Month: December 2020

Early voting is under way in the U.S. southern state of Georgia for two Senate seats for which none of the candidates received a majority of the vote in the November election. At stake in the January 5 runoff vote — the balance of power in the U.S. Congress. Both U.S. President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have focused their energies on the races. Trump told a December 5 rally in the state that “the voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar,” as he urged support for incumbent Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.FILE – Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, speaks during a reelection campaign rally in Marietta, Georgia, March 9, 2020.He plans to hold another rally on January 4 in Dalton, Georgia. Biden has campaigned for Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, telling voters on December 15 to “send me these two men, and we will control the Senate and will change the lives of people in Georgia.” FILE – Candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. David Perdue speaks during a campaign rally, in Cumming, Ga., Nov. 13, 2020.Both races are competitive. Warnock is essentially tied with Loeffler. She was appointed to her seat by the state’s governor to replace Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired a year ago for health reasons. The race between Ossoff and Perdue is also tight. Perdue was elected in 2014, and Ossoff has closed the gap to achieve a virtual tie in recent polling. FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate challenger the Rev. Raphael Warnock waves during a rally in Columbus, Ga., Dec. 21, 2020.Power in the U.S. Congress has been divided. Democrats continue to hold a majority in the House of Representatives, and the January 5 Georgia vote will give either party control of the Senate. “If the Democrats can pull off two victories, there will be 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats — a tie,” said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe.  FILE – Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff speaks after voting early in Atlanta, Dec. 22, 2020.Tie-breaking votes would be cast by Democrat Kamala Harris, the next vice president, who will preside over the Senate. Democrats need to win both seats to gain control, and Republicans need just one. Biden reversed recent voting patterns in November, winning Georgia by a fraction of a percent, while the two Democratic Senate candidates forced runoffs by preventing the incumbents from reaching the threshold of 50% plus one vote.   “That was a gigantic victory for Democrats,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “Even though it’s a long shot for the Democrats to win both seats, it’s a sign that Georgia is moving the way that other parts of the South may be heading — toward a new coalition.” Atlanta’s Increasingly Diverse Suburbs Could Decide US Senate Control Georgia’s dual runoff Senate contests January 5 follow Democrat Joe Biden’s November victory fueled by minority voters in the Republican-leaning stateHe said Georgia, like the southern states of Virginia and North Carolina, has seen an influx of college-educated voters, who tend to vote Democratic.  “The African American population, Latino population, Asian American population got larger in those states,” said Sonenshein, leading to what he said is a more progressive electorate. Still, Jeffe said, the Senate contest will come down to who gets out the vote. “The Democrats are moving strongly with regard to a shoe leather campaign, knocking on doors, even in a pandemic,” she said, noting that Republicans lead in fundraising.  
 
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The international community’s efforts to compel North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program came to a halt in 2020 following the breakdown of US-led negotiations and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while fears that Pyongyang would show its frustration by conducting another nuclear or ICBM test never came to fruition, much of Seoul’s inroads with the regime literally went up in smoke.   The fanfare surrounding the unprecedented summits between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un during the two previous years and the hope that this unlikely partnership would somehow bring an end to decades of hostility on the Korean Peninsula seemed like a distant memory in 2020.Momentum to reach an agreement over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the reduction of sanctions and the signing of a peace treaty that would officially conclude the Korean War was never regained after the leaders’ February 2019 summit in Hanoi where both men walked away without any deal. Those initiatives seemed to fade even further into the past as the world grappled with the new coronavirus and the Trump administration turned nearly full attention toward its ultimately unsuccessful re-election campaign.  Stephen Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and envoy to denuclearization talks with the north, underscored some of these unfulfilled ambitions in December during what was likely his swan song visit to Seoul. “You might wonder if I am disappointed that we did not accomplish more over the past two years.  I am,” he said during a speech at a local think tank, according to State Department transcripts.   “Despite setbacks, disappointments, and missed opportunities over the past two years, I believe no less today than the day I first took on this responsibility that the vision President Trump and Chairman Kim have shared for the Peninsula is possible, and that we are not done,” he said.  But North Korea is showing no sign that it is ready to resume dialogue with the United States; it has spent much of this year in a self-imposed quarantine, locking down its borders to almost all foreign trade and humanitarian assistance to shield itself from the pandemic. And now faced with change in U.S. leadership, Pyongyang has yet to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November polls and the loss of its former negotiating partner in the White House.    Because of Pyongyang’s silence coupled with the incoming Biden administration’s still undeclared Korea policy, many analysts are unsure how Washington and Seoul will attempt to overcome 2020’s diplomatic setbacks.  But most agree that the first months of 2021 could determine the trajectory of engagement with Pyongyang.North Korea’s unwillingness to comment on the change of leadership in the U.S. should be expected, explained Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.  “Trump has called himself a friend, and Biden has called Kim a thug and that’s why North Korea hasn’t said anything about Biden’s victory, yet,” he said.  FILE – President Donald Trump, left, poses for a photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the North Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom, in the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, June 30, 2019.It will be up to the new Biden administration to make initial overtures to the North in order to re-open dialogue, said James Kim, senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, who said the two nations are now at a “crossroads.”   “Otherwise, I just don’t see how we’re going to break out from the current impasse,” he said.  Kim expects Biden’s approach to negotiations with Pyongyang to differ from Trump’s “top-down” strategy, which he said, “didn’t lead to any substantive change from the status quo.”“If anything, the situation might have even gotten worse,” Kim added.  