gesturing around to the 20 or so guests spread about the restaurant at 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon .
More sat outside below a tent .
He began considering air filtration and UV purification for his business after reading about a restaurant in Guangzhou , China , that garnered international headlines .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spread it to nine people when one of the restaurant ’ s air conditioners seemed to blow the virus particles around the dining room .
It was this story that pushed von Hengst to the conclusion that customer safety must be of paramount importance to any service industry business struggling to rebound from the pandemic , and that air purification may be the solution .
Silver Diner spent $ 500,000 to install the filtration systems and UV lights in its 20 locations .
It ’ s a big investment , von Hengst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become a necessity .
“ If we want to get people back in and make people feel secure , things will have to change , ” he said , referring to the service industry as a whole .
“ It ’ s worth the investment because I think this is going to be the new standard.
” Dawn Craddock , a server at the Silver Diner in Innsbrook , was out of work and stayed home for three months at the beginning of the pandemic .
She returned in June , a little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her job .
She feels safer in her environment with the filtration system and UV lights installed .
As required by the state , masks are still a necessity inside for staff and for diners when not seated at a table .
“ I also feel like it ’ s safer for the guests , people are more comfortable now coming in , dining in , eating and enjoying themselves , ” she said , adding that feedback from customers has been encouraging since the systems were installed .
“ They feel safer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing all this , ” said von Hengst , who has also heard positive feedback from customers .
He said that in the past couple of weeks since the systems were put in place , patronage at some of the chain ’ s locations is back up to around 60 % -70 % of what it was in 2019 .
“ They ask us why nobody else is doing this , and , well , somebody has to be the first .
”

GLEN ALLEN, Va. (AP) - As the food service industry fights to rebound from COVID-19, restaurants around the world are brainstorming creative ways to get patrons back in their doors and comfortable with health and safety standards.
One such establishment is Silver Diner, which, on Aug. 12, became the first restaurant chain in the U.S. to install air filtration, purification and ultraviolet light systems across all its 18 locations in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, plus two Silver New American Brasseries.
Its Richmond restaurant in Innsbrook features the new technology, the brainchild of Chris Rawlings, founder and chief efficiency officer of Veteran LED, a Richmond-based lighting and energy management firm.
Rawlings, a Chesterfield County native and Iraq war veteran, said his company began researching advanced means of purification at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Germicidal ultraviolet light and HEPA filtration, two tools which have grown in popularity in the fight against the virus, came to the forefront of the search.
“The science is now out there that germicidal light, HEPA filtration, ionization, these different technologies are proven, they work, they create a safer space,” Rawlings said as he strolled about the restaurant, checking filters and testing UV lights.
A handful of wall-mounted systems are spread around the restaurant. They look a bit like small, high-tech air conditioning units, and are on all the time, ionizing the air. They have UV lights on the inside designed to stamp out any particulates the filters capture. A larger UV light hangs above the bar, and comes on at night to provide a radiance field that disinfects surfaces in the area.
UV lights are used as a disinfecting tool in the medical field, and Boston University in June released a study validating claims that ultraviolet light sources can deactivate the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Rawlings noted.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is roughly 125 nanometers in diameter, and HEPA (high efficiency particulate absorbing) filters are able to capture any particle 10 nanometers and above with exceptional efficiency, according to experts.
“None of us can prevent COVID-19 completely. But the bottom line is that we’re creating a safer environment,” Rawlings said.
Ype von Hengst, Silver Diner co-founder and executive chef, said the Maryland-based chain’s sales were up double digits in January and February in conjunction with its 30-year anniversary in 2019.
“Then all of a sudden the whole world collapsed,” he said, adding that 1,600 layoffs ensued. “You get creative in these moments.”
To-go orders made up only about 25% of sales in the first few months. Business suffered and, even as physical spaces reopened at partial capacity, patronage stayed way below average as restaurant goers remained apprehensive toward the idea of dining in.
“Profit margins in the restaurant world are real small. We need people to come in again,” said von Hengst, gesturing around to the 20 or so guests spread about the restaurant at 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. More sat outside below a tent.
He began considering air filtration and UV purification for his business after reading about a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, that garnered international headlines. One diner infected with the novel coronavirus appeared to spread it to nine people when one of the restaurant’s air conditioners seemed to blow the virus particles around the dining room.
It was this story that pushed von Hengst to the conclusion that customer safety must be of paramount importance to any service industry business struggling to rebound from the pandemic, and that air purification may be the solution.
Silver Diner spent $500,000 to install the filtration systems and UV lights in its 20 locations. It’s a big investment, von Hengst said, but one he thinks will become a necessity.
“If we want to get people back in and make people feel secure, things will have to change,” he said, referring to the service industry as a whole.
“It’s worth the investment because I think this is going to be the new standard.”
Dawn Craddock, a server at the Silver Diner in Innsbrook, was out of work and stayed home for three months at the beginning of the pandemic. She returned in June, a little nervous but ready to get back to her job.
She feels safer in her environment with the filtration system and UV lights installed. As required by the state, masks are still a necessity inside for staff and for diners when not seated at a table.
“I also feel like it’s safer for the guests, people are more comfortable now coming in, dining in, eating and enjoying themselves,” she said, adding that feedback from customers has been encouraging since the systems were installed.
“They feel safer, they are astonished that we are doing all this,” said von Hengst, who has also heard positive feedback from customers. He said that in the past couple of weeks since the systems were put in place, patronage at some of the chain’s locations is back up to around 60%-70% of what it was in 2019.
“They ask us why nobody else is doing this, and, well, somebody has to be the first.”


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Ohio Republicans try to regroup in crucial state for Trump

CINCINNATI ( AP ) - Complications pummeled Ohio Republicans this week as they sought to put up a united front headed into the GOP ’ s national convention .
One of their best-known politicians threw his support behind Democrat Joe Biden , their Republican state attorney general challenged the Trump administration , and the president took on an iconic Ohio company in an area of the state where loyalties to job security ran higher than to party four years ago .
With early voting set to begin in less than seven weeks , Democrats are enthused about their possibilities in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he carried by 8 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 .
It ’ s a striking turnaround for a party that just last year was wondering if the one-time swing state had moved out of its reach .
Democrats have seen progress since Trump faced Clinton in the 2018 mid-term voting and 2019 local elections , including in key suburban areas .
Trump ’ s call Wednesday to boycott Akron-based Goodyear Tire while inaccurately claiming the company had announced a ban of MAGA hats gives the party new material as it tries to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who Trump did surprisingly well with in 2016 .
Jane Timkin , the Republican Party chairwoman who ousted an ally of former Gov .
John Kasich for that job , was dismissive of Kasich ’ s speech endorsing Biden at the DNC and expects momentum to build for Trump .
“ I feel pretty good , ” she told The Associated Press .
“ The president has a 95 % approval rating among Republicans and , aside from folks like John Kasich , who was a never-Trumper , I think the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about re-electing President Trump.
” A June 28 Quinnipiac University poll placed the figure at 92 % among Ohio registered voters , with 93 % of Democrats favoring Biden and independents divided 44 % for Trump and 40 % for Biden .
Kyle Kondik , an analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics who wrote the 2016 book about Ohio presidential politics “ The Bellwether , ” said it remains to be seen whether Kasich will sway fellow Republicans .
Kasich carried Ohio over Trump in 2016 , but his presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I think Kasich represents a lot of his friends and neighbors ( in suburban Columbus ) who probably feel the same way he does , ” Kondik said .
“ They ’ ve just seen enough.
” Kondik also said it ’ s too soon to predict whether Trump ’ s assault on Goodyear Tire & Rubber , an integral part of Akron ’ s “ Rubber Capital ” history , will cost him among northeast Ohio auto industry voters who backed Trump in 2016 .
Four years ago , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transition to clean energy meant “ we ’ re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business ” - damaged her performance in Ohio ’ s coal country in eastern Ohio where she had been running well .
Even Akron ’ s most famous native , LeBron James , jumped in : “ Unbelievable brand and unbelievable history , ” he said at the NBA ’ s pandemic home in Lake Buena Vista , Florida .
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan , a Democrat from Youngstown , helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day joined by local and union officials and a crowd of workers holding up such signs as “ It will be a Goodyear without Trump.
” He said with working families struggling during the pandemic-pounded economy , “ We have enough challenges.
” “ I ’ ve never seen anything like this , ” said Bill Conner , a United Steelworkers union local official in Akron , saying Trump ’ s boycott call could hurt “ an American company , American workers.
” Kondik commented , though , that such controversies seem to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rubber .
“ So many things happen on a day-to-day basis that you think might move voters , and they really don ’ t , ” Kondik said .
Timkin brushed it off , saying the president was “ calling out a policy ” over free speech concerns .
She also called “ Democrat-manufactured ” the uproar over Trump ’ s mail policy , which drew a letter from Republican Attorney General Dave Yost to Trump warning that “ radical changes ” would “ place the solvency of the Post Office above the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she doesn ’ t think the bribery scandal that led to federal charges this summer against then-Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder will resonate with voters Nov. 3 .
Kondik thinks Trump is still favored to win Ohio , but faces a “ significantly closer ” race than before .
Democrats note even without winning Ohio , they are forcing Trump to use resources and time that could have gone to other battlegrounds to defend it .
Carr Smyth reported from Columbus .
Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mahoney in Lake Buena Vista , Florida , contributed to this report .
Follow Dan Sewell at twitter.com/dansewell and Julie Carr Smyth at twitter.com/jcarrsmyth .

