EFTA00161600.pdf

From: To: Subject: FW: FCS Morning Bulletin 11/16/20 Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:39:34 +0000 Importance: Normal From: (CID) (FBI) Sent: Monday, November 16, 2020 4:39:25 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: HQ-DIV06-FCS-MORNINGBULLETIN Cc: (DO) (FBI) Subject: FCS Morning Bulletin 11/16/20 Good morning, Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. The Los Angeles Times (11/13, 4.64M) reports Texas youth sports coach Martin Fox "was sentenced Friday to three months in prison and three months of home detention" in connection to a college admissions scandal. He "admitted serving as a middleman between William "Rick" Singer, the Newport Beach college consultant at the heart of the scheme, and several university coaches and a teaching assistant whom Singer sought to bribe." Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. The Hill (11/14, Deese, 2.98M) reports, "A Fort Lauterdale, Fla., high school basketball coach was arrested for allegedly submitting close to $1 million in claims to the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to federal prosecutors." Terrence Williams "is a championship-winning coach at Stranahan High School. He was charged Friday with several financial crimes, including bank fraud and money laundering, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported." The Hill adds, "Prosecutors accuse Williams of applying for and receiving a loan of $984,710 for his company Williams Consulting Group LLC, according to the newspaper." The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (11/13, 742K) reports, "The FBI complaint says Williams claimed his company had 67 employees and an average monthly payroll of $393,884. But, in fact, it paid no such payroll and did not have any workers. The complaint further alleges that after receiving the loan, Williams laundered the vast majority of the money by transferring it to several of his bank accounts." Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. Loudoun (VA) Now (11/13) reported that an Ashburn, Virginia man "was sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic." Loudoun Now adds, "According to court documents, Tarik Jaafar, 43, conspired with his wife, Monika Magdalena Jaworska, from April 13 to May 6 applied for 18 separate PPP loans in the names of the four shell companies they had created, securing approximately $6.6 million in government support. 'As we've seen in the aftermath of many disasters and crises, criminals will exploit any opportunity to take advantage of programs intended to help businesses and individuals EFTA00161600 confronted with hardship,' said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division." Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Eisen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Friday agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle civil claims involving fake accounts at the bank, even as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit against another former Wells Fargo executive. Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Seidel, 875K) reports, "A developer who made secret recordings for the feds of former Ald. Danny Solis and House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday." According to the Sun-Times, "Federal prosecutors charged See Y. Wong back in March, days before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Chicago and years after he played a key role in a public corruption investigation that has embroiled city and state politics in recent years. Wong made a secret 2014 audio and video recording for the feds of Solis and Madigan, according to court records and sources. That recording became part of the investigation that persuaded Solis to then secretly record the now-indicted Ald. Edward M. Burke. However, Wong only helped the feds because he hoped a judge would go easy on him one day for a fraud that was only identified when the feds filed a seven- page charging document known as an information against him in March." The Chicago Tribune (11/13, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, "Wong was charged in a seven-page criminal information in March for allegedly lying to banks and buyers involved with his Canal Crossing building, records show. He pleaded guilty Friday during a hearing held via video conference before U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle. The 20-page plea agreement does not specifically mention the Solis probe, but calls on Wong to provide "complete and truthful" information in any investigation and testify if necessary. Wong agreed to have his sentencing delayed until his cooperation is complete. Norgle set a status hearing in the case for Feb. 5." FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. El Paso (TX) Inc. (11/15, Crowder, 32K) reports, "Daniel Steadley, the former head of a once-popular health insurance-type plan in El Paso, has been indicted on 19 counts of fraud and arrested by the FBI after a protracted investigation involving state and federal agencies." According to El Paso Inc., "Gregg Soler, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Quesada announced the legal actions against Steadley on Nov. 5, the day of his arrest. The following day Federal Magistrate Robert Castalieda set his bond at $50,000, and Steadley went free after posting a 10% cash deposit. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison." El Paso Inc. adds, "According to the Oct. 28 indictment, Steadley operated two companies from 2014 to 2018 that sold Unique MEC Healthcare Plans for as little as $99 a month to about 2,000 El Pasoans, and 'stole approximately $1.5 million in premiums from unsuspecting victims during his scheme." FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. The Houston Chronicle (11/13, Dellinger, 730K) reports, "The FBI is searching for a Chinese man accused of stealing and selling trade secrets from a Houston oil and gas company." According to the Chronicle, "Between 2019 and 2020, Lei Gao, 44, also known as "Jason," and others allegedly schemed to obtain trade secrets from a Houston-based manufacturer of advanced coiled tubing, according to the FBI. The stolen trade secrets were used to assist in the development of an advanced coiled tubing product, which Gao and con-conspirators introduced to the market for sale in 2020, the FBI said in a statement. Gao left the United States and returned to China in 2019 and has not returned, according to authorities." FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. EFTA00161601 Reuters (11/13, Malo) reports, "A California man who promised investors to turn cow manure into renewable energy has been arrested on a 24-count indictment after allegedly defrauding them of $8.75 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice." Reuters adds, "U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott charged Raymond Brewer, 64, with wire fraud and money laundering, saying he duped investors into funding his business that purported to turn cow dung into methane natural gas, but instead spent the money on his home, a property in Montana and several cars. Brewer was arrested on Thursday." Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. The Canyon (CA) News (11/13) reports, "On Thursday, November 12, federal authorities arrested nine defendants, who allegedly laundered millions of dollars derived from health care fraud and tax fraud schemes. Two indictments allege that a total of 10 defendants were involved in the operation that laundered over $30 million in tax refunds from 7,000 fraudulent tax returns. The tax returns were filed using stolen identities from American taxpayers. Seven defendants were arrested Thursday, November 12, and there are three still being sought." Authorities "also arrested two additional defendants who are being charged in two other indictments. One involves a short sale scheme involving a $2 million residence, that was forfeited earlier this year to the United States, and one involving a car leasing scam. There is also an additional defendant in the real estate scam who is a fugitive." Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. The Everett (WA) Herald (11/14, Stevick, 151K) reports from Seattle, "A Snohomish insurance agent accused of stealing $750,000 from clients pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Seattle." Vicki Boser, 57, "is charged with five counts of wire fraud after allegedly stealing three-quarters of a million dollars in premium payments from clients. Boser owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc. She's accused of issuing fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies." Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. The AP (11/13, Bajak) reports that in a blog post on Friday, "Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers." Though "most of the attacks in recent months were unsuccessful," Microsoft "provided no information on how many succeeded or how serious those breaches were." The company "said most of the targets - located in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States — were 'directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19." The blog post "identified one of the state-backed hacker groups as Fancy Bear, the Russian military agents who Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in July were behind such intrusion attempts," while two others "were North Korea's Lazarus Group and a group Microsoft calls Cerium." TechCrunch (11/13, Whittaker, 605K) reports that Tom Burt, Microsoft's customer security and trust head, said, "We think these attacks are unconscionable and should be condemned by all civilized society." Burt also said, "Microsoft is calling on the world's leaders to affirm that international law protects health care facilities and to take action to enforce the law." The news coincided "with the Paris Peace Forum, where Microsoft president Brad Smith will urge governments to do more to combat cyberattacks against the healthcare sector, particularly during the pandemic." NBC News (11/13, Collier, 6.14M) reports that most of the companies targeted "have vaccines already in clinical trials." In some instances, the hackers "successfully breached their target," though it "wasn't immediately clear how serious those intrusions were, and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to elaborate." The Wall Street Journal (11/13, McMillan, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports companies developing COVID-19 vaccines say they are being targeted by Russian and North Korean cyberattacks. The attacks represent an espionage risk, as well as a challenge to the integrity of the research - and could also delay clinical trials. University of Oxford professor of international law Dapo EFTA00161602 Akande said, "We need to kind of raise the profile and to raise the quality of the discussion around these issues as to what is off-limits." Emmy From: Bulletin Intelligence <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com> Sent: Monday, November 16, 2020 6:27 AM To: FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com> Subject: (EXTERNAL EMAIL) - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Monday, November 16, 2020 Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. [FBI News Briefing • TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 6:30 AM EST TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. PROTESTS • FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. • Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. • Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. • WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. • Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. • NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. • Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. • NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. • Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. • Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. OPERATION LEGEND • Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. • Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. • Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. • NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. • French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. • Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. EFTA00161603 • Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. • Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. • Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. • Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. • Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. • Extremists Turn To Fringe Social Networks To Spread Post-Election Disinformation. • McCabe Says Further Trump-Russia Declassifications "Unflattering" For President. • QAnon Conspiracy Thriving Internationally. • Government Urges FISC To Reject ACLU Appeal. • ODNI Taps Matthew Kozma As IC's New CIO. • NSA General Counsel Pick Setting Off Alarm Bells Among Experts. • Atlas 5 Rocket Carrying NRO Satellite Launched November 13. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Bond Reduced For Three Michigan Men Charged In Whitmer Kidnap Plot. • Judge Denies Bond To Men Charged With Killing Arbery. • Prosecutors: Guards At Federal Prison In Virginia Were Bribed By Prisoners. • FBI Captures Fugitive Who Escaped Custody Almost Five Decades Ago. • FBI Following New Lead In 2004 Death Of Kansas Man. • Fourth Suspect Charged In Mississippi Murder-For-Hire Case. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On Georgia Double Murder Case. • Ex-Illinois Police Officer Sentenced In Uzi Coverup. • Boy Scouts Facing More Than 82,000 Sex-Abuse Claims. • New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty To Hitting Federal Officer. • Man Charged With Taking Gun From Kansas City Homicide Scene. • Wisconsin Man Charged With Abducting Missouri Minor. • Drug Cartels Funneling Meth Into Las Vegas. • Brevard County Sheriff's Office Publishes Video Showing Moments Preceding Death Of Army Veteran Inmate. • Florida Man Sentenced Over Plan To Kill Judge, Prosecutor. • FBI Searching For Colorado Man. • Mother, Son Facing Charges After Drugs Recovered From New Mexico Homes. • Colorado Man Arrested In Connection To New Jersey Bank Robberies. • Georgia Resident Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Meth. • Virginia Man Tied To Meth Purchase In Georgia Gets 151-Month Prison Sentence. • Texas Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • California Man Arrested In Connection To Hate Crime. • FBI Investigating Texas Gang. • Pennsylvania Grand Jury Charges Man With Sexual Extortion Of Minors. • Virginian Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. • Alaska Man Sentenced For Armed Robberies. • FBI Captures Suspect In Connecticut, Pennsylvania Bank Robberies. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. • Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. EFTA00161604 • Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. • Ex-Deputies Sue Texas AG Paxton For Retaliation. • US Charges Massachusetts Tribal Chairman With Bribery In Casino Development. • Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. • FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. • FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. • FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. • Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. • Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. CYBER DIVISION • WSJournal Al: Schools Throughout US Contending With Ransomware Attacks. • Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. • DHS Says Becton Medical Pump Has Cybersecurity Issues. • ByteDance Granted 15-Day Extension To Divest TikTok. • Qualcomm Gets US Permission To Sell 4G Phone Chips To Huawei. • North Korea-Linked Twitter Accounts Garnering Attention. • Google Unable To Resolve Dispute With DOJ Over Protective Order. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • NYTimes Analysis: NYPD Insufficiently Disciplining Officers Accused Of "Serious Misconduct." • Recreational Marijuana Industry Players Preparing To Operate In New Jersey Following Approval Of Ballot Measure. • Judge Provides DOJ With Single Day To Explain Why Woman's Execution Should Not Be Put Off Due To COVID Infections Among Lawyers. • Maryland Judiciary Halts Jury Trials For Remainder Of 2020 Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases. • Arlington's Leading Prosecutor, Public Defender Engaged In Legal Challenges To County Judge. • Judge Rebukes Fairfax County Law Enforcement, Prosecutors For Not Providing Exculpatory Evidence In Murder Case In Timely Manner. • Poll: About 80% Of Americans Believe Crime Has Risen During Past Year. OTHER FBI NEWS • DOJ Report Says FBI Wanted To Arrest Epstein At Virgin Islands Beauty Pageant Before Plea Deal. • Tennessee Man Convicted Of Homicide Seeks New Trial Because Testifying Officer Is Under FBI Probe. • Four Colorado Detectives Honored By DOJ For Busting Gift Card Scam. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Says "I Concede Nothing," Criticizes Media For Calling 2020 Election For Biden. • US Adds Another Million Coronavirus Cases In Under A Week. • Administration Officials, Republican Governors Call On Americans To Take Surging Coronavirus Cases Seriously. • Biden Advisers, Democrats Urge Americans To Take Pandemic Seriously. • More States Enact Tough Restrictions As Coronavirus Spreads. • Trump Hails Progress On Vaccine, Says It Will Be Available Within "Weeks," Though Not In New York. • CDC Urges Americans To Wear Masks. • Alito Describes Covid-19 As "Constitutional Stress Test." • More Than 130 Secret Service Agents In Quarantine. • Pfizer Could Apply For FDA's Emergency Authorization Of Vaccine As Soon As This Week. • Physicians, Nurses Retiring Early, Leaving Jobs During Pandemic. • Republicans Showing Little Interest In Pursuing Biden Investigations. • Millions Face Loss Of Unemployment Benefits If Congress Fails To Reach Deal On Coronavirus Relief. EFTA00161605 • Trump Allies See Newsmax As Potential Rival To Fox News. • Judge Rules Wolf Serving Illegally, Invalidates His Suspension Of DACA. • Miller: Americans Are "Not A People Of Perpetual War." • Bolton: Recent Pentagon, NSA, DHS Firings Are "Very Damaging." • SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts Into Orbit On NASA Mission. • SCOTUS Has Not Acted On Trump Tax Suits In Weeks. • Hollyanne Milley Saves Man Who Collapsed During Veterans Day Ceremony. • Explosion At VA Hospital Complex In Connecticut Leaves Two Dead. • WPost Al: McEntee Leading Purge Of "Insufficiently Loyal" Administration Officials. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • UK Prime Minister To Self-Isolate After Contact With Lawmaker With COVID-19. • Coronavirus Cases In Italy's Hospitals Threaten To Outstrip Spring Peak. • Germans Should Expect Another 4-5 Months Of "Lockdown Light," Economy Minister Says. • French Police Break Up Parties That Violate Second Lockdown Restrictions. • Classrooms Remain Open Across Europe Despite Lockdowns. • Asian Economies Recovering Fastest From Coronavirus. • India To Fly In Physicians, Take Other Steps To Stem Surge Of Virus Cases In Delhi. • Mexico Tops 1M Coronavirus Cases As Country Continues To Defy Accepted Prevention Practices. • ESwatini's Prime Minister Tests Positive For COVID-19. • WPost Al: Trump Has Worsened Iran Crisis Since Taking Office. • India Denies Pakistan's Claim It Funded Militant Groups. • US Condemns Tigray Forces' Attacks On Eritrea. • Israel Advances Plan To Build 1,200 Apartments In East Jerusalem Settlement. • Macron: Europe Needs Its Own Sovereignty In Defense Strategy. • Sandu Leads Moldova Presidential Run-Off. • Belarus Police Detain Hundreds Amid Raid On Protester's Shrine. • Azerbaijan Delays Takeover Of Disputed Territory. • Erdogan Visits Northern Cyprus, Calls For Two-State Solution For Island. • Moroccan Forces Clash With Western Sahara Fighters. • Peru's Interim President Steps Down Amid Protests. • WPost Al: Brazil Grapples With Racial Redefinition Amid US Protests. • Death Toll In Philippines Typhoon Rises To 67. • NYTimes Analysis: Chinese Legal System Fails To Protect Women From Domestic Violence. • Mahuta Named First Maori Woman In New Zealand Cabinet. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. On CBS This MorningVi (11/13, 2.36M), Paula Reid reported a "growing number of Republicans...say that Biden should at least get...access [to classified intelligence briefings], including the President's allies like" Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). On NBC's TodayVi (11/13, 2.87M), Kristen Welker reported, "At least a dozen [Republican EFTA00161606 lawmakers are] now saying Mr. Biden should receive classified intelligence briefings, which are being blocked by the White House." Politico (11/13, Lippman, 4.29M) reports former White House chief of Staff John Kelly in an interview on Friday argued Biden "should start receiving intelligence briefings, and the delay in allowing the transition to officially get started is damaging U.S. national security." Kelly said, "You lose a lot if the transition is delayed because the new people are not allowed to get their head in the game." Kelly added, "The president, with all due respect, does not have to concede. But it's about the nation. It hurts our national security because the people who should be getting [up to speed], it's not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour." Meanwhile, Reuters (11/13, Lewis) reports that Biden transition official Jen Psaki on Friday "said the fact that Biden was not yet receiving classified intelligence briefings could hurt his preparations to govern," but she announced that Biden "will be briefed by national security experts next week." The Washington Times (11/13, McLaughlin, 492K) reports Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Biden, during an appearance on CNN "said Friday the growing chorus of Republicans calling for Mr. Biden to start receiving intelligence briefings shows it is time for...Trump to throw in the towel." However, Politico (11/13, Forgey, 4.29M) reports former President Barack Obama in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" scheduled to air this weekend "said...it `has been disappointing' to see congressional Republicans remain supportive of...Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and his refusal to concede the 2020 White House race to...Biden." He said, "There's damage to this." Obama added, "What happens is that the peaceful transfer of power - the notion that any of us who attain an elected office, whether it's dog catcher or president, are servants of the people, it's a temporary job, we're not above the rules, we're not above the law - that's the essence of our democracy." In addition, Obama "described the fraud allegations leveled by GOP lawmakers as disingenuous, saying that `they obviously didn't think there was any fraud going on, because they didn't say anything about it for the first two days' after Election Day, when the results in some key swing states were still unsettled." In addition, Terry Moran said on ABC World News TonigISVI (11/13, story 4, 3:31, Muir, 6.44M) that Trump's refusal to concede "is throwing a wrench into Biden's plan to tackle the virus. His team has been blocked from coordinating with the White House coronavirus task force." Under the headline "Trump's Stonewalling Of Biden's Transition Team Threatens National Security, Democrats Say," the New York Times (11/13, Sanger, Stolberg, 18.61M) reports that as they have been "deprived of access to secure government communications by the Trump administration, Mr. Biden's team of more than 500 former officials and outside experts has embraced workarounds." In an analysis, the Washington Post (11/12, Phillips, 14.2M) says that national security officials "are concerned...other countries - and the coronavirus - could take advantage of a slowed transition for...Biden," and democracy experts "warn that the Republican Party is undermining the foundations of the U.S. electoral system and that the GOP is mirroring authoritarianism." PROTEST FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. The Oregonian (11/13, Bernstein, 1M) reports, "Federal officials are investigating a cluster of vandalism that appears to target government employees in the Pacific Northwest and Portland area in the wake of the presidential election, according to a federal source familiar with the cases." According to the Oregonian, "On Wednesday morning, a federal law enforcement officer's unmarked take-home work vehicle was set on fire outside his Washington County home. The officer works at a federal building in downtown Portland, the source said. The FBI, the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington County Sheriff's EFTA00161607 Office and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue are investigating the fire. No arrest has been made, sheriff's Sgt. Robert L. Rookhu9zen said Friday." Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. The Washington Times (11/15, Mordock, 492K) reports President Trump on Saturday "slammed 'ANTIFA SCUM', the media and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser as pro-Trump supporters and leftist activists violently clashed in Washington." The Times adds, "More than 20 people were arrested, according to statements from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. D.C. Police said two of its officers were injured late Saturday evening." Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said on Fox News' MediaBuzz (11/15, 536K) it is "shameful that some of the competing networks whether it be CNN or MSNBC have not covered it the way that they should. The fact of the matter is these were peaceful protesters, so to speak, folks who were going to talk about their support for President Trump, and out of nowhere Antifa and these BLM protesters come in and start hitting them. ... These aren't Trump supporters that are showing up and committing the violence. I think the media needs to cover this, and I do think that whether it be the DC police or the DOJ, there have to be immediate crackdowns on groups like Antifa because this isn't how society is supposed to wok." Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. The AP (11/15, Khalil, Freking) reports, "Demonstrations over President Donald Trump's loss at the polls have resulted in charges against nearly two dozen people in Washington, including a person accused of setting off a commercial firework and four people accused in an assault that left the victim unconscious on the street." According to the AP, "The arrests came during and after protesters and counterdemonstrators clashed Saturday in Northwest Washington. Several thousand people rallied during the day in support of Trump, whose motorcade briefly drove by the gathering protesters Saturday morning on the way to the president's Northern Virginia golf club. Trump supporters marched from Freedom Plaza to the Supreme Court Building, across from the Capitol, during the day. Their activities and those of counterdemonstrators grew increasing tense and took a violent turn in the early evening." WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. A Washington Post (11/13, Berman, Jackman, 14.2M) analysis says that after going into "the streets for extended demonstrations this summer to protest police violence and racial injustice," Americans "took to the voting booth" on Election Day "to endorse criminal justice and policing reforms." Americans "backed a string of measures increasing police oversight, elected reform- minded prosecutors, loosened drug laws and passed other proposals rethinking key elements of law enforcement and justice in their communities." The Post adds, "These votes, taken together, signal that after a summer of protest brought renewed scrutiny to the justice system, many Americans were open to rethinking how it functions - particularly on the state and local level, where policies have a stark impact on how people interact with the justice system." However, The Hill (11/14, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) "said progressives' calls to 'defund the police' were in part to blame for Democratic losses in the House in a cycle when the party was expected to gain seats." While on WAMU's "Politics Hour," Warner on Friday said, "I think the ability, using terms like 'defund the police' have led to Democratic losses in this last year." WPost Analysis: How Biden Approaches Police Violence "Could Provide Some Answers To Concerns" Black Voters Have Regarding Democratic Party. In another Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) analysis, Eugene Scott says, "Because the Democratic Party didn't benefit from the blue wave that many expected on Election Day, some lawmakers and party leaders are suggesting Democrats need to distance themselves from the messaging and, perhaps, ideas surrounding one of the most popular issues with the party's base. That could EFTA00161608 mean disappointing one of the groups that can take credit for Joe Biden's victory: Black voters." A Post-Ipsos poll from June shows that "Black voters considered racism and policing to be among their top issues heading into the election." The Post adds that a large number of Americans want Biden "to approach concerns about police violence differently than Trump. How his administration responds could provide some answers to concerns of Black voters that the Democratic Party is always ready to take their votes but not fully address their issues." Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. The Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) says Baltimore County in October approved a policing law that, among other things, "compels officers to intervene if they witness excessive use of force." Moreover, the bill is meant "to curtail the use of chokeholds by county officers, allowing that use of force only in defense against death or serious bodily injury." Critics, however, "say that while the legislation and other recent changes have some merit, the county has much more to do." NAACP Baltimore County Branch President Tony Fugett said, "The proof is in the pudding," adding, "You've checked all the boxes. Now the work has to begin, and are you really in earnest going to do the work?" Fugett "said the NAACP has been `screaming at the top of our lungs' about the police department's issues internally and with traffic stop disparities, but he is glad the county is finally taking steps to address it." NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. On its front page, the New York Times (11/12, Al, Southall, 18.61M) reported, "Four senior officials at the New York City agency that examines allegations of police misconduct were laid off abruptly on Thursday in what officials described as a restructuring meant to expand its investigative muscle." However, a number of staff members at "the agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, said the layoffs were retaliation for the officials' roles in criticizing how the board responds when the Police Department refuses to cooperate with its investigations." The Times adds, "The layoffs came after several high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, touched off huge protests against police brutality across the United States and led to a surge of complaints against officers in New York and other cites." Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. The Washington Post (11/12, Bailey, 14.2M) reports that about half a year after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis precipitated enormous "protests and left a wide swath of the city burned and destroyed, Minneapolis is grappling with dueling crises: an unprecedented wave of violence and droves of officer departures that the Minneapolis Police Department warns could soon leave the force unable to respond to emergencies." According to the Post, "Homicides in Minneapolis are up 50 percent, with nearly 75 people killed across the city so far this year. More than 500 people have been shot, the highest number in more than a decade and twice as many as in 2019. And there have been more than 4,600 violent crimes - including hundreds of carjackings and robberies - a five-year high." NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. Bloomberg (11/13, Akinnibi, 4.73M) reports that New York City "plans to test out a program where dispatchers send out emergency medical services and mental health crisis workers, instead of police officers, to mental health-related calls, making it the latest city to attempt a pivot away from policing as a cure-all." Bloomberg adds, "The city's mental health teams will work in two high-need communities starting in February." The teams are going to respond instead of the conventional "police and paramedic teams, except in cases that involve a weapon or imminent danger, according to a statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office this week." EFTA00161609 Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. The Washington Post (11/13, Salcedo, 14.2M) says that in June, Connie and Michella Pineda went outside their Louisville home and discovered "a bright orange swastika and a racist message spray-painted on their driveway." Upon checking a security camera, the Pinedas, "who are Latina and Filipina, respectively," discovered "they knew the attacker, they later told police," with the perpetrator being their neighbor. That individual, Suzanne Craft, in July "was charged with criminal mischief and later sentenced to seven days of jail and house arrest for violating a no-contact order with the couple, as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal." Now, however, the Pinedas indicate that "they suspect Craft is still targeting them and their five children with racist harassment." The Post says it was told by the Pineda's attorney that their security cameras during recent weeks captured Craft putting "cat litter in their fountain and" leaving "what appeared to be a bag of threatening letters on their lawn." Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. The Washington Times (11/13, Blake, 492K) reports, "The mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager facing murder charges for the deaths of two people shot this summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, slammed Joseph R. Biden for including her son in a campaign ad." During a Thursday interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Wendy Rittenhouse said regarding Biden, "I will take him down," adding, "Cheaters don't win, and he used my son's image to get votes," OPERATION LEGEND Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. KMOV-TV St. Louis (11/13, 362K) reports, "St. Louis is leading the pack when it comes to arrests through Operation LeGend," which "brings in federal law enforcement agencies to work with state and local law enforcement to try and root out violent crime." KMOV-TV adds, "Since the program first came to St. Louis, 828 people have been arrested, including 43 homicide suspects, and 359 guns were seized. According to officials, 357 people have been federally charged in the area. `Through Operation LeGend, we have dedicated over 1,000 federal agents and tens of millions of dollars to the cities. This includes our agents and intelligence analysts, fugitive trackers, forensic experts to work with our task forces to take violent criminals off the street. We have already seen some excellent results around the country,' said U.S. Attorney General William Barr." COUNTER-TERRORISM Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. The AP (11/13) reports from St. Paul, Minnesota, "Two Illinois men who pleaded guilty to a 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque testified that the group's alleged ringleader recruited them for an unspecified job and didn't fill them in on his plan until they neared their target." Michael McWhorter, 31, and Joe Morris, 25, "testified that Michael Hari hated Muslims, and they said they participated in the attack at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center at Hari's instruction," but "Hari's trial was stopped abruptly Friday after a juror's spouse tested positive for COVID-19. The Star Tribune reported that the trial will be in recess while tests are done to determine if the jury was exposed. It will resume late next week at the earliest." The Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/13, Mannix, 1.04M) reports, "As they drove through their rural community in central Illinois in summer 2017, Michael Hari asked Joe Morris if he wanted to take a job. 'He said that it wouldn't be exactly legal,' Morris, 25, recounted to jurors in St. Paul's federal courthouse on Friday, 'but we were going to harass the untouchables.' The 'untouchables; Hari told Morris, included people the government couldn't get to, such as EFTA00161610 George Soros, antifa and ISIS, according to Morris's testimony. And 'harass' meant to 'take the money, destroy their buildings,' said Morris, swiveling back and forth in his chair in the courtroom. On the fifth day of Hari's domestic terrorism trial, Morris, a key witness for the prosecution, told the jury that Hari planned and recruited him to help carry out the Aug. 5, 2017, bombing of Dar Al-Farooq mosque in Bloomington. Hari, 49, of Clarence, Ill., has pleaded not guilty to five federal charges, including civil rights and hate crimes." Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. The AP (11/13, Ritter, Kunzelman) reports from Las Vegas, "A white supremacist who told an undercover FBI agent about his plans to firebomb a synagogue or attack a Las Vegas bar catering to LGBTQ customers was sentenced Friday to two years in prison." Conor Climo, 24, "apologized before U.S. District Judge James Mahan sentenced him to prison followed by six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Prosecutors recommended a 30- month prison sentence." Judge Mahan "gave Climo credit for the jail time he already has served since his August 2019 arrest and agreed to recommend that he serves his prison time in Louisiana, near grandparents whom he plans to live with after his release. Defense attorney Paul Riddle said his client is grateful that FBI agents arrested him when they did because he knows that he was on a 'very dark path." KVVU-TV Las Vegas (11/13, Emerson, 124K) reports, "According to court documents, Climo was communicating with members of a white supremacist group Feuerkrieg Division. Prosecutors said the group encourages attacks on federal government, infrastructure, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. In online conversations from May 2019 to July 2019, Climo discussed setting fire to a Las Vegas synagogue and using Molotov cocktails, according to prosecutors. They said Climo also conducted surveillance on a bar located on Fremont Street he believed catered to the LGBTQ community. Climo pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to one count of possession of an unregistered fiream; namely, components to make a bomb. Climo was investigated by an FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force." Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Levy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Joe Biden is being urged to create a White House position responsible for the fight against ideologically inspired terrorists in the US and to increase funding to combat such groups. NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. In a front-page article, the New York Times (11/13, Al, Goldman, Schmitt, Fassihi, Bergman, 18.61M) reports intelligence officials have confirmed "Al Qaeda's second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago." According to the Times, "Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down on the streets of Tehran by two assassins on a motorcycle on Aug. 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. He was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden." The Times adds, "The attack was carried out by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four of the officials. It is unclear what role if any was played by the United States, which had been tracking the movements of Mr. al-Masri and other Qaeda operatives in Iran for years." CNN (11/14, Lister, Cruickshank, Balkiz, 83.16M) reports that on Friday, a "senior counterterrorism official" told them "that Abu Muhammad al-Masri is probably dead." The AP (11/14, Lee, LaPorta) reports Al-Masri's death "is a blow to al-Qaida" and "comes amid rumors in the Middle East about the fate of the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The officials could not confirm those reports but said the U.S. intelligence community was trying to EFTA00161611 determine their credibility." Two officials - "one within the intelligence community and with direct knowledge of the operation and another former CIA officer briefed on the matter — said al-Masri was killed by Kidon, a unit within the secretive Israeli spy organization Mossad allegedly responsible for the assassination of high-value targets." The Washington Post (11/14, Nakashima, 14.2M) says that a "report about Masri's death was posted and quickly deleted from a private al-Qaeda forum last month, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremism online. Al-Qaeda has repeatedly failed to acknowledge the deaths of its leaders in the past two years, fearful that to do so would betray its weakness, SITE founder Rita Katz said." Reuters (11/14) reports that a US official, "speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any details of the Times story or say whether there was any U.S. involvement. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment." The Hill (11/14, 2.98M) also runs a report, among others. Iranian Foreign Ministry Denies Report. The New York Times (11/14, Fassihi, 18.61M) reports Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday "denied a report that Israeli agents had fatally shot Al Qaeda's second-ranking leader on the streets of Tehran, likening it to a 'Hollywood' scenario manufactured by 'American and Zionist' officials." French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. The Washington Post (11/14, McAuley, 14.2M) reports, "The French government is bristling at international criticism of its response to recent Islamist terrorist attacks, accusing foreign leaders and journalists of misrepresenting an attempt to target extremist violence on French soil as a crackdown on Islam." While "prominent French Muslim faith leaders and intellectuals have largely endorsed Macron's anti-separatism campaign, reiterating that there is no official discrimination against Muslims in France and speaking out in favor of France's unique brand of state secularism...some of these same voices note that members of Macron's own cabinet have undermined his message on Islam with comments that come across as doublespeak." Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. Bloomberg (11/14, Gebre, 4.73M) reports, "Ethiopian security officials have arrested 14 suspected members of al-Shabaab and ISIS accused of planning terrorist attacks in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing a statement from the National Intelligence and Security Service." Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. The AP (11/13) reports, "Eleven German men have been charged with belonging to a far-right terror organization on allegations they were planning deadly attacks on Muslims to create unrest and eventually overthrow the German government, prosecutors said Friday." German federal prosecutors "said eight of the men, led by Werner S. and Tony E., formed the 'Group 5' organization during a meeting in September 2019." The other three men "were accused of joining later, and a twelfth suspect was charged with supporting the group." Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. The Washington Post (11/13, Chinaka, Wroughton, Warrick, 14.2M) reports, "In the densely forested, oil-and-gas-rich northeast corner of Mozambique, a local Islamic insurgency has steadily escalated with a growing allegiance to the Islamic State and the arrival of foreign fighters using operational techniques similar to those from conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq." Earlier this month, "insurgents decapitated as many as 50 people in attacks on several villages...according to Police Commander Bernardino Rafael." EFTA00161612 COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. On the CBS Weekend NewsVi (11/14, story 2, 2:13, Yuccas, 2.85M), Chip Reid reported that Biden's transition team "says planning is proceeding but it is hampered by President Trump's refusal to authorize the usual sharing of classified information. Even several Republican senators have called for President Trump to authorize comprehensive intelligence briefings for the Biden team." In a statement, former White House chief of staff John Kelly told CBS News, "It is not about the President or about Mr. Biden. It is about America and what is best for our people. Mr. Trump should order the transition process begin immediately. It is the right and moral thing to do." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 7, 1:46, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Geoff Bennett said that with the President "refusing to concede, the Biden transition team is shut out of the current Administration's pandemic planning." Bennett added, "Until the Trump Administration formally recognizes Biden as President-elect, outgoing Trump officials can't share critical COVID vaccine distribution plans with the incoming Biden team." Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain: "The sooner we can get our transition experts into meetings with the folks who are planning the vaccination campaign, the more seamless the transition from a Biden presidency to a Trump presidency can be." In a New York Times (11/13, 18.61M) op-ed, Susan Rice, a member of the Biden-Harris transition advisory board but not of the transition team, asserted that in the week "since...Biden's victory became clear," Trump "and his administration have taken no steps toward starting the process of transition. The risks to our national security are mounting." She concluded, "Instead of acting in the national interest to orchestrate a responsible, democratic transition, Mr. Trump and many Republicans are spending time sowing false doubts about the legitimacy of Mr. Biden's election. Tragically, but not surprisingly, Mr. Trump appears determined to take a final wrecking ball to our democracy and national security on his inevitable way out the door." Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 6, 0:23, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Kelly O'Donnell reported the President's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, "tells us he'll be taking over the litigation team after another Trump adviser contracted COVID." O'Donnell added Giuliani "says he'll be filing additional actions in the coming week," although "so far nothing the Trump team has put forward provides enough evidence to overturn the Biden result." Meanwhile, the New York Times (11/14, Montague, 18.61M) reports Giuliani "continued on Saturday his effort to delegitimize votes cast through electronic voting machines, citing several conspiracies connected to the companies that make the machines and the software they run in a post on Twitter." According to the Times, "Giuliani hinted support for a discredited theory that one of the companies that manufactures the voting machines used in some states, Smartmatic, is controlled by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros." The Times adds the President subsequently "picked up a similar refrain, stating in a tweet that the election was 'stolen' by 'privately owned Radical Left company, Dominion,' without providing evidence or explaining why Dominion was distinct among the many other privately owned election system vendors that routinely administer elections in the United States." However, Politico (11/14, Isenstadt, 4.29M) says that with the campaign "already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani's antics are thwarting the president's legal machinery from within." Politico adds Giuliani's promotion "also threatens to complicate a legal apparatus that has been EFTA00161613 in the works since June," which Politico (11/13, Caputo, 4.29M) says "is slowly grinding to a halt after suffering a slew of legal defeats and setbacks." According to Politico, "So many lawsuits have been filed in so many state and federal courts that no one has an exact number. But one thing is certain: the Trump campaign has an almost perfect record, having won only one case and lost at least a dozen." In a more than 2,800-word front-page article, the Washington Post (11/14, Al, Fahrenthold, Brown, Knowles, 14.2M) reports that rather than "revealing widespread - or even isolated - fraud, the effort by Trump's legal team has so far done the opposite: It's affirmed the integrity of the election that Trump lost. Nearly every GOP challenge has been tossed out. Not a single vote has been overturned." According to the Post, "Part of the problem is that Trump's approach has been backward: Declare crimes first, then look for proof afterward." In addition, the Wall Street Journal (11/14, Randazzo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports law firms representing the Trump campaign have been increasingly withdrawing from the cases or seeking to clarify their involvement amid ongoing social media campaigns from the Lincoln Project and the People's Parity Project among other advocacy groups. Meanwhile, Newsweek (11/15, Lemon, 1.53M) reports Sidney Powell, "an attorney representing President Donald Trump, said that CIA director Gina Haspel `should be fired' for not objecting to the use of election software the president and his supporters claim—without providing evidence—allowed President-elect Joe Biden to win through `fraud." In an interview on Saturday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) told Bloomberg (11/14, Larson, 4.73M) that the lawsuits aim to "sow doubt about Biden's victory 'right from the get go' so that he and his `alders and abettors' can use unfounded claims of fraud to challenge Biden's policy proposals and legislative priorities." Nessel added, "None of those claims are true, and the margin of victory is going to be enormous, with both the popular vote and the Electoral College." In a Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) op-ed, David Boies, chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and Theodore B. Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as well as a former US solicitor general, say they "represented the opposing sides in Bush v. Gore" and "still don't agree about how the Supreme Court ruled, but we completely agree that nothing in that case - or in the Supreme Court's decision - supports the challenges now being thrown about in an attempt to undermine...Biden's victory." They add the outcome of the election is not in doubt, as Biden "will be president." In his Washington Post (11/13, 14.2M) column, Edward B. Foley argued that the Trump campaign's legal challenges "would appall the framers of the Constitution and should be rejected by the kind of originalist judges that Trump has helped install on the federal bench." According to Foley, "Trump's foray into federal court is asking for unprecedented intervention in a presidential election, a move that would contravene basic premises of how the resolution of a dispute over presidential ballots is designed to operate." Republican State Election Officials Deny Trump's Election Fraud Claims. USA Today (11/14, Behrmann, 10.31M) reports that although the President "has claimed, without offering evidence, that the election was overrun by fraud and his campaign filed a number of lawsuits attacking the voting process in several battleground states he went on to lose," state election officials, including "many" Republicans in "crucial swings states have responded by assuring voters there have been no signs of widespread fraud despite what Trump and his supporters have alleged." The New York Times (11/14, Wines, 18.61M) says that while "Republican charges of fictitious voter fraud took center stage before, during and after the count, backed by a barrage of lawsuits intent on making it harder to cast or tally votes," Americans nonetheless "cast ballots at a rate not seen in a century. A Democrat was elected president. And Republicans drew surprising support from Black and Latino voters - the very groups the party historically targeted with restrictive voting laws in state after state." The Times adds, "aspects of this election - especially the shift from Election Day voting to mail ballots, and the party's surprising EFTA00161614 gains with some racial groups — raise questions of whether the Republican strategy of voter restrictions served the party's interests as it once did." However, The Hill (11/14, Polus, 2.98M) reports that Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, "a vocal Trump supporter," on Friday "vehemently defended...Trump's claims that he isn't receiving a chance at a fair election, calling it `outrageous." Dobbs said, "The president doesn't want a statue erected to him." Dobbs added, "What he wants is a free and fair election and honest results, and it's been denied to him." According to Dobbs, "I see so little animation in the Republican Party on this. It's as if it's just another day at the store and when, in fact, I believe the fate of the republic hangs in the balance here." Meanwhile, Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) columnist Hugh Hewitt argues that if Trump "embraces...Biden, welcomes him to the White House, commands a smooth transition of power, sits on the inauguration platform, smiles and waves as he departs to Mar-a-Lago, the final months of his presidency will be largely just another rake stepped on by Manhattan-Beltway media elites, another orgy of excessive speculation and innuendo," so he should make the next 60 days "about Operation Warp Speed delivering vaccines and therapeutics [as] it will be a glorious pivot in the story, a theme that emerged Friday afternoon in a news conference at the White House." Hewitt adds the President and his loyalists can then "work to maintain a hold on the GOP, which is best accomplished by his proceeding smoothly toward a peaceful, graceful transition of power." Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. The Washington Post (11/13, Zapotosky, Hamburger, 14.2M) reports 16 assistant US attorneys who were "specially assigned to monitor malfeasance in the 2020 election" in a letter on Friday called on Attorney General Barr "to rescind his recent memorandum allowing investigators to publicly pursue allegations of `vote tabulation irregularities' in certain cases before results are certified, saying they had not seen evidence of any substantial anomalies." The Post adds the signatories of the letter "told Barr that the release of his...memorandum - which changed long- standing Justice Department policy on the steps prosecutors can take before the results of an election are certified — 'thrusts career prosecutors into partisan politics." Meanwhile, USA Today (11/13, Phillips, 10.31M) reports 1,000 attorneys, "retired federal and state judges, state attorneys general and law professors" in a letter "criticized the Trump administration over baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election." USA Today adds the letter "asked public officials to stop making false claims of systemic fraud that...Trump has claimed `stole' the election from him." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/13, story 5, 3:57, Holt, 5.27M), Cynthia McFadden said Trump's claim that Dominion Voting Systems "deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide, trigger[ed] this response from his own Department of Homeland Security: `There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised." McFadden added, "In the last few days, NBC News has spoken to more than a dozen state election chiefs across the country, Republicans and Democrats alike, who say there is simply no evidence backing up the President's claims of wide scale fraud or even mistakes that would change the ultimate outcome." Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. The Washington Post (11/13, Marks, 14.2M) reports that news of CISA Director Christopher Krebs "could be ousted in a post-election firing rampage" at DHS "sent shockwaves through Washington." Krebs "has been overseeing the largest-ever operation to secure a U.S. election...presiding over a 24/7 war room with state and local election officials that launched on Election Day and is still operating." The CISA Director "apparently drew the ire of White House officials with a rumor control page that knocked back phony claims about election fraud." Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) said, "The public EFTA00161615 needs to have accurate information, and when there are rumors and disinformation and misinformation we need a trusted source in government to say, 'Yes, this is true' or'No, it isn't." Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said, "Chris Krebs has done a great job protecting our elections. ... There is no possible justification to remove him from office." Wolf Reportedly Defying Trump's Order To Fire Krebs. The New York Post (11/13, Nelson, 4.57M) reports, "Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf is defying President Trump's order to terminate election cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, multiple sources tell The Post." Extremists Turn To Fringe Social Networks To Spread Post-Election Disinformation. Politico (11/13, Scott, 4.29M) reports that Facebook and Twitter have sought to "squash claims from...Trump and others of electoral fraud." However, the companies "are hitting a big obstacle: The messages are running wild on smaller fringe networks popular among the far right - then boomeranging back onto the mainstream platforms." Politico adds its review of Telegram, 4Chan, and Parler reveals "extremist groups, white nationalists and conspiracy theorists — some claiming ties to QAnon, which alleges a so-called deep-state plot to undermine Trump - have taken to encrypted messaging apps and online message boards." Meanwhile, others "promoted rumors that WikiLeaks was about to publish evidence of voter fraud, and called on people to share it widely across the web." According to Politico, "The fringe forums also have acted as staging grounds for coordinated misinformation campaigns targeting the major social networks, as well as repositories for extreme content." McCabe Says Further Trump-Russia Declassifications "Unflattering" For President. The Washington Examiner (11/14, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe "seemed to try to warn President Trump off from declassifying further information related to the Trump-Russia investigation." He said "there was still secretive classified intelligence that could 'risk casting the president in a very negative light." McCabe told CNN's Chris Cuomo last week, "It's almost incomprehensible to me that he would want that information out. I don't see how he spins it to his advantage, because quite frankly, I don't believe it's flattering." Asked if there is more to know about Trump, McCabe said, "the original version of that report was classified at the absolute highest level I have ever seen. We're talking about top secret, compartmentalized, code word stuff, and it would be tragic to American intelligence collection for those sources to be put at risk." Also reporting is the Daily_ Caller (11/14, Ross, 716K). QAnon Conspiracy Thriving Internationally. The Washington Post (11/12, Rauhala, Morris, 14.2M) reports the QAnon conspiracy appears to be thriving internationally. In fact, "in a Telegram channel for believers in Australia and New Zealand this week, a fabricated story about Democrats deliberately infecting tens of thousands of senior citizens with the coronavirus to use their identities to vote sat side-by-side with reports on domestic politics." Elsewhere, "Canadian channels are circulating the false claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans 'immediate military intervention on American soil' if Trump does not concede while also organizing protests against coronavirus measures in Canadian cities." Additionally, "in Germany, where the pro-Trump conspiracy has found a home with far- right groups, some QAnon influencers are disillusioned by Trump's defeat, but many are still hopeful." Government Urges FISC To Reject ACLU Appeal. Law360 (11/13, Subscription Publication, 8K) reports, "The federal government has urged the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's appeals branch not to revive" the ACLU's "case urging the spy court to declassify certain court decisions, saying it doesn't have the authority to decide EFTA00161616 the case." The ACLU sought opinions and orders "involving 'novel or significant' legal interpretations by the spy court," which "were classified by the executive branch." It is outside the court's jurisdiction "and its court of review to decide whether the court can declassify any part of those decisions, the government said" last week. ODNI Taps Matthew Kozma As IC's New CIO. FedScoop (11/13, Mitchell) reports that ODNI "has selected Matthew Kozma to be CIO of the intelligence community." Kozma served "most recently as the executive agent" for DOD's Unified Platform and Joint Cyber Command and Control. Kozma "led the department's work to 'optimize investments, close critical cyberspace capability gaps, and ensure delivery of resilient, agile, secure, and effective cyberspace capability solutions to the warfighter." DNI Ratcliffe is quoted saying, "As a U.S. Air Force veteran of 25 years, he brings a wealth of experience in space, research and development, intelligence, as well as private sector and international security cooperation." Ratcliffe added, "We look forward to his leadership in modernizing and advancing the IC IT enterprise." In his new role, Kozma will "coordinate the investment in and management of the IT enterprise across the IC, working with CIOs and other senior leaders in the community's 17 agencies to advise the director of national intelligence." ExecutiveGov (11/13, Sybert) reports that Kozma "will focus his efforts on the IC's continued transition to the cloud, through its multi-billion-dollar Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract, as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence." NSA General Counsel Pick Setting Off Alarm Bells Among Experts. According to Lawfare (11/14, Hennessey), the reported appointment of Michael Ellis, a former staffer for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and current NSA official, to general counsel of NSA "set off alarm bells among commentators and those familiar with the agency," according to the Washington Post. While firings at DOD "involve political appointees, nearly all of whom will be gone as of Jan. 20," Ellis' appointment "appears to be an attempt to improperly politicize an important career position." It also "appears to be an effort to 'burrow,' or improperly convert a political appointee into a career position." Additionally, "the ample public record suggests that Ellis is particularly ill-suited to discharge the essential functions of the office." The general counsels of DNI, the Pentagon, and ODNI require Senate confirmation, while the "NSA's general counsel is a senior career position whose occupant is formally selected by and reports to" DOD's general counsel. Atlas 5 Rocket Carrying NRO Satellite Launched November 13. CBS News (11/13, Harwood, 3.68M) reports that a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket, carrying a classified NRO satellite, was launched on November 13. After the boosters appeared to work normally, "as usual with classified NRO missions, United Launch Alliance ended its mission commentary, leaving it to the Air Force to confirm a successful flight in a post-launch update some time after the satellite's deployment." ULA charts "before launch showed a northeasterly trajectory paralleling the U.S. East Coast, indicating an orbit tilted, or inclined, 50 to 60 degrees or more to the equator." Satellite analyst Ted Molczan "speculated the payload was either a Satellite Data System spacecraft, used to pick up and pass on signals from spy satellites in lower orbits, or a signals intelligence satellite used to eavesdrop on targeted communications." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Bond Reduced For Three Michigan Men Charged In Whitmer Kidnap Plot. MLive (MI) (11/13, Clark, 925K) reports from Jackson, Michigan, "All three Jackson-area men charged in connection with the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have now had their high EFTA00161617 bonds reduced since their arrests in October." Jackson County District Judge Michael Klaeren "reduced the $10 million bond set for Joseph Morrison, 26, to $150,000 and the $500,000 bond for Paul Bellar, 21, to $75,000 after hearing arguments at a bond hearing Friday, Nov. 13. The third man, Pete Musico, 42, had his bond of $10 million reduced to $100,000 at a previous hearing and has since bonded out of the Jackson County Jail." Morrison, Bellar and Musico "are three of eight charged individuals believed to be involved in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. Six additional individuals are facing federal charges for their roles in the plot." The Detroit Free Press (11/13, Moran, Guillen, 1.52M) reports, "Andrew Kirkpatrick, Beliar's attorney, portrayed his client as an Army veteran who left the state to live with his dad and was trying to become a firefighter. He even pulled a woman out of a car wreck and gave her CPR about two weeks before his arrest, Kirkpatrick said. Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend, however, portrayed Bellar as an instructor at Wolverine Watchmen training sessions who surveilled the Capitol and used threatening language, including once after the governor extended a coronavirus executive order. `I swear to God, if this is true I'm going to Molotov her (expletive) house,' he said, according to Townsend. 