In October, Kim Jong Un unveiled during a Worker’s Party parade in Pyongyang what analysts say appeared to be a new, larger intercontinental ballistic missile as well as other ballistic missiles. And according to a confidential United Nations report released in August, multiple governments believe North Korea is now likely able to miniaturize nuclear warheads to be fitted into long-range rockets, the Reuters News Agency and other media outlets said.     The change of administration in Washington also presents an opportunity to work more in step with Seoul, said Hee-jin Koo, a research fellow at the Korea Peninsula Future Forum.  She told VOA News that since the last Trump-Kim summit, the Moon Jae-in administration was “side-lined” in U.S. denuclearization policy but expects the next American president to approach future talks more multilaterally.   But, Koo said one sticking point between the allies could be the ratification of a Korean War peace treaty that Moon has championed with the backing of Trump but that might be less of a priority during the Biden presidency.     “It could be more difficult for the Moon administration to pursue that,” she said, adding that Biden might restart a “maximum pressure” campaign and call for the resumption of large-scale, joint military exercises with South Korean forces that the Trump administration suspended.    President Moon’s efforts to nurture cross-border relations were dealt a severe blow in June, when Pyongyang shut-down shared military hotlines and demolished an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the de-militarized zone with explosives, effectively severing all links with Seoul.   North Korea has ignored the Moon government’s offers of pandemic relief. And the government recently lashed out at South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha after she questioned Pyongyang’s claim that it has not recorded any COVID-19 cases.     “We will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it,” Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, said in a statement carried by official media on December 9.        North Korea could offer clarity on its position toward Washington as well as Seoul’s engagement efforts during a rare meeting of the ruling Worker’s Party in January, which will coincide with Biden’s presidential inauguration on the 20th, said the Asan Institute for Policy Studies’ James Kim.“This one-month period is going to be key,” he said. “If we’re going to see any movements from North Korea or any positioning or posturing changes, we’re likely to see it within the month of February,” he said.Juhyun Lee contributed to this story.
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The western U.S. state of California are expected to extend strict stay-at-home orders Tuesday for residents in two major areas of the state as it struggles with increasing numbers of new COVID-19 infections.  Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday it was “self-evident” that the restrictions first imposed three weeks ago for central San Joaquin Valley and Southern California will be extended as intensive care units in hospitals are filled or nearly filled to capacity.  San Joaquin Valley is home to California’s vital agricultural sector, while Southern California includes the major cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. FILE – An ambulance crew waits with a patient outside the Coast Plaza Hospital emergency room during a surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Los Angeles, California, Dec. 26, 2020.The situation has become so dire that hospitals in those regions have been turning away patients seeking emergency care and erecting tents as makeshift treatment rooms to treat the overflow of COVID-19 patients.   California has become the latest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.  According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Center, the state has 2,192,694 total confirmed COVID-19 infections, including 24,419 deaths.  Governor Newsom warned Monday that the state was about to undergo a “surge on top of a surge, arguably on top of another surge” as many Californians ignored urgings from health experts not to travel during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. An airline worker in Christmas themed attire assists travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, Dec. 28, 2020.U.S. officials said nearly 1.3 million people went through U.S. airports on Sunday following the Christmas holiday, the highest level of air travel in more than nine months.  India is the latest nation to report discovery of a new variant of the novel coronavirus scientists say is far more contagious than the initial strain.  The Health Ministry says six people who returned to India from Britain in recent weeks have tested positive for the new strain.  The six patients and their close contacts have been placed in isolation, and the ministry says it has tracked down their fellow travelers.  India has suspended all flights from Britain until the end of the month, joining such countries as South Korea, Finland, Japan and Saudi Arabia.   The head of the World Health Organization is calling for an increase in genomic sequencing of the coronavirus after new variants have been detected in Britain and South Africa. FILE – World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference in Geneva.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at an online news conference Monday from Geneva that “only if countries are looking and testing effectively, will you be able to pick up variants and adjust strategies to cope.” He said WHO is working closely with scientists worldwide to “better understand any and all changes to the virus” and their impacts, and he called on countries to share any genetic information with WHO and other countries. A person walks past a roadside public health information sign, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, near Oxford, Britain, Dec. 28, 2020.British authorities are expected to approve the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine this week.  If approved, AstraZeneca’s vaccine will become the fifth to have been rolled out to fight the virus. Early tests showed that the vaccine was 70% effective for preventing illness, compared to 95% reported by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Russia and China also have their own vaccines. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency is reporting that U.S. pharmaceutical firm Moderna has agreed to supply 20 million doses of its new COVID-19 vaccine to the Asian nation.  Yonhap says the South Korean presidential office confirmed the agreement had been reached after a videoconference Monday between President Moon Jae-in and Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel. The agreement comes as South Korea reported 40 new COVID-19 fatalities, its highest single day figure since the start of the pandemic, raising its total death toll to 859.  Health officials also confirmed 1,046 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 58,725.   Also Monday, another COVID-19 vaccine candidate is beginning its final-stage testing in the United States. The testing for the vaccine candidate, made by Novavax, will involve 30,000 volunteers to determine whether the vaccine is effective and safe.FILE – A researcher lifts a vial with a potential COVID-19 vaccine at Novavax labs in Gaithersburg, Maryland, March 20, 2020, one of the labs developing a vaccine for the coronavirus.The trials will focus on high-risk older adults, as well as people from Black and Hispanic communities who have been disproportionately affected by the virus. The latest vaccine on the horizon comes as the world reached the grim milestone of 81 million people worldwide infected by the virus with 1.7 million world deaths globally, according to Johns Hopkins University.  The United States leads the world in both the number of total infections with 19.2 million and deaths with over 334,000 people. 