CINCINNATI (AP) - Complications pummeled Ohio Republicans this week as they sought to put up a united front headed into the GOP’s national convention.
One of their best-known politicians threw his support behind Democrat Joe Biden, their Republican state attorney general challenged the Trump administration, and President Donald Trump himself took on an iconic Ohio company in an area of the state where loyalties to job security ran higher than loyalties to party four years ago.
With early voting set to begin in less than seven weeks, Democrats are enthused about their possibilities in a state crucial to Trump, one he carried by 8 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016. It’s a striking turnaround for a party that just last year was wondering if the one-time swing state - with 18 electoral votes - had moved out of its reach.
Since Trump faced Clinton, Democrats have seen progress in the 2018 midterm and 2019 local elections, including in key suburban areas. Trump’s call Wednesday to boycott the Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, while inaccurately claiming the company had announced a ban of Make America Great Again hats, gives the party new material as it tries to return struggling blue-collar workers to the fold.
Jane Timken, the Republican Party chair who ousted an ally of former Gov. John Kasich from that job, was dismissive of Kasich’s speech endorsing Biden at the Democratic National Convention and expects Trump’s momentum to build.
“I feel pretty good,” she told The Associated Press. “The president has a 95% approval rating among Republicans and, aside from folks like John Kasich, who was a never-Trumper, I think the rest of the party is very united and excited about re-electing President Trump.”
A June 28 Quinnipiac University poll placed the figure at 92% among Ohio registered voters, with 93% of Democrats favoring Biden and independents divided 44% for Trump and 40% for Biden.
Kyle Kondik - an analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics who wrote “The Bellwether,” a 2016 book about Ohio presidential politics - said it remains to be seen whether Kasich will sway fellow Republicans. Kasich carried Ohio over Trump in 2016’s Republican presidential primary, but his campaign soon ran out of steam.
“I think Kasich represents a lot of his friends and neighbors (in suburban Columbus) who probably feel the same way he does,” Kondik said. “They’ve just seen enough.”
Kondik also said it’s too soon to predict whether Trump’s Wednesday assault on Goodyear, an integral part of Akron’s “Rubber Capital” history, will cost him among the northeast Ohio auto industry voters who backed him in 2016. Four years ago, a single remark by Clinton - that the transition to clean energy meant “we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” - damaged her performance in eastern Ohio’s coal country, where she had been running well.
Even Akron’s most famous native, LeBron James, jumped on Trump’s Goodyear comments: “Unbelievable brand and unbelievable history,” he said at the NBA’s pandemic home in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Youngstown, helped lead a rally in Akron the next day, joined by local and union officials and a crowd of workers holding up such signs as “It will be a Goodyear without Trump.” With working families struggling during the coronavirus pandemic-pounded economy, Ryan said: “We have enough challenges.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Bill Conner, a United Steelworkers union local official in Akron, saying Trump’s boycott call could hurt “an American company, American workers.”
Kondik commented, though, that such controversies seem to bounce off Trump like, well, rubber.
“So many things happen on a day-to-day basis that you think might move voters, and they really don’t,” Kondik said.
Timken brushed the Goodyear comments off, saying the president was “calling out a policy” over free speech concerns.
She also called “Democrat-manufactured” the uproar over Trump’s attempts to block funding for the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the November election, which drew a letter from Republican Attorney General Dave Yost warning Trump that “radical changes” would “place the solvency of the Post Office above the legitimacy of the Government itself.”
And she doesn’t think the bribery scandal that led to federal charges this summer against then-Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder will resonate with voters Nov. 3.
Kondik thinks Trump is still favored to win Ohio, but faces a “significantly closer” race than before. Democrats note that, even with the potential of not winning in the state, they are forcing Trump to use resources and time that could have gone to other battlegrounds to defend Ohio.
___
Carr Smyth reported from Columbus. Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to correct name of GOP party chair Jane Timken rather than Jane Timkin.
___
Follow Dan Sewell at twitter.com/dansewell and Julie Carr Smyth at twitter.com/jcarrsmyth.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Belarus blocks news websites amid large protests

MINSK , Belarus ( AP ) - Authorities in Belarus have blocked an array of news media websites reporting on the country shaken by two weeks of protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko .
The Belarusian Association of Journalists said Saturday that more than 20 sites had been blocked , including those of U.S.-funded Radio Liberty and Belsat , a Polish-funded satellite TV channel focusing on Belarus .
On Friday , the state publishing house stopped printing top independent newspapers the Narodnaya Volya and Komsomolskaya Pravda , citing equipment malfunction .
Protests unprecedented in Belarus for their size and duration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election in which official results handed Lukashenko a sixth term in office .
Protesters allege the results were manipulated and are calling for Lukashenko to resign .
Police responded harshly in the first days of the protests , arresting some 7,000 people , beating many of them .
But the protests have widened their scope , with strikes called at some of the country ’ s main factories .
In an enormous show of defiance , an estimated 200,000 protesters rallied last Sunday in the capital , Minsk .
Lukashenko ’ s main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for another march this Sunday .
“ We are closer than ever to our dream , ” she said in a video message from Lithuania , where she took refuge after the election .
Public shows of support for Lukashenko , who has ruled Belarus since 1994 , have been comparatively modest .
A rally in Minsk last Sunday attracted about a quarter as many people as the protest march .
On Saturday , only about 25 people showed up for a bicycle ride meant to show support for the president .
Lukashenko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inspired by unnamed Western forces and that NATO is deploying forces near Belarus ’ western border .
The alliance firmly denies that claim .
On Saturday , Lukashenko renewed the allegation during a visit to a military exercise in the Grodno region , near the borders of Poland and Lithuania .
“ You see that they are already dragging an ‘ alternative president ’ here , ” he said , referring to Tsikhanouskaya .
“ Military support is evident - the movement of NATO troops to the borders .
Authorities on Friday threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop the protests .
Investigators also summoned several opposition activists for questioning as part of a criminal probe into a council they created with the goal of coordinating a transition of power for the former Soviet republic of 9.5 million .
Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story .