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Gwinnett County is located just 16 kilometers northeast of Atlanta and is one of the most populous suburbs of Georgia’s largest city. In November, Democrat Joe Biden won 58% of the presidential vote in the county, helping propel his razor-thin margin of victory in Georgia overall.
Thirty years ago, however, Gwinnett county was mostly rural and a Republican stronghold in a state where Republicans have long dominated.
“Atlanta was mostly African American and voted Democrat, but, back then, the suburbs around Atlanta were like the rest of Georgia — a lot of white people nearly exclusively voting Republican,” Nick Masino, President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, told VOA. “But it’s nothing like that anymore.”FILE – In this Nov. 13, 2020 file photo, candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. David Perdue speaks during a campaign rally, in Cumming, Ga.Barely two months after Biden became just the second Democrat since 1980 to carry Georgia, the state remains in the political limelight as voters return to the polls on January 5 to decide two run-off races that will determine which political party controls the U.S. Senate. Biden’s ability to advance his legislative agenda could hang in the balance.The state’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, are trying to fend off tough, well financed Democratic challenges from Jon Ossoff, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, respectively, in an election that has already seen more than $500 million spent. If Democrats capture both seats, the Senate will be divided 50-50 between the Democrats and Republicans, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will break the tie in favor of the Democrats. If either Perdue or Loeffler or both wins, Republicans will retain control of the Senate.FILE – In this Nov. 13, 2020, file photo Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. Kelly Loeffler speaks at a campaign rally in Cumming, Ga.But while there is an unusual amount of attention on the state — including competing campaign events featuring President Donald Trump, President-elect Biden as well as a host of celebrities — there is a lot about Georgia and its electorate that outsiders may not realize.
“We know there are people from all over the world watching us right now,” Masino said, “but I don’t think people understand what’s been going on here. We’ve grown so fast over the last few decades, this isn’t the Georgia people think they know. We’ve become so diverse — there aren’t many places in the world like it, and that could have a big impact on this election.”A political shiftJust kilometers to the west of Gwinnett is Cobb County, another of Atlanta’s suburbs. It’s population was reported at more than 760,000 in 2019 — more than doubling since 1990 — and like the rest of Atlanta’s outskirts, it has undergone a transformation that would have been unimaginable even 15 years ago.
“When I first moved to Cobb County in 2007, it was considered a bastion of conservative Republicanism,” Dr. Andrew Pieper, an associate professor of political science at Kennesaw State University told VOA. “It was the heart of the state GOP.”Democratic U.S. Senate challenger the Rev. Raphael Warnock during a rally Dec. 21, 2020 in Columbus, Ga.
The political shift can be seen by looking at how Atlanta’s suburbs voted in presidential elections over the last two decades. In 2004, Republican incumbent President George Bush walloped Democratic challenger John Kerry by more than 32 percentage points in Gwinnett County. Eight years later, Democratic President Barack Obama limited his Republican opponent’s advantage in the county to just over 9%.
In 2016, Democrat Hilary Clinton actually beat Trump by nearly six percentage points in Gwinnett — even though Trump won Georgia as a whole by five percentage points. This past November, Biden beat Trump by a whopping 18 percentage points in the county, and carried Georgia by just under 12,000 votes . Before then, Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to win a statewide presidential race in Georgia, in 1992.
It’s a similar story in Cobb County and throughout Atlanta’s sprawling suburbs. But what caused the shift?
The answer can be found by examining the area’s changing demographics.Demographic revolutionGeorgia today bears little resemblance to the state that maintained a web of racially discriminatory laws for a century after the U.S. Civil War. But residents know that reputations die hard.Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff speaks after voting early in Atlanta on Dec. 22, 2020.
“People think of us as a bunch of racists, but that’s just not true,” said Masino. “Those of us in metro Atlanta live among people of color every day. We go to church together, go to school together and go to work together. Things are different than they used to be, and I think the large majority of us really value that diversity.”
According to Masino and others, change accelerated as Atlanta prepared to host the 1996 Olympics. Georgia worked hard to attract international companies, and that effort paid off as there are more than 3,000 global-based companies in the state today.
“Immigrant families started to notice that people from their home countries were moving to the Atlanta suburbs,” Masino explained, “and that they were welcomed here, that there were jobs available, and that the school systems were good. So more and more people started to come.”
Atlanta’s metro area today boasts 51,000 Korean immigrants as well as 44,000 people from Vietnam. Immigrants from India and Pakistan number 31,000, while 13,500 Atlanta area residents came to the United States from China.
“The Atlanta area’s thought of us as just being black and white, and that might have been true 30 years ago, but it’s not anymore,” Masino said. “We have the fourth largest population of residents of Korean descent in North America.”
Gwinnett County, which was 90% white in 1990, is just 30% white today, according to the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, with the majority of the county made up of minorities: 32% Black, 26% Hispanic and 12% Asian. One in four residents of the county were born outside of the United States.
And diversity is growing across the metro area. Even in places like Paulding County, which as of 2018 was still 75% white, that number has dropped significantly since the turn of the century when the county’s white residents made up 91% of the population.
For many newcomers to the area, that diversity is one of the most appealing parts of the region. This is true for Liz Mace Neider, who moved to Atlanta four years ago. Her husband works for a French company headquartered in Germany. When they decided to move to the U.S., they came to Alpharetta — roughly a half hour drive from Atlanta — because his company had opened an office in the growing city.
“When we first moved here, I was immediately struck by how diverse it was,” said Liz, who is part-Korean but was born in the United States. “We had a neighbor who had been there for 20 years and he was Caucasian. Another neighbor was from Honduras, another was from Columbia and our landlord was from Hong Kong. It’s actually sometimes hard to find people who were born in Atlanta!”An electionWith just a week to go before the election, people across the country and the world are waiting to see how Georgia’s newfound diversity will translate to votes in an election that will help determine America’s political trajectory.
“Not all ethnicities vote as a single bloc, but in general, diversity tends to favor the Democrats,” Masino said. “These multicultural suburbs helped Biden win, but it’s unclear if they’ll turn out in large numbers for a pair of run-off Senate races.
Without President Trump on the ballot or a presidency hanging in the balance, Pieper agreed that November’s election results might not mirror vote totals from next week’s Senate contests.
“I’d be hard pressed to bet against the GOP [Republicans] until the Democrats show they can actually turn out their base to vote in run-offs,” he said. “The idiom about ‘close doesn’t count’ has never been truer than when applied to a winner-take-all election.”
With polls so close, most experts agree that the race will likely be determined by whichever party can motivate enough of their base to go to the ballot box.
Dontaye Carter is the Communications Chair for the Fulton County Democrats —based just outside of Atlanta. Last week he was talking to voters at a toy and food drive, trying to get Democrats excited about the run-offs. Carter is Black and moved to the area from Orlando just eight years ago. He said he’s hopeful residents will turn out in the same numbers that helped deliver the state’s votes to Biden weeks ago.
“Voters here just helped remove a President and several district attorneys, and they influenced a bunch of other races,” Carter said. “I think people in these neighborhoods are starting to realize how much they matter and — when they use it — how much their voice matters, too.” 
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Democrats plan to push Tuesday for the U.S. Senate to pass higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks that has already been approved by the House of Representatives.With Democrats in the minority in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell giving no public indication of bringing the measure for a vote, prominent Democratic figures said they intended to take several possible paths toward forcing action.FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2020.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer planned to use a procedural move that can be halted if any senator objects.“There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country,” Schumer said in a statement. “Leader McConnell ought to make sure Senate Republicans do not stand in the way of helping to meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help.”Republicans have largely resisted the additional spending. Congressman Kevin Brady said the bill would not help the nation’s unemployed get back to work.”I worry that as we spend another half a trillion dollars so hastily, that we are not targeting this help to the Americans who are struggling the most and need that help,” Brady said.In this image from video, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 17, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, threatened Monday to block action on another pressing issue, overriding Trump’s veto of key defense legislation, until the Senate votes on the higher relief payments.“Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve,” Sanders said in a statement.Trump shared a tweet late Monday that cited the Sanders plan, and without commenting on it specifically he reiterated his support for the increased payments.“Give the people $2000, not $600,” Trump wrote. “They have suffered enough!”The Democrat-led House passed the additional pandemic relief payments by a vote of 275-134 on Monday. Congress had previously passed $600 payments for struggling Americans as part of a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package that came after weeks of negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders.President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Dec. 23, 2020.Trump sharply criticized the legislation, threatening to block its passage if Congress did not increase the stimulus payments to $2,000 and cut other spending. But on Sunday, as a government shutdown loomed, he signed the bill.The House also passed a measure Monday that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs, securing the two-thirds vote necessary to override a presidential veto. The defense spending bill also gives raises to members of the military and sets Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters.   The Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday and is also expected to override Trump’s veto.  Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the U.S. Civil War a few years later.He has also demanded the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post.