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Authorities in Belarus blocked more than 50 news media websites that were covering weeks of protests demanding that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko resign but protesters still turned out again Saturday, some forming a chain of solidarity in the capital.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists reported the shutdowns Saturday, which included sites for the U.S.-funded Radio Liberty and Belsat, a Polish-funded satellite TV channel focusing on neighboring Belarus. The state publishing house has also stopped printing two top independent newspapers, the Narodnaya Volya and Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing an equipment malfunction.
Protests unprecedented in Belarus for their size and duration broke out after the Aug. 9 presidential election, in which election officials say Lukashenko won a sixth term in a landslide. Protesters allege the officials results are fraudulent and are calling for Lukashenko to resign after 26 years in power.
Police responded harshly to the protests at first, arresting 7,000 people and beating many of them. But the police crackdown only widened the scope of the protests, and now anti-government strikes have been called at some of the country’s main factories, former bases of support for Lukashenko. Some police have posted videos of themselves burning their uniforms and quitting in disgust at the government’s response.
In an enormous show of defiance, an estimated 200,000 protesters rallied Aug. 16 in the capital, Minsk. Lukashenko’s main election challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has called for another massive show of opposition this Sunday.
“We are closer than ever to our dream,” she said in a video message from Lithuania, where she took refuge after the election, knowing that some previous presidential challengers in Belarus had been jailed for years.
Public shows of support for Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, have been comparatively modest. A pro-government rally in Minsk on Aug. 16 attracted about a quarter as many people as the protest march. On Saturday, only about 25 people showed up for a bicycle ride to support the president.
On Saturday, hundreds of women dressed in white formed a human chain in Minsk as sign of protest. Another demonstration in the evening was attended by 3,000 people.
“Threats, intimidation, blocking no longer work. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians are telling him ‘go away” from all corners and squares,” said Anna Skuratovich, one of the women in the chain.
Protesters say they are fed up with the country’s declining living standards and have been angered at Lukashenko’s dismissal of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as his decades of repressing dissent.
“Lukashenko can’t propose anything other than tears for the USSR, bans and truncheons,” said Tatian Orlovich, in the crowd at the evening protest.
Lukashenko alleges that the protests are inspired by Western forces including the United States and that NATO is deploying forces near Belarus’ western border. The alliance firmly denies that claim.
The 65-year-old leader renewed the allegation Saturday during a visit to a military exercise in the Grodno region, near the borders of Poland and Lithuania.
“You see that they are already dragging an ‘alternative president’ here,” he said, referring to Tsikhanouskaya. “Military support is evident - the movement of NATO troops to the borders.”
Lukashenko later spoke to a rally of several thousand supporters in Grodno, where he threatened to close factories that are on still strike as of Monday. Strikes have hit some of the country’s major companies, including vehicle and fertilizer manufacturers, a potential blow to the largely state-controlled economy that has been struggling for years.
Authorities on Friday threatened demonstrators with criminal charges in a bid to stop the protests. Investigators also summoned several opposition activists for questioning as part of a criminal probe into a council they created with the goal of coordinating a transition of power for the former Soviet republic of 9.5 million people.
___
Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Future for Liberia's rubber farmers shaky amid economic woes

GBARNGA , Liberia ( AP ) - Christopher Reeves has farmed rubber for more than three decades in Liberia , selling his crop to the international tire-maker Firestone , which also operates the world ’ s largest rubber plantation here .
Now Reeves , 61 , and thousands of others working in Liberia ’ s once-thriving rubber industry have fallen victim to the global economic downturn caused by COVID-19 .
Even before the pandemic , Firestone had imposed a moratorium on purchasing rubber from small-scale independent farmers like Reeves .
What most thought would be a month turned into nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precautions and an oversupply of rubber .
Now the company plans to lay off hundreds who work at its plantation site .
Without steady work in the rubber industry , some Liberians are turning to back-breaking labor instead - crushing rocks for use in construction .
“ The rubber sector has gotten so bad that people are cutting down their rubber trees and planting ( oil ) palms , ” Reeves lamented .
“ The farmers are suffering .
I can ’ t lie to you.
” As a result of the moratorium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made almost nothing so far in 2020 , he said .
Now the company , operating here since 1929 , says it needs to fire hundreds of its employees .
Liberian lawmakers tried to stop the move but were unsuccessful .
Firestone ’ s general manager in Liberia , Don Darden , told lawmakers back in July that the company ’ s decision was difficult , but “ critically necessary at this time.
” Some 374 people are to be let go , two years after more than 600 jobs were eliminated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision we are forced to take now is necessary to help preserve the very sustainability of the company ’ s operations here in Liberia , ” he said .
Darden cited “ unsustainable losses since 2012 , the ongoing depressed prices in natural rubber and the impact of the global COVID-19 economic crisis.
” He also noted the high overhead costs at the large farm where it grows rubber .
Some Liberian lawmakers were particularly insulted by the layoff plan because it initially was to take effect on Liberia ’ s Independence Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began as a settlement for freed slaves from the United States in 1822 , but declared itself an independent nation 25 years later .
The layoffs have not yet occurred as company officials do the necessary paperwork with the Liberian Ministry of Labor to reduce its workforce .
Moses Acarous Gray , a member of Liberia ’ s legislature from the ruling Congress for Democratic Change party , says Firestone ’ s timing couldn ’ t be worse .
“ Firestone ’ s action is exploitative and undermines the development agenda of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently told private radio station OK FM .
“ And Firestone makes millions and billions of dollars from Liberia.
” In the meantime , independent farmers say there ’ s no one else to buy up all the rubber they had hoped could feed their families .
Richard Johnson Dennis , 55 , who farms in the rural town of Gbartala said local rubber purchasers have been taking advantage of the situation .
Knowing Firestone wasn ’ t buying , they offered very little because it was widely known the farmers were desperate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farmers to transport their rubber crop to sell elsewhere , said Wilhelmina G. Mulbah Siaway , president of the Rubber Planters Association of Liberia .
The situation improved slightly on July 15 when Firestone said that it would resume purchasing rubber from independent producers but the renewed purchases have not yet brought the profits many hoped .
Firestone warned that it would only buy one vehicle load per farmer per day .
“ This is due to unavoidable factors caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic , ” it said .
Rubber producers say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .
“ If a farmer carries about three to four trucks of raw rubber to sell , they will complain it is too much .
So where do we turn ?
” said one farmer , who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals within the industry .
Many here wish that Liberia ’ s rubber could be processed in the country and made into tires and other products , providing good-paying factory jobs .
Instead , the raw rubber is shipped overseas .
Firestone insists , though , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Benjamin Juakormee runs a tire repair shop in central Liberia that is only 500 meters ( yards ) from a rubber farm , but the tires he fixes were made a continent away .
“ It hurts me especially when I see tires marked Firestone , ” the 30-year-old said .
“ I look at them and say ‘ My God , this rubber comes from right here , and returns to us in finished products .
’ ”