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U.S. investigators say the man behind Nashville’s Christmas Day bombing was “not on our radar” as they continued to work to determine a motive in Friday’s explosion that injured three people. “He was not someone that was identified as a person of interest for the bureau, and so we were not familiar with this individual until … this incident,” said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, while speaking to reporters via a Zoom conference. Authorities on Sunday identified 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner as the man who blew up a motor home at dawn in a neighborhood of Tennessee’s southern city of Nashville, killing himself. The blast damaged dozens of buildings and disrupted telecommunications systems in the neighborhood, which is filled with country music bars and restaurants. Investigators used DNA and other evidence such as locating the vehicle identification number from the motor home and tips from the public to link Warner to the explosion. Rausch said on Monday that Warner’s mother was cooperating with the investigation but that the motive for the explosion was still not clear. He said Warner’s only arrest was for a 1978 marijuana-related charge.  Investigators continue to examine the site of an explosion, Dec. 27, 2020, in downtown Nashville, Tenn.Rausch said the multi-agency investigation into the blast involves the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  “We are all taking pieces of the puzzle, working to determine what the motivation was for this individual,” he said. Since the blast, hundreds of tips and leads have been submitted to law enforcement agencies.  A neighbor of Warner’s, Rick Laude, told The Associated Press that he spoke to Warner just days before the explosion. He said Warner told him, “Nashville and the world is never going to forget me.”  Laude said that nothing about Warner raised any red flags and that he assumed the remark meant that “something good” was going to happen for Warner financially. The FBI said its agents and those from ATF were still recovering and analyzing evidence. The area around the blast remained closed Monday.  “The motive for the incident is still unclear,” the FBI said in a statement late Sunday.  “Leads are still being followed, but at this time, there is no indication that any other individuals are involved.”Authorities searched Warner’s home Saturday in the suburb of Antioch about 18 kilometers from the blast site.  A recreational vehicle that exploded injuring three people and causing massive damage to buildings is seen in Nashville, Tennesse, Dec. 25, 2020. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via Reuters)Several neighbors of Warner’s said they had seen a light-colored recreational vehicle, like the one that blew up Friday, in the backyard of the Antioch duplex during the past several months.   Public records show that Warner had experience with electronics and alarms. He also worked information technology jobs.    Investigators do not know why Warner chose downtown Nashville for what they described as an “intentional act” and a “deliberate bomb.”    One theory is that an AT&T communications building was targeted because the recreational vehicle was parked near it when the bomb went off.   Rausch said Monday that Warner’s father had worked for AT&T but that it was not clear if that was in any way connected. Communications were affected in several states as the result of the blast, although much of the service was restored by Sunday afternoon.   Nashville Mayor John Cooper told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that the location of the bombing, next to the AT&T building, indicated it was meant to be an attack on communications service.   “It feels like there has to be some connection with the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing,” he said. “It’s got to have something to do with the infrastructure.”   Six police officers were credited for saving people from being hurt after a recorded message coming from the vehicle said people should evacuate.     
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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, and it passed an override of Trump’s veto of a multibillion-dollar bill funding the country’s defense programs.  The House interrupted its usual Christmas recess to return to work to pass the measures Monday, less than a week before a new Congress is to be sworn into office. The Democrat-led House passed the additional pandemic relief payments by a vote of 275-134. The House and Senate had previously passed $600 payments for struggling Americans as part of a compromise $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package between Democratic and Republican lawmakers, however Trump sharply criticized the legislation. He threatened to block its passage if Congress did not increase the stimulus payments to $2,000 and cut other spending. But on Sunday, as a government shutdown loomed, he signed the bill. Trump’s support for the larger checks has been seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican Party, whose members have largely resisted the extra spending. The Republican-led Senate is set to return to session Tuesday to consider the measure, where its fate is uncertain.The House also passed a measure Monday that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs, securing the two-thirds vote necessary to override a presidential veto. The defense spending bill also gives raises to members of the military and sets Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters. FILE – President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Dec. 23, 2020. Trump traveled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.The Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday and is also expected to override Trump’s veto. Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the U.S. Civil War a few years later. He has also demanded the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post.   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”Trump went against lawmakers with both his veto of the defense bill and his criticism of the $2.3 trillion spending package, passed by both the House and Senate. Trump initially called the spending package “a disgrace,” but relented Sunday and signed it.In a statement announcing his signature for the spending bill, Trump said, “As president, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child.”Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun Tuesday. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early Sunday.The spending bill Trump signed includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding through next September.Democrats have characterized the coronavirus relief bill as just a first step in their push for a more expansive aid package. “We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts — and we must do so as soon as possible,” Pelosi said.FILE – U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), walks from the Senate floor following an agreement of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) aid package, on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Dec. 21, 2020.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Trump for preventing “a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.” “The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” McConnell said in a statement.Trump said in announcing his signature for the spending package that he was also insisting on changes to the funding legislation to remove what he called “wasteful items.”  Those demands amount to suggestions to Congress and will not necessarily result in any changes to the bill.“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP (Paycheck Protection Program), return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added. 
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Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are planning to vote Monday on higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, after President Donald Trump backed down from his fight with lawmakers over the payments and signed a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package.On Sunday Trump signed the spending package, which includes $600 in stimulus payments for struggling Americans, after previously calling the bill “a disgrace.”Trump called for the stimulus payments to be boosted to $2,000 while also criticizing funding for multiple government programs in the spending bill such as foreign aid and scientific research.Trump Signs Spending Bill, Pandemic Aid PackageThe president had refused to sign a pandemic aid bill; he tweeted Saturday that he wants $2,000 checks for Americans instead of the $600 aid negotiated by lawmakersDemocrats in the House agree that the payments should be higher and will vote Monday on issuing $2,000 relief checks for Americans. However, the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to oppose the measure.Trump’s support for the larger checks had been seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican party, who resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments.“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in a statement announcing his signature for the spending bill.Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun Tuesday. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early Sunday.The spending bill Trump signed includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding through next September.Will Congress override Trump veto?The House is also expected vote Monday on a measure that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs. The measure would also give raises to members of the military and set Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters.If the House approves the veto override Monday, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. A two-thirds vote in both chambers is required to override a presidential veto.Senate Sends Trump Defense Bill He Has Vowed to VetoVote is 84-13, mirroring a similarly overwhelming margin in the House that, if maintained in both chambers, would be enough to override a potential vetoTrump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which attempted to secede from the United States in the 1860s.He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users.Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”Congress is interrupting its usual Christmas recess to return to work on Monday.Democrats have characterized the coronavirus relief bill as just a first step in their push for a more expansive aid package.“We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts – and we must do so as soon as possible,” Pelosi said.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Trump for preventing “a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.”“The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” McConnell said in a statement.Trump said in announcing his signature for the spending package that he was also insisting on changes to the funding legislation to remove what he called “wasteful items.” Those demands amount to suggestions to Congress and will not necessarily result in any changes to the bill.“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added.
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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Americans increasingly seem to be tuning out warnings against travel during what is traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year.On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration said it screened close to 1.3 million air travelers at U.S. airports Sunday. It was the highest number in more than nine months. The TSA also reported that more than 10 million people have flown since December 18.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans against travel during the holiday season, fearing that to do so would help spread the coronavirus.”The best thing for Americans to do in the upcoming holiday season is to stay at home and not travel,” Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager, said in a news briefing in early December. “Cases are rising. Hospitalizations are increasing, Deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase.”According to National Public Radio, it was unclear if a travel surge over Thanksgiving caused a spike in cases. It reported that in some areas, there appeared to be a surge, while in others, there wasn’t.The American Automobile Association, known as AAA, predicted that an estimated 85 million Americans would travel over the Christmas season, most of them by car, but according to the Associated Press, actual numbers were not yet available.As of Monday, the United States had more than 19 million coronavirus cases and 333,326 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
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Taiwanese officials will lift a longstanding ban on additive-fed pork imports from the United States this month to open talks on a broader trade agreement with one of its top export markets, people close to the decision process say.   Parliament in Taipei gave the final clearances last week to allowing shipments of American pork from pigs raised on the feed additive ractopamine which is used to promote leanness but is banned by 160 countries including China, Russia and the European Union. The imports, which will begin Friday, remove what Taiwanese officials believe to be a key barrier in U.S. trade ties. FILE – People join a protest to oppose the import of U.S. pork containing ractopamine, an additive that enhances leanness in Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 22, 2020.“When I’ve made legislative visits to the United States, the U.S. representatives would always bring up this topic, and now this issue that kept being brought up is out of the way,” independent lawmaker Freddy Lim said Monday.    Formal U.S. interest in a trade deal hinges on President-elect Joe Biden’s government, Lim said, but “I personally feel optimistic given the sum or experiences and reactions from the past.”   Second biggest trading partner Officials in Taiwan have tried off and on since 1994 for a free trade deal with the United States, the second biggest taker of Taiwanese imports after China.    U.S. trade negotiators sometimes push their deal partners to let in American farm goods as a condition to signing agreements that eliminate tariffs on exports such as manufactured electronics that underpin economies such as Taiwan’s.   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says U.S. imports from Taiwan reached $61.6 billion in 2019. Americans buy computers, semiconductors and machinery, among other goods made in Taiwan, resulting in a trade surplus for the Asian manufacturing center that reached $19.3 billion last year.   “It seems to me that nobody can deny because of the small, tiny size of Taiwan and [that] we don’t have enough natural resources, we have to fully engage into active international trade with foreign countries, and nobody here in Taiwan denies we need direct negotiations on trade with the United States, which happens to be one of the biggest countries in the world,” said Liu Yih-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan.   Hints of a trade agreement Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang told parliament in November the United States was Taiwan’s most powerful ally as he explained that his government would require on-site inspections at American meat factories and clear product labeling to protect food safety. Taiwan has avoided American pork to date on suspicion that ractopamine residue could cause human health problems.   Government-run Central News Agency reported in November that lifting the ban “is seen as an attempt to pave the way for a bilateral trade deal with the U.S.”   After Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced in August the intent to let in American pork, several U.S. government agencies responded with tweets and news releases.The de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said it welcomed the move that would “provide greater access for U.S. farmers to one of East Asia’s most vibrant markets” and that Tsai’s decision would “open the door to greater economic and trade cooperation between the United States and Taiwan.”   FILE – A bowl of rice with minced pork, a popular Taiwanese style dish, is seen at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, July 26, 2017.Pork permeates Taiwanese cuisine from dozens of restaurant entrees to hot dogs buried in pastries and thin strips of meat that turn up in breakfast-bar sandwiches. Some chefs put pork shreds in dishes labeled as vegetarian to give the greens a fatty, salty taste.    No guarantee of a deal But the U.S. Trade Representative’s office has not said Taiwan must allow pork imports to qualify for a trade deal, minority party lawmaker Charles Chen said.    “I think this matter raises major doubts among Taiwanese domestically about whether there will be any sort of exchange with the U.S. Trade Representative office,” Chen said. “If not, then it doesn’t mean that the trade representative will give us any advantages.”   FILE – Pork intestines and other organs are seen on the ground after Taiwan lawmakers threw the parts at each other during a scuffle in the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 27, 2020.Chen’s Nationalist Party took pork innards to a November parliament session to show their opposition. Lawmakers went on to throw the entrails at one another, capturing widespread media attention in and outside Taiwan.