GBARNGA, Liberia (AP) - Christopher Reeves has farmed rubber for more than three decades in Liberia, selling his crop to the international tire-maker Firestone, which also operates the world’s largest rubber plantation here.
Now Reeves, 61, and thousands of others working in Liberia’s once-thriving rubber industry have fallen victim to the global economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
Even before the pandemic, Firestone had imposed a moratorium on purchasing rubber from small-scale independent farmers like Reeves. What most thought would be a month turned into nearly six, with the company citing COVID-19 precautions and an oversupply of rubber. Now the company plans to lay off hundreds who work at its plantation site.
Without steady work in the rubber industry, some Liberians are turning to back-breaking labor instead - crushing rocks for use in construction.
“The rubber sector has gotten so bad that people are cutting down their rubber trees and planting (oil) palms,” Reeves lamented. “The farmers are suffering. I can’t lie to you.”
As a result of the moratorium, many independent farmers like Reeves have made almost nothing so far in 2020, he said.
Now the company, operating here since 1929, says it needs to fire hundreds of its employees. Liberian lawmakers tried to stop the move but were unsuccessful.
Firestone’s general manager in Liberia, Don Darden, told lawmakers back in July that the company’s decision was difficult, but “critically necessary at this time.” Some 374 people are to be let go, two years after more than 600 jobs were eliminated in Liberia, he said.
“The decision we are forced to take now is necessary to help preserve the very sustainability of the company’s operations here in Liberia,” he said.
Darden cited “unsustainable losses since 2012, the ongoing depressed prices in natural rubber and the impact of the global COVID-19 economic crisis.” He also noted the high overhead costs at the large farm where it grows rubber.
Some Liberian lawmakers were particularly insulted by the layoff plan because it initially was to take effect on Liberia’s Independence Day, on July 26. The country began as a settlement for freed slaves from the United States in 1822, but declared itself an independent nation 25 years later. The layoffs have not yet occurred as company officials do the necessary paperwork with the Liberian Ministry of Labor to reduce its workforce.
Moses Acarous Gray, a member of Liberia’s legislature from the ruling Congress for Democratic Change party, says Firestone’s timing couldn’t be worse.
“Firestone’s action is exploitative and undermines the development agenda of the Republic of Liberia,” the lawmaker recently told private radio station OK FM. “And Firestone makes millions and billions of dollars from Liberia.”
In the meantime, independent farmers say there’s no one else to buy up all the rubber they had hoped could feed their families.
Richard Johnson Dennis, 55, who farms in the rural town of Gbartala said local rubber purchasers have been taking advantage of the situation. Knowing Firestone wasn’t buying, they offered very little because it was widely known the farmers were desperate.
Poor roads make it difficult for farmers to transport their rubber crop to sell elsewhere, said Wilhelmina G. Mulbah Siaway, president of the Rubber Planters Association of Liberia.
The situation improved slightly on July 15 when Firestone said that it would resume purchasing rubber from independent producers but the renewed purchases have not yet brought the profits many hoped. Firestone warned that it would only buy one vehicle load per farmer per day.
“This is due to unavoidable factors caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic,” it said.
Rubber producers say they don’t know what to do.
“If a farmer carries about three to four trucks of raw rubber to sell, they will complain it is too much. So where do we turn?” said one farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals within the industry.
Many here wish that Liberia’s rubber could be processed in the country and made into tires and other products, providing good-paying factory jobs. Instead, the raw rubber is shipped overseas. Firestone insists, though, that such a shift is not economically feasible.
Benjamin Juakormee runs a tire repair shop in central Liberia that is only 500 meters (yards) from a rubber farm, but the tires he fixes were made a continent away.
“It hurts me especially when I see tires marked Firestone,” the 30-year-old said. “I look at them and say ‘My God, this rubber comes from right here, and returns to us in finished products.’”


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Man Utd captain heading home after appearing in Greek court

ATHENS , Greece ( AP ) - Manchester United captain Harry Maguire ’ s trial on charges of assault and attempted bribery following a late-night incident on a Greek island was postponed until Tuesday after he testified before a prosecutor on Saturday .
The 27-year-old England center-half and two other defendants are not obliged to attend the trial and are free to return home , the prosecutor ’ s office said .
Maguire , one of the country ’ s most high-profile players , left the court building in an unmarked van for an undisclosed destination after pleading not guilty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple instances of assault and battery over a fight they had with others on Mykonos , an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea .
Police tried to break up the fight .
Maguire and another defendant are also charged with attempted bribery and assault against a policeman .
United said Maguire would be leaving Greece .
“ Following the appearance in court today , ” the club said in a short statement , “ we note the adjournment of the case to allow the legal team to consider the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the charges .
“ It would be inappropriate for the player or club to comment further while the legal process takes its course.
” United ’ s players are on their offseason break after losing to Sevilla in the Europa League semifinals on Sunday .
Maguire is the world ’ s most expensive defender , having signed from Leicester last year in a deal worth 80 million pounds ( $ 97 million ) .
He became captain midway through his first season at Old Trafford .

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Manchester United captain Harry Maguire’s trial on charges of assault and attempted bribery following a late-night incident on a Greek island was postponed until Tuesday after he testified before a prosecutor on Saturday.
The 27-year-old England center-half and two other defendants are not obliged to attend the trial and are free to return home, the prosecutor’s office said.
Maguire, one of the country’s most high-profile players, left the court building in an unmarked van for an undisclosed destination after pleading not guilty. The three defendants were charged with multiple instances of assault and battery over a fight they had with others on Mykonos, an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea.
Police tried to break up the fight. Maguire and another defendant are also charged with attempted bribery and assault against a policeman.
United said Maguire would be leaving Greece.
“Following the appearance in court today,” the club said in a short statement, “we note the adjournment of the case to allow the legal team to consider the case file. Harry has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“It would be inappropriate for the player or club to comment further while the legal process takes its course.”
United’s players are on their offseason break after losing to Sevilla in the Europa League semifinals on Sunday.
Maguire is the world’s most expensive defender, having signed from Leicester last year in a deal worth 80 million pounds ($97 million). He became captain midway through his first season at Old Trafford.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--AP FACT CHECK: What the Dems didn't say, and what Trump did

WASHINGTON ( AP ) - Joe Biden and fellow Democrats spun an assortment of facts to their benefit in their national convention , omitting inconvenient truths such as Barack Obama ’ s record of aggressive deportations and swift action by a Republican president to save the auto industry more than a decade ago .
Meantime President Donald Trump flooded the zone with falsehoods , some so apparent that anyone with access to the internet could see the folly of them at a glance .
Witness his reference to New Zealand ’ s “ massive breakout ” of COVID-19 , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socially distanced Democratic National Convention was unique in history but conventional in this sense : The nominee and his supporters at times exaggerated the good , played down the bad and glossed over important context .
But overall the discipline was discernible , as it usually was for the biggest speeches of Republican and Democratic leaders alike before the rise of Trump .
Even Biden , a gaffe machine in the old days , displayed that control .
The off notes came largely from what Democrats didn ’ t say .
A sampling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Republican National Convention prepares to affirm Trump as the 2020 nominee in coming days : BARACK OBAMA : “ We are born of immigrants .
That is who we are .
Immigration is our origin story.
” - convention video Wednesday celebrating immigration , showing historical scenes and one that appeared to be of Trump ’ s border wall .
BARACK OBAMA : “ I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there ’ s still a place for him here.
” - convention speech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here are not in dispute .
But an omission stands out : Obama aggressively enforced border controls and deported nearly 3 million people .
He evolved , acting without Congress in 2012 to let people who came to the U.S. illegally as children stay and work legally in the country .
Still , that year was Obama ’ s high mark for deportations , more than 400,000 , far outpacing Trump ’ s deportations in each of his first three years .
“ This whole immigration video was like putting salt on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an advocate from RAICES , an immigration legal services group in Texas .
“ Narrated by Obama ?
Come on.
” She said : “ I am angry because it was his administration who almost deported my mother and then Trump came to try to deport her again.
” Immigration activist Julissa Natzely Arce Raya , author of “ My ( Underground ) American Dream , ” saw hypocrisy at work , after the video of Estela Juarez , the 11-year-old girl whose mother was deported to Mexico .
“ Obama did a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigration , he didn ’ t get that right , ” she tweeted .
“ I promise you , tonight there is a Estela whose mom was deported by Obama.
” MICHELLE OBAMA , on Americans : “ They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages.
” - Democratic convention Monday .
THE FACTS : The reference to cages is misleading and a matter that Democrats have persistently distorted .
Trump used facilities that were built during the Obama-Biden administration to house children at the border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facilities where migrants were temporarily housed , separated by sex and age .
At the height of the controversy over Trump ’ s zero-tolerance policy at the border , photos that circulated online of children in the enclosures generated great anger .
But those photos , by The Associated Press , were taken in 2014 and depicted some of the thousands of unaccompanied children held by Obama .
When that fact came to light , some Democrats and activists who had tweeted the photos deleted their tweets .
But prominent Democrats have continued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distinctive cruelty of Trump .
The former first lady was correct , however , in addressing the removal of children from parents at the border .
The Obama administration separated migrant children from families under certain limited circumstances , like when the child ’ s safety appeared at risk or when the parent had a serious criminal history .
Family separations as a matter of routine came about because of Trump ’ s “ zero tolerance ” enforcement policy , which he eventually suspended because of the uproar .
Obama had no such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has pledged to abolish immigration enforcement.
” - rally Tuesday in Yuma , Arizona .
THE FACTS : No he hasn ’ t .
Biden has been notably outspoken in arguing that crossing the U.S. border illegally is a crime and should remain punished as such in federal court .
He did not endorse immigration plans supported by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other former presidential candidates that sought to decriminalize illegal border crossings and make doing so only a civil offense .
In addition to misrepresenting Biden ’ s agenda , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vigorously deported people , drawing fierce criticism from some advocates for immigrants .
TRUMP : “ They want to take the wall down , they don ’ t want to have borders.
” - Arizona rally .
THE FACTS : No , Biden is not pushing to take down the wall or erase borders .
Biden ’ s immigration plan does not include money for new border fencing , and he isn ’ t calling for any new walls .
But he hasn ’ t proposed taking down what ’ s there .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ They had a massive breakout yesterday.
” - remarks Thursday in Old Forge , Pennsylvania .
TRUMP : False .
New Zealand has had nothing resembling a massive outbreak or , as he also put it during the week , even a “ big surge ” or a “ big outbreak.
” New Zealand reported five to 13 new cases each day in the past week , as of Friday .
The U.S. reported an average of some 46,000 per day during the week .
Trump is unhappy that New Zealand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , through its tight and early rules on distancing and closures , has been used for unfavorable comparisons with his pandemic response .
New Zealand went for several months without any new , confirmed cases of locally spread COVID-19 before infection started showing up again in small numbers .
The infection has killed 22 people in New Zealand and 174,000 in the U.S. That ’ s a rate of 4.5 deaths per million in New Zealand and 532 per million in the U.S. BIDEN : “ Nearly one in six small businesses have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday .
THE FACTS : That appears to be in the ballpark but is misleading .
What he didn ’ t say is that most of those businesses planned to reopen or already have .
In a MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey at the end of July , 86 % of small businesses reported that they were fully or partially open .
Among those that remained shut , most planned to reopen when they could .
Overall , small businesses expressed guarded optimism while worrying what would happen if another wave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Michigan governor : “ In 2009 , the Obama-Biden administration inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression .
The auto industry - on the brink of collapse .
A million jobs at stake .
But President Obama and Vice President Biden didn ’ t waste time blaming anybody .
… They brought together union members , companies and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle , and they saved the auto industry.
” - Democratic National Convention on Monday .
THE FACTS : She ’ s assigning too much credit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ auto industry .
What Obama did was an expansion of the initial , pivotal steps taken by Obama ’ s predecessor , George W. Bush .
In December 2008 , General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of financial collapse .
The U.S. was in a deep recession and U.S. auto sales were falling sharply , in part because the 2008-2009 financial crisis made it harder for would-be auto buyers to get a car loan .
GM , Chrysler and Ford requested government aid , but Congress voted it down .
With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bush authorized $ 25 billion in loans to GM and Chrysler from the $ 700 billion bailout fund that was initially intended to save the largest U.S. banks .
Ford decided against taking any money .
After Obama was inaugurated , he appointed a task force to oversee GM and Chrysler , both of which eventually declared bankruptcy , took an additional roughly $ 55 billion in loans , and were forced to close many factories and overhaul their operations .
All three companies recovered and eventually started adding jobs again .
TRUMP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billions of dollars to Iran - $ 150 billion , to be exact - plus $ 1.8 billion in cash .
… He ( Obama ) gave $ 1.8 billion in cash.
” - news briefing Wednesday .
THE FACTS : This is a familiar and hyper-distorted tale .
There was no $ 150 billion payout from the U.S. treasury or other countries .
When Iran signed the multinational deal to restrain its nuclear development in return for being freed from sanctions , it regained access to its own assets , which had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get its own money back .
The deal was signed in 2015 ; Trump has taken the U.S. out of it .
The $ 1.8 billion is a separate matter .
A payout of roughly that amount did come from the U.S. treasury .
It was to pay an old IOU .
In the 1970s , Iran paid the U.S. $ 400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured .
After the nuclear deal , the U.S. and Iran announced they had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreeing to pay the $ 400 million principal along with about $ 1.3 billion in interest .
The $ 400 million was paid in cash with the interest to be paid later .
TRUMP : “ And we got nothing , except a short-term , little deal .
A short-term , expiring.
” - news briefing Wednesday .
THE FACTS : Trump ’ s wrong to suggest the deal had no impact before he withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018 .
Iran was thought to be only months away from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But during the 15-year life of most provisions of the accord , Iran ’ s capabilities are limited to a level where it can not produce a bomb .
The deal also includes a pledge by Iran never to seek a nuclear weapon .
The International Atomic Energy Agency and his administration itself had confirmed Iran was complying with the terms before Trump pulled out of the deal .
The pact does gradually lift some restrictions , including limits on centrifuges that were due to expire in 2025 .
After the 15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an array of advanced centrifuges ready to work , the limits on its stockpile would be gone and , in theory , it could then throw itself fully into producing highly enriched uranium .
But nothing in the deal prevented the West from trying to rein Iran in again with sanctions .
JOHN KERRY , former secretary of state : “ We eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon.
” - Democratic convention on Tuesday .
THE FACTS : That ’ s taking it too far .
The threat was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was baked into the deal negotiated when Kerry was Obama ’ s secretary of state .
The accord limited Iran ’ s capabilities to a level where it could not produce a bomb , but most provisions were to expire after 15 years .
TRUMP : “ One of the things the Post Office loses so much money on is the delivering packages for Amazon and these others .
Every time they deliver a package , they probably lose three or four dollars .
That ’ s not good.
” - remarks Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service has lost money for 13 years , package delivery is not the reason .
Boosted by e-commerce , the Postal Service has enjoyed double-digit increases in revenue from delivering packages , but that hasn ’ t been enough to offset pension and health care costs as well as declines in first-class letters and marketing mail .
Together , letters and marketing mail in recent years have comprised up to two-thirds of postal revenue .
In arguing that the Postal Service is losing money on delivering packages for Amazon , Trump appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that argue the Postal Service ’ s formula for calculating its costs is outdated .
A 2017 analysis by Citigroup did conclude that the service was charging below market rates as a whole on parcels .
Still , federal regulators have reviewed the Amazon contract with the Postal Service each year and found it profitable .
To become financially stable , the Postal Service has urged Congress for years to give it relief from the mandate to prefund retiree health benefits .
Legislation in 2006 required the Postal Service to fund 75 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an estimated cost of $ 5 billion per year , something that the government and private companies don ’ t have to do .
In the most recent quarter , for instance , package delivery rose 53 % at the Postal Service as homebound people during the pandemic shifted online for their shopping .
But the gain in deliveries was offset by the continued declines in first-class mail as well as costs for personal protective equipment and to replace workers who got sick during the pandemic .
The biggest factor was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress imposed and only Congress can take away .
As a quasi-government agency , the Postal Service also is required under law to provide mail delivery to millions of U.S. residences at affordable and uniform rates .
It does not use taxpayer money for its operations and supports operations with the sales of stamps and other mail products .
TRUMP : “ We want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and it hasn ’ t run properly for many years , for probably 50 years .
It ’ s run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make sure that the Post Office runs properly and doesn ’ t lose billions of dollars.
” - remarks Monday to reporters .
THE FACTS : Trump offered no evidence of broad mismanagement at the Postal Service that dates back 50 years .
The Postal Service started losing “ billions , ” as Trump put it , after the 2006 law mandating health prefunding took effect .
Those billion-dollar payments , which coincided with the 2007-2008 Great Recession and a wider shift toward online bill payments , pushed the Postal Service into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has finished each year with revenue surpluses for most of the past decade .
HILDA SOLIS , former labor secretary , on Biden : “ He and President Obama made it easier for home-care workers to organize .
They extended overtime pay to more than 4 million workers.
” - Democratic convention Wednesday .
THE FACTS : No , Obama and Biden tried to extend overtime pay to an estimated 4 million workers , but it never happened .
The Obama administration completed such a rule in May 2016 , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after 21 states sued the Labor Department .
In 2019 , the Trump administration extended overtime for an estimated 1.3 million workers in home health care , retail , fast food and certain other low-wage jobs .
BERNIE SANDERS , Vermont senator : “ Joe supports raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour .
This will give 40 million workers a pay raise and push the wage scale up for everyone else.
” - Democratic convention Monday .
THE FACTS : Not likely .
He ’ s taking an optimistic projection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to a 2019 study by the Economic Policy Institute , a left-leaning think tank that estimated $ 15 an hour by 2025 would directly raise wages for 28 million and indirectly for 11 million .
Even that study doesn ’ t say wage scales would go up for “ everyone.
” A July 2019 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found a much less significant impact , and some likely costs , from a $ 15 federal minimum .
The office said 1.3 million workers could be priced out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 15 minimum wage were federally mandated .
It also projected far fewer workers - roughly 27 million total - would see a pay increase as a result .
TRUMP , on unrest in Minnesota after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police : “ When I sent in the National Guard , that ’ s when it all stopped.
” - speech Monday in Mankato , Minnesota .
THE FACTS : False .
Gov .
Tim Walz , a Democrat , deployed the Minnesota National Guard , not Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the streets in Minnesota .
He repeatedly claims that he did .
In the speech , Trump went on to say he urged Minnesota officials to deploy the Guard and “ they should have done it a lot sooner , ” thereby acknowledging , if indirectly , that the order wasn ’ t his .
But Walz said he mobilized the Guard at the request of city officials , not because Trump wanted him to .
TRUMP , on China ’ s adherence to the trade deal his administration negotiated with Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re more than living … up to it .
… Because they know I ’ m very angry at them.
” - “ Fox & Friends ” interview Monday .
THE FACTS : That ’ s not true .
China is falling well short of its commitments under the trade deal .
The Peterson Institute for International Economics , which has been tracking China ’ s purchases , found this month that U.S. exports of goods to China should have totaled $ 71.3 billion from January through June to be on track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the Phase 1 deal .
Instead , they topped out at $ 33.1 billion , only 46 % of what they should be .
The shortfall in promised Chinese purchases of U.S. farm products is even bigger .
Those purchases totaled $ 6.5 billion , only 39 % of purchases that should have reached $ 16.7 billion through June .
The gap is perhaps not surprising , given that world trade has been badly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic .
But Trump did not negotiate provisions giving China leeway in any downturn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unlikely , that Chinese purchases will pick up in the second half of the year enough to make up for the shortfall .
But in no sense is China more than living up to the deal now .
Associated Press writers Paul Wiseman and Matthew Daly in Washington and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report .
EDITOR ’ S NOTE - A look at the veracity of claims by political figures .