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“Full House” actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college.  Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California.  Loughlin and Giannulli were both initially supposed to report to prison on Nov. 19, but prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Loughlin could start her sentence on Oct. 30. Loughlin also agreed that she would not seek early release on coronavirus-related grounds, prosecutors said.  Giannulli is scheduled to be released on April 17, the Bureau of Prisons says.  Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities.  The famous couple admitted in May to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower. Their guilty plea was a stunning reversal for the couple, whose lawyers had insisted for a year were innocent and accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them.The only public comments either Loughlin or Giannulli made about the case since their arrest last year came at their sentencing hearings in August. Loughlin told the judge her actions “helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society” and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a “catalyst to do good.”Their younger daughter, social media influencer Olivia Jade, made her first public remarks about the scandal this month on the series “Red Table Talk.” Olivia Jade said she doesn’t want or deserve pity.  “We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.’ And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it,” she said.  Of the nearly 60 parents, coaches and others charged in the case, about a dozen are still fighting the allegations. The sentences for the parents who have pleaded so far in the case range from a couple weeks to nine months. 
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As Monica Harvey watched, crowds flocked to a Sam’s Club in northern Arizona where she works, picking shelves clean of toilet paper and canned goods. Native American seniors couldn’t move fast enough, and Harvey saw their faces fall when they reached empty shelves.The Navajo woman wanted to help tribal elders get household staples without leaving their homes and risking exposure to COVID-19, so she started Defend Our Community, a group that delivers supplies.Tribes across the nation are working to protect elder members who serve as honored links to customs passed from one generation to the next. The efforts to deliver protective gear, meals and vaccines are about more than saving lives. Tribal elders often possess unique knowledge of language and history that is all the more valuable because tribes commonly pass down their traditions orally. That means losing elders to the coronavirus could wipe out irreplaceable pieces of culture.”When you lose an elder, you lose a part of yourself,” said Harvey, who lives in Leupp, Arizona, east of Flagstaff. “You lose a connection to history, our stories, our culture, our traditions.”Harvey remembers her own grandfather explaining the stories behind Navajo songs and teaching her Navajo words from the songs. She often listened to her grandparents speaking Navajo while she practiced the words under her breath.In Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation has increased food distributions to elders and offered financial aid to those who were struggling to pay rent or utilities. Concern for elders is also apparent in the tribe’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans. Participants and workers in the tribe’s elder program are first in line for the shots, along with hospital workers and first responders. Next are those whose first language is Cherokee and others considered “tribal treasures,” an honor given to members who keep Cherokee art, language and other culture alive through their work.An effort among the Blackfeet in Montana is helping the tribe’s 600-plus members connect with elders who need support. Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot Nation is providing its citizens with masks and telemedicine, delivering meals to their doors and organizing home visits to give flu vaccines.”Elders are like libraries. Losing one is like a library burning down,” said Loren Racine, creator of a Facebook page offering help in the Blackfeet community.FILE – A sign on a door warns people to wear face coverings, at the Kayenta Health Center on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona, April 18, 2020.Roy Boney, Jr., who manages a Cherokee language program, said the majority of Cherokee speakers are elders. They make up a small pool of people the program relies on to teach the language he calls the “beating heart” of Cherokee identity.”For decades our language has been taken from us through forced assimilation,” Boney said. “Elders hold our history and culture but also our language…Our elders are precious.”Almost half of the Cherokee who received care from the tribe’s health services but died from the coronavirus were fluent Cherokee speakers. Losing even a handful of speakers can be devastating for language preservation and other cultural practices, Boney said.”With them goes so much information in terms of language knowledge, dialect, specialized knowledge of medicine and traditional practices,” he said. “All these things we’re trying to revitalize and save, they’re the heart of all of it.”Mashantucket Pequot elders shifted to a virtual format for the intergenerational gatherings where they tell traditional stories. An elders council also helps to organize Pequot language bingo nights and Schemitzun, the annual Festival of the Green Corn.”When we heard how COVID-19 was spreading, we were immediately concerned for our elders and how losing them would affect the tribe, so we immediately started working to protect them,” said the tribe’s chief medical officer, Setu Vora.The tribe has no known COVID-19 deaths.Pequot elders play an important role in the effort to revive the tribe’s language, which is no longer widely spoken. Elders still remember relatives who spoke the language and can verify the definitions and context of certain words. A handful of the tribe’s 2,000 members are becoming somewhat proficient in Pequot as they research and reclaim new words, Vora said.Karen Ketcher was among 28 Cherokee Nation elders who have died from the coronavirus. She was weeks shy of her 71st birthday and had decades of experience working for the tribe and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Her knowledge was unmatched and invaluable, said her granddaughter, Taryn King.”There’s so much at stake when this virus hits our communities,” said King, 31, of Stilwell, Oklahoma. She described elders as “the glue that holds our communities together.”At work, Ketcher was affectionately called “Granny.” She was the go-to person for questions about Cherokee policies, tribal governance and how to apply for grants. She also was the first stop for snacks, help mending holes in sweaters or questions about community relations.One co-worker, Kamisha Hair, went into Ketcher’s office shortly before the tribe temporarily closed it in March because of the pandemic. She assured Ketcher things would be OK and implored her to pray.The two hugged and said they loved each other. Ketcher died in April.Relatives held a small outdoor service for her. When they returned to town, other Cherokees had lined the streets to pay their respects.”Losing an elder like Granny is like losing a piece of your identity,” Hair said. “It dies with them, and you can never get it back.”