CALVIN WOODWARD, HOPE YEN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Joe Biden and fellow Democrats spun an assortment of facts to their benefit in their national convention, omitting inconvenient truths such as Barack Obama’s record of aggressive deportations and swift action by a Republican president to save the auto industry more than a decade ago.
Meantime President Donald Trump flooded the zone with falsehoods, some so apparent that anyone with access to the internet could see the folly of them at a glance. Witness his reference to New Zealand’s “massive breakout” of COVID-19, which does not exist.
The virtual, socially distanced Democratic National Convention was unique in history but conventional in this sense: The nominee and his supporters at times exaggerated the good, played down the bad and glossed over important context.
But overall the discipline was discernible, as it usually was for the biggest speeches of Republican and Democratic leaders alike before the rise of Trump. Even Biden, a gaffe machine in the old days, displayed that control. The off notes came largely from what Democrats didn’t say.
A sampling from the past week’s rhetoric as the Republican National Convention prepares to affirm Trump as the 2020 nominee in coming days:
IMMIGRATION
BARACK OBAMA: “We are born of immigrants. That is who we are. Immigration is our origin story.” - convention video Wednesday celebrating immigration, showing historical scenes and one that appeared to be of Trump’s border wall.
BARACK OBAMA: “I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here.” - convention speech Wednesday.
THE FACTS: The facts here are not in dispute. But an omission stands out: Obama aggressively enforced border controls and deported nearly 3 million people.
He changed his approach, acting without Congress in 2012 to let people who came to the U.S. illegally as children stay and work legally in the country.
Still, that year was Obama’s high mark for deportations, more than 400,000, far outpacing Trump’s deportations in each of his first three years.
“This whole immigration video was like putting salt on the wound,” tweeted Erika Andiola, an advocate from RAICES, an immigration legal services group in Texas. “Narrated by Obama? Come on.”
She said: “I am angry because it was his administration who almost deported my mother and then Trump came to try to deport her again.”
Immigration activist Julissa Natzely Arce Raya, author of “My (Underground) American Dream,” saw hypocrisy at work, after the video of Estela Juarez, the 11-year-old girl whose mother was deported to Mexico.
“Obama did a lot of things right, but not immigration, he didn’t get that right,” she tweeted. “I promise you, tonight there is a Estela whose mom was deported by Obama.”
___
MICHELLE OBAMA, on Americans: “They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages.” - Democratic convention Monday.
THE FACTS: The reference to cages is misleading and a matter that Democrats have persistently distorted.
Trump used facilities that were built during the Obama-Biden administration to house children at the border. They are chain-link enclosures inside border facilities where migrants were temporarily housed, separated by sex and age.
At the height of the controversy over Trump’s zero-tolerance policy at the border, photos that circulated online of children in the enclosures generated great anger. But those photos, by The Associated Press, were taken in 2014 and depicted some of the thousands of unaccompanied children held by Obama.
When that fact came to light, some Democrats and activists who had tweeted the photos deleted their tweets. But prominent Democrats have continued to cite cages for children as a distinctive cruelty of Trump.
The former first lady was correct, however, in addressing the removal of children from parents at the border.
The Obama administration separated migrant children from families under certain limited circumstances, like when the child’s safety appeared at risk or when the parent had a serious criminal history. Family separations as a matter of routine came about because of Trump’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy, which he eventually suspended because of the uproar. Obama had no such policy.
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TRUMP: “Joe Biden has pledged to abolish immigration enforcement.” - rally Tuesday in Yuma, Arizona.
THE FACTS: No he hasn’t.
Biden has been notably outspoken in arguing that crossing the U.S. border illegally is a crime and should remain punished as such in federal court. He did not endorse immigration plans supported by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other former presidential candidates that sought to decriminalize illegal border crossings and make doing so only a civil offense.
In addition to misrepresenting Biden’s agenda, Trump ignored the fact that the Obama-Biden administration vigorously deported people, drawing fierce criticism from some advocates for immigrants.
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TRUMP: “They want to take the wall down, they don’t want to have borders.” - Arizona rally.
THE FACTS: No, Biden is not pushing to take down the wall or erase borders.
Biden’s immigration plan does not include money for new border fencing, and he isn’t calling for any new walls. But he hasn’t proposed taking down what’s there.
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PANDEMIC
TRUMP on New Zealand and the coronavirus: “They had a massive breakout yesterday.” - remarks Thursday in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.
TRUMP: False. New Zealand has had nothing resembling a massive outbreak or, as he also put it during the week, even a “big surge” or a “big outbreak.”
New Zealand reported five to 13 new cases each day in the past week, as of Friday. The U.S. reported an average of some 46,000 per day during the week.
Trump is unhappy that New Zealand’s success in controlling the virus, through its tight and early rules on distancing and closures, has been used for unfavorable comparisons with his pandemic response. New Zealand went for several months without any new, confirmed cases of locally spread COVID-19 before infection started showing up again in small numbers.
The infection, as of Friday, had killed 22 people in New Zealand and 174,000 in the U.S.
That’s a rate of 4.5 deaths per million in New Zealand and 532 per million in the U.S.
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ECONOMY
BIDEN: “Nearly one in six small businesses have closed this year.” - acceptance speech Thursday.
THE FACTS: That appears to be in the ballpark but is misleading. What he didn’t say is that most of those businesses planned to reopen or already have.
In a MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey at the end of July, 86% of small businesses reported that they were fully or partially open. Among those that remained shut, most planned to reopen when they could. Overall, small businesses expressed guarded optimism while worrying what would happen if another wave of the coronavirus comes.
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GRETCHEN WHITMER, Michigan governor: “In 2009, the Obama-Biden administration inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The auto industry - on the brink of collapse. A million jobs at stake. But President Obama and Vice President Biden didn’t waste time blaming anybody. … They brought together union members, companies and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and they saved the auto industry.” - Democratic National Convention on Monday.
THE FACTS: She’s assigning too much credit to the Obama administration for saving the auto industry. What Obama did was an expansion of the initial, pivotal steps taken by Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush.
In December 2008, General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of financial collapse. The U.S. was in a deep recession and U.S. auto sales were falling sharply, in part because the 2008-2009 financial crisis made it harder for would-be auto buyers to get a car loan. GM, Chrysler and Ford requested government aid, but Congress voted it down.
With barely a month left in office, Bush authorized $25 billion in loans to GM and Chrysler from the $700 billion bailout fund that was initially intended to save the largest U.S. banks. Ford decided against taking any money. After Obama was inaugurated, he appointed a task force to oversee GM and Chrysler, both of which eventually declared bankruptcy, took an additional roughly $55 billion in loans, and were forced to close many factories and overhaul their operations.
All three companies recovered and eventually started adding jobs again.
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IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
TRUMP: “This deal funneled tens of billions of dollars to Iran - $150 billion, to be exact - plus $1.8 billion in cash. … He (Obama) gave $1.8 billion in cash.” - news briefing Wednesday.
THE FACTS: This is a familiar and hyper-distorted tale. There was no $150 billion payout from the U.S. treasury or other countries.
When Iran signed the multinational deal to restrain its nuclear development in return for being freed from sanctions, it regained access to its own assets, which had been frozen abroad. Iran was allowed to get its own money back. The deal was signed in 2015; Trump has taken the U.S. out of it.
The $1.8 billion is a separate matter. A payout of roughly that amount did come from the U.S. treasury. It was to cover an old IOU.
In the 1970s, Iran paid the U.S. $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured. After the nuclear deal, the U.S. and Iran announced they had settled the matter, with the U.S. agreeing to pay the $400 million principal along with about $1.3 billion in interest.
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TRUMP: “And we got nothing, except a short-term, little deal. A short-term, expiring.” - news briefing Wednesday.
THE FACTS: Trump’s wrong to suggest the deal had no impact before he withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.
Iran was thought to be only months away from a bomb when the deal came into effect. But during the 15-year life of most provisions of the accord, Iran’s capabilities are limited to a level where it cannot produce a bomb. The deal also includes a pledge by Iran never to seek a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency and his administration itself had confirmed Iran was complying with the terms before Trump pulled out of the deal.
The pact does gradually lift some restrictions, including limits on centrifuges that were due to expire in 2025.
After the 15 years are up, Iran could have an array of advanced centrifuges ready to work, the limits on its stockpile would be gone and, in theory, it could then throw itself fully into producing highly enriched uranium. But nothing in the deal prevented the West from trying to rein Iran in again with sanctions.
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JOHN KERRY, former secretary of state: “We eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon.” - Democratic convention on Tuesday.
THE FACTS: That’s taking it too far. The threat was deferred, not eliminated. That reality was baked into the deal negotiated when Kerry was Obama’s secretary of state. The accord limited Iran’s capabilities to a level where it could not produce a bomb, but most provisions were to expire after 15 years.
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POSTAL SERVICE
TRUMP: “One of the things the Post Office loses so much money on is the delivering packages for Amazon and these others. Every time they deliver a package, they probably lose three or four dollars. That’s not good.” - remarks Monday to reporters.
THE FACTS: That’s not true.
While the U.S. Postal Service has lost money for 13 years, package delivery is not the reason.
Boosted by e-commerce, the Postal Service has enjoyed double-digit increases in revenue from delivering packages, but that hasn’t been enough to offset pension and health care costs as well as declines in first-class letters and marketing mail. Together, letters and marketing mail in recent years have comprised up to two-thirds of postal revenue.
In arguing that the Postal Service is losing money on delivering packages for Amazon, Trump appears to be citing some Wall Street analyses that argue the Postal Service’s formula for calculating its costs is outdated. A 2017 analysis by Citigroup did conclude that the service was charging below market rates as a whole on parcels. Still, federal regulators have reviewed the Amazon contract with the Postal Service each year and found it profitable.
To become financially stable, the Postal Service has urged Congress for years to give it relief from the mandate to prefund retiree health benefits. Legislation in 2006 required the Postal Service to fund 75 years’ worth of retiree health benefits, at an estimated cost of $5 billion per year, something that the government and private companies don’t have to do.
In the most recent quarter, for instance, package delivery rose 53% at the Postal Service as homebound people during the pandemic shifted online for their shopping. But the gain in deliveries was offset by the continued declines in first-class mail as well as costs for personal protective equipment and to replace workers who got sick during the pandemic.
The biggest factor was the prepayment of retiree health benefits, which Congress imposed and only Congress can take away.
As a quasi-government agency, the Postal Service also is required under law to provide mail delivery to millions of U.S. residences at affordable and uniform rates. It does not use taxpayer money for its operations and supports operations with the sales of stamps and other mail products.
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TRUMP: “We want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and it hasn’t run properly for many years, for probably 50 years. It’s run very badly. So we want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and doesn’t lose billions of dollars.”- remarks Monday to reporters.
THE FACTS: Trump offered no evidence of broad mismanagement at the Postal Service that dates back 50 years.
The Postal Service started losing “billions,” as Trump put it, after the 2006 law mandating health prefunding took effect. Those billion-dollar payments, which coincided with the 2007-2008 Great Recession and a wider shift toward online bill payments, pushed the Postal Service into the red. Excluding those health payments, it has finished each year with revenue surpluses for most of the past decade.
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WAGES
HILDA SOLIS, former labor secretary, on Biden: “He and President Obama made it easier for home-care workers to organize. They extended overtime pay to more than 4 million workers.” - Democratic convention Wednesday.
THE FACTS: No, Obama and Biden tried to extend overtime pay to an estimated 4 million workers, but it never happened.
The Obama administration completed such a rule in May 2016, but it was ultimately blocked by a federal judge after 21 states sued the Labor Department.
In 2019, the Trump administration extended overtime for an estimated 1.3 million workers in home health care, retail, fast food and certain other low-wage jobs.
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BERNIE SANDERS, Vermont senator: “Joe supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. This will give 40 million workers a pay raise and push the wage scale up for everyone else.” - Democratic convention Monday.
THE FACTS: Not likely. He’s taking an optimistic projection as a certainty.
He’s referring to a 2019 study by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank that estimated $15 an hour by 2025 would directly raise wages for 28 million and indirectly for 11 million. Even that study doesn’t say wage scales would go up for “everyone.”
A July 2019 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found a much less significant impact, and some likely costs, from a $15 federal minimum.
The office said 1.3 million workers could be priced out of the market and lose their job if a $15 minimum wage were federally mandated. It also projected far fewer workers - roughly 27 million total - would see a pay increase as a result.
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FLOYD PROTESTS
TRUMP, on unrest in Minnesota after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police: “When I sent in the National Guard, that’s when it all stopped.” - speech Monday in Mankato, Minnesota.
THE FACTS: False. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, deployed the Minnesota National Guard, not Trump. The president didn’t send forces to the streets in Minnesota. He repeatedly claims that he did.
In the speech, Trump went on to say he urged Minnesota officials to deploy the Guard and “they should have done it a lot sooner,” thereby acknowledging, if indirectly, that the order wasn’t his. But Walz said he mobilized the Guard at the request of city officials, not because Trump wanted him to.
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TRADE
TRUMP, on China’s adherence to the trade deal his administration negotiated with Beijing: “They are living – they’re more than living … up to it. … Because they know I’m very angry at them.” - “Fox & Friends” interview Monday.
THE FACTS: That’s not true. China is falling well short of its commitments under the trade deal.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics, which has been tracking China’s purchases, found this month that U.S. exports of goods to China should have totaled $71.3 billion from January through June to be on track to reach this year’s target under the Phase 1 deal. Instead, they topped out at $33.1 billion, only 46% of what they should be.
The shortfall in promised Chinese purchases of U.S. farm products is even bigger. Those purchases totaled $6.5 billion, only 39% of purchases that should have reached $16.7 billion through June.
The gap is perhaps not surprising, given that world trade has been badly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. But Trump did not negotiate provisions giving China leeway in any downturn. It’s conceivable, if unlikely, that Chinese purchases will pick up in the second half of the year enough to make up for the shortfall.
But in no sense is China more than living up to the deal now.
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Associated Press writers Paul Wiseman and Matthew Daly in Washington and Amanda Seitz in Chicago contributed to this report.
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EDITOR’S NOTE - A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck
Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--Roof collapse damages 3 businesses in Kentucky