 
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In the United States, where travel has picked up due to the holidays, health officials worry about a surge of COVID-19 cases, even as vaccination efforts continue. Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Sunday that the country is “really at a critical time” in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of new cases is soaring even as the first 1.9 million Americans have been vaccinated.  Fauci, who was vaccinated last week, told CNN on Sunday that it is “very tough” for people to not socialize over the holidays even though health experts have strongly advised against it.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, prepares to receive his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md., Dec. 22, 2020.Authorities say 85 million Americans are traveling to visit relatives and friends, which they fear will lead to even more infections in the United States. For several weeks now, the U.S. has been recording 200,000 new cases a day.  Fauci said people are “crowded in airports, a mixing of households. As much as we advise against it, it happens.”  Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and named as the chief medical adviser to the incoming Biden administration, unequivocally urged Americans to get inoculated.  Fauci said he hopes that 75% to 80% of the 209 million adult Americans will be vaccinated in the coming months, a figure that might be sufficient for herd immunity to take hold in the country to end the pandemic.  FILE – Staff members receive the COVID-19 vaccine at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, N.J., Dec. 17, 2020.He said that with inoculations over the next several months, the U.S. could “reach a critical number of vaccinated” people by the “middle to the end of summer” next August.  That would by then, he said, allow the country to “return to some form of normality.”  The U.S. has started inoculating primary health care workers and elderly residents of nursing homes, with front-line essential workers and those 75 and older set to be next in line for the shots in the next few weeks.  U.S. health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defined front-line essential workers as emergency responders, teachers and other education workers, including day care personnel, food and agriculture workers, correctional facility staff members, postal workers, public transit workers, and people who work in manufacturing and in grocery stores.  Fauci said U.S. health authorities are monitoring mutant strains that have shown up in Britain and South Africa. Officials in those two countries say that the vaccines developed by drug makers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna will protect against the new strains, but Fauci said that U.S. researchers will be doing their own tests to make sure.  The U.S. has recorded more than 332,000 deaths from the coronavirus and nearly 19 million infections, with both figures more than in any other country, according to the Johns Hopkins University.  
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U.S. authorities are continuing to investigate the Christmas Day vehicle explosion in the southern city of Nashville, Tennessee, looking for clues in a home about 18 kilometers from the blast site.    Investigators suspect a link to a resident of the duplex in the suburb of Antioch. They say the person might have blown himself up in the recreational vehicle that had been parked in an area filled with country music bars and restaurants.     But authorities are running down hundreds of tips about the blast and have not reached any conclusions about the explosion, which they have described as an “intentional act” and “deliberate bomb.”    The Friday morning blast damaged dozens of buildings and sent three people to the hospital with what police said were noncritical injuries.    Neighbors near the home said a light-colored recreational vehicle like the one that blew up had been parked in the backyard for several months.    Authorities say they have not found any evidence so far that point to other possible conspirators or threats of other explosions.    Investigators on Dec. 26, 2020, walk near the scene of an explosion in Nashville, Tenn. The explosion early Friday shattered windows, damaged buildings and left several people wounded.On Saturday, communication networks remained disrupted throughout Tennessee. The blast knocked out residential phone and cellphone service as well as service at 20 call centers for 911, the number used to contact emergency personnel. Business and governmental functions were impacted, and flights at Nashville International Airport were stopped for a while.   Tony Rodriguez, the resident in the other half of the duplex authorities were investigating, told The Washington Post that he never spoke to his neighbor and didn’t know his name.    Rodriguez said on a few occasions, he saw the man adjusting an antenna above the house or power-washing the driveway behind their home. Rodriguez said the man posted several “No Trespassing” and warning signs around the property, particularly where he kept the recreational vehicle. The city street where the explosion occurred remained sealed off and under curfew as investigators searched the wreckage.  
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