HENDERSON , Ky. ( AP ) - A structural engineer was expected to investigate on Saturday what caused a roof @ @ @ @ @ , damaging at least three businesses .
Shattered glass and debris were found in the @ @ @ @ @ Friday in downtown Henderson , the fire department shared in a post on Facebook .
@ @ @ @ @ report an explosion , but the fire department said the roof of one building collapsed @ @ @ @ @ between that business and another collapsed , causing the building ’ s roof to come @ @ @ @ @ adjoining business .
The structural engineer was to determine the integrity of the building and @ @ @ @ @ to be torn down .

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) - A structural engineer was expected to investigate on Saturday what caused a roof to collapse in western Kentucky, damaging at least three businesses.
Shattered glass and debris were found in the street when authorities responded late Friday in downtown Henderson, the fire department shared in a post on Facebook.
Someone had called 911 to report an explosion, but the fire department said the roof of one building collapsed. Then, a wall between that business and another collapsed, causing the building’s roof to come down and damage a third adjoining business.
Officials don’t believe an explosion occurred.
The structural engineer was to determine the integrity of the building and assess whether it will need to be torn down.
No injuries were reported.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--WWII memory wall defaced in massacred French village

PARIS ( AP ) - Vandals have scrawled graffiti denying the Holocaust on a wall in the village that was the site of the France ’ s biggest massacre of civilians by the Nazis during World War II .
France ’ s justice minister vowed on Saturday that those responsible would be brought to justice .
Officials in Oradour-Sur-Glane , near Limoges in central France , threw up a tarp to cover the graffiti discovered Friday on the wall at the entrance to the Center for Remembrance .
The word “ Lie ” was scrawled on the wall , along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regional paper Le Populaire du Centre .
The inscription “ Martyr Village ” was crossed out .
“ Shame on those who did this , ” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti tweeted .
“ All will be done to find and judge those who committed these sacrilegious acts.
” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced the “ abject filth ” in a Friday night tweet .
Prime Minister Jean Castex said the graffiti “ dirties the memory of our martyrs.
” Troops from the fanatical SS “ Das Reich ’ ’ division were responsible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1944 , herding them into barns and a church and setting the town on fire .
While a new village has been built , the ruins of the old town have been left untouched as a testimony to Nazi horrors .
The massacre occurred four days after the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy .
The killings were believed to have been ordered in retaliation for the kidnapping of a German soldier by the French Resistance .

PARIS (AP) - French politicians of all political views roundly condemned Saturday graffiti denying the Holocaust that was scrawled on a wall in the village that was the site of the France’s biggest massacre of civilians by the Nazis during World War II.
The rare display of unity, from French President Emmanuel Macron to the far-left and the far-right, underscored the symbolism of Oradour-sur-Glane as a perpetual reminder of the horrors of Nazi occupation of France. The village has remained untouched since the massacre.
Macron, who visited the village after his 2017 election victory, vowed that “all will be done” to catch those who defaced the wall at the entrance of the Center for Remembrance.
Officials in Oradour-Sur-Glane, which is near Limoges in central France, threw up a tarp to cover the graffiti that was discovered Friday. The word “Lie” was scrawled on the wall, along with other graffiti, according to the regional paper Le Populaire du Centre. The inscription “Martyr Village” was crossed out.
The Le Figaro newspaper quoted the village’s mayor, Philippe Lacroix, as saying that the name of a known Holocaust denier was inscribed on the wall.
“Shame on those who did this,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti tweeted. “All will be done to find and judge those who committed these sacrilegious acts.”
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced the “abject filth” in a Friday night tweet. Prime Minister Jean Castex said the graffiti “dirties the memory of our martyrs.”
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen tweeted that “it’s time for once and for all … to stop the recurrence of these acts that hurt us all.”
Troops from the fanatical SS “Das Reich’’ division were responsible for killing 642 villagers on June 10, 1944, herding them into barns and a church and setting the town on fire. While a new village has been built, the ruins of the old town have been cared for as a testimony to Nazi horrors.
The massacre occurred four days after the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy. The killings were believed to have been ordered in retaliation for the kidnapping of a German soldier by the French Resistance.


washingtontimes--2020-08-22--UN atomic watchdog chief heading to Iran; seeks more access

BERLIN ( AP ) - The head of the U.N. ’ s atomic watchdog agency will head to Tehran next week to press Iranian authorities for access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material , the organization said Saturday .
It will be the first visit to Iran of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi since he took office last December , and comes amid intense international pressure on the country over its nuclear program .
The focus will be on access to sites thought to be from the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear deal with world powers .
Iran maintains the IAEA inspectors have no legal basis to inspect the sites .
“ My objective is that my meetings in Tehran will lead to concrete progress in addressing the outstanding questions that the agency has related to safeguards in Iran and , in particular , to resolve the issue of access , ” Grossi said in a statement .
“ I also hope to establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue with the Iranian government which will be valuable now and in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations in Vienna tweeted that “ we hope this visit will lead to reinforced mutual cooperation.
” Since President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 , the other countries involved - France , Britain , Germany , Russia and China - have been struggling to keep it alive .
The deal , known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , or JCPOA , promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program .
But with the reinstatement of some American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been steadily deteriorating and Tehran has begun violating provisions of the agreement to try to pressure the other countries to do more to offset those sanctions .
At the same time , Iran has continued to provide IAEA inspectors woth access to its nuclear facilities - one of the major reasons the countries still party to the agreement stress it ’ s important to keep it alive .
Last week , the U.S. ratcheted up the pressure , officially informing the United Nations it was demanding the restoration of all U.N. sanctions on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-compliance and invoking a provision of the nuclear deal to “ snap back ” even more sanctions .
Russia , China , Britain , France and Germany , who often disagree , all declared the U.S. action illegal , arguing it is impossible to withdraw from a deal and then use the resolution that endorsed it to re-impose sanctions .
Iran has also rejected the move , but the U.S. has stuck to its guns , declaring that a 30-day countdown for the snapback of penalties eased after the 2015 deal was signed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran are due to meet in Vienna on Sept. 1 .

BERLIN (AP) - The head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency will head to Tehran next week to press Iranian authorities for access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the organization said Saturday.
It will be the first visit to Iran of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi since he took office last December, and comes amid intense international pressure on the country over its nuclear program.
The focus will be on access to sites thought to be from the early 2000s, before Iran signed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran maintains the IAEA inspectors have no legal basis to inspect the sites.
“My objective is that my meetings in Tehran will lead to concrete progress in addressing the outstanding questions that the agency has related to safeguards in Iran and, in particular, to resolve the issue of access,” Grossi said in a statement.
“I also hope to establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue with the Iranian government which will be valuable now and in the future.”
The Iranian delegation to international organizations in Vienna tweeted that “we hope this visit will lead to reinforced mutual cooperation.”
Since President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, the other countries involved - France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China - have been struggling to keep it alive.
The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. But with the reinstatement of some American sanctions, Iran’s economy has been steadily deteriorating and Tehran has begun violating provisions of the agreement to try to pressure the other countries to do more to offset those sanctions.
At the same time, Iran has continued to provide IAEA inspectors woth access to its nuclear facilities - one of the major reasons the countries still party to the agreement stress it’s important to keep it alive.
Last week, the U.S. ratcheted up the pressure, officially informing the United Nations it was demanding the restoration of all U.N. sanctions on Iran, arguing that Iran is in non-compliance and invoking a provision of the nuclear deal to “snap back” even more sanctions.
Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, who often disagree, all declared the U.S. action illegal, arguing it is impossible to withdraw from a deal and then use the resolution that endorsed it to re-impose sanctions.
Iran has also rejected the move, but the U.S. has stuck to its guns, declaring that a 30-day countdown for the snapback of penalties eased after the 2015 deal was signed had begun.
The five nations and Iran are due to meet in Vienna on Sept. 1.