'I'm so (expletive) done with her. She needs to be dragged to the street and hung." The AP (11/13) reports from Jackson, Michigan, "A judge greatly reduced bond to $150,000 Friday for a man accused of allowing his property to be used by an anti-government group plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor." Joseph Morrison, "described as the commander of the Wolverine Watchmen, has been in custody in Jackson County for more than five weeks on a $10 million bond. Judge Michael Klaeren said the bond was too high. He reduced it and set other conditions if Morrison is released, including a GPS tether to be worn to track his movements." The AP adds, "Authorities allege members of anti-government paramilitary groups took part in plotting the kidnapping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, before the election. Six men are charged in federal court." The Detroit Free Press (11/13, Guillen, Moran, 1.52M) reports, "No one would get out of the Michigan State Capitol alive under the initial plan devised by the accused ringleader in a Michigan terrorist plot, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office. Adam Fox's `Plan A' wasn't just storming the building and taking hostages, as officials have already said publicly — it was to get in there and televise the execution of tyrants over the course of a week, with no one coming out alive. Or, alternatively, lock the doors and set the building on fire. That's according to a brief filed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office in Jackson County's 12th District Court against the pretrial release of Pete Musico, 42, of Munith, who is charged at the state level in connection with a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer." ABC World News TonightVi (11/13, story 7, 1:34, Muir, 6.44M) reported, "Prosecutors claim the alleged extremist plot to kidnap" Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) "actually went much further, including an alleged plan to burn down the state capitol." According to correspondent Adrienne Bankert, "new disturbing details of that alleged kidnapping plot show Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was only one alleged target of suspected homegrown terrorists who were planning to violently overthrow the state government. Court documents claim the alleged ringleader, Adam Fox, sought to recruit 200 men to storm the capital building and televise the execution of politicians taken hostage over the course of about one week with no one `coming out alive.' Investigators say a second alleged plan involved locking people inside the building and setting it on fire." Judge Denies Bond To Men Charged With Killing Arbery. The New York Times (11/13, Bogel-Burroughs, 18.61M) reports, "A judge denied bond on Friday to the white father and son charged with murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year- old Black man shot by the son after they chased him down a quiet road in Georgia." The Time adds, "The decision came on the second day of hearings over whether the men, Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, should be freed on bail as they await trial over the Feb. 23 killing, which was captured on video by a third man, William Bryan, who has also been EFTA00161618 charged with murder." Judge Timothy Walmsley "said he had significant concerns about Travis McMichael's bias and was worried that Gregory McMichael had been willing to 'place the law in his own hands' and influence the investigation." The McMichaels, "appearing on a video feed from jail, could be seen speaking to each other briefly after the judge's ruling but their microphone was muted." The Washington Post (11/13, Peiser, Beachum, 14.2M) reports that during the almost "two days of testimony" leading up Walmsley's decision, "character witnesses vouched for the" McMichaels "and the prosecution provided social media posts and texts that they say is evidence that the defendants are racially biased." Prosecutors utilized those posts and texts to support their contention "that the McMichaels should not be released on bond." The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/13, story 10, 0:21, Garrett, 4.12M) provided similar coverage in a brief broadcast. Prosecutor: Voice Message Arbery Suspect Left For Ex-Boss Was Meant To Obstruct Investigation. The Hill (11/14, 2.98M) reports, "A prosecutor in the Ahmaud Arbery case presented in court on Friday a voice message that one of the two white suspects left for his former boss at the time of his killing, according to CNN." The Hill adds, "Prosecutor Jesse Evans said on Friday that the message was left for Jackie Johnson, Gregory McMichael's former boss at the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, claiming it was intended to influence and obstruct the case, according to the news outlet." CNN reported that McMichael said, "Could you call me as soon as you possibly can? My (inaudible) and I been involved in a shooting and I need some advice right away. Could you please call me, as soon as you possibly can? Thanks. Bye." Evans "argued that the court should look at whether the voicemail showed that Gregory McMichael 'wanted to influence and obstruct' the investigation." Prosecutors: Guards At Federal Prison In Virginia Were Bribed By Prisoners. The Washington Post (11/13, Weiner, 14.2M) reported, "Guards at a federal prison near Petersburg, Va., were bribed by inmates to allow drugs, cigarettes and cellphones into the facility and allow a gambling ring to operate there, prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed in federal court Friday." The Post adds, "Two guards - Stephen Taylor, 48, and Shanice Bullock, 28 - two inmates and two associates of inmates were charged with bribery-related crimes in the indictment in federal court in Richmond." FBI Captures Fugitive Who Escaped Custody Almost Five Decades Ago. The AP (11/13) reports, "A man who was serving a life sentence for murder when he escaped custody while attending his grandmother's funeral nearly 50 years ago has been arrested in Michigan, the FBI announced Friday." Leonard Raye Moses "was 16 when he was convicted in the 1968 killing of Mary Amplo during civil unrest in Pittsburgh following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Authorities said Moses and his friends fire-bombed Amplo's house. Badly burned, Amplo, 72, died a few months later." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/13, Guza, 380K) reports that Moses "had been working as a traveling pharmacist under the name Paul Dickson in Michigan since at least 1999, according to federal authorities. He'd served two years of a life sentence for first-degree murder when he escaped from police, disappearing from the radar for 49 years. 'We've never forgotten about this case,' said Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen at a Friday morning press conference outside the FBI's Pittsburgh field office on East Carson Street. The half-century charade began to unravel early this year when the manager of a CVS in St. Clair Shores, Mich., discovered Moses had pocketed 80 Hydrocodone pills while he was working in the pharmacy. Moses, under the guise of Dickson, was charged with embezzling $43.20 - the cost of the pills. In October, the fingerprints of "Dickson" were entered into a nationwide database, which the FBI's Next Generation Identification system matched to Moses, said Michael Christman, Special Agent in Charge of the field office." EFTA00161619 The State College S(F ) Centre Daily Times (11/15, White, 80K) reports, "Moses was a serving a life sentence after he was convicted of first-degree murder for an incident during the Pittsburgh Riots in 1968 where he and some friends allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into a house in the city, the FBI said. Mary Amplo was inside the house and died after getting badly burned and developing pneumonia. Moses was arrested in 1968. The FBI arrested Moses without incident in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on Thursday, officials said. `I hope this arrest brings some closure to the family members of Mary Amplo, who was killed back in 1968,' FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge, Michael Christman, said in the release. `Mr. Moses will now have to face justice for her murder.' Moses is being held on the charge of federal unauthorized flight to avoid confinement warrant and awaits extradition to Pennsylvania, the FBI said." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/13, Ove, 616K) reports, "Police fingerprinted him in that case and the prints were entered into a nationwide database last month. The FBI's Next Generation Identification system matched the prints with those from the 1968 murder," Christman said, and "fingerprint examiners also confirmed the match, he said. He said agents and police had been searching for Moses for years, following up on some 2,000 tips, interviewing people in Homewood and elsewhere, traveling to several states and offering a $10,000 reward. The FBI put up billboards seeking him in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The bureau had also prepared an age-enhanced photo of what he might look like." Fox News (11/14, Gearty, 27.59M) reports, "The FBI tried to drum up interest in the case in 2016, interviewing family members and associates and chasing 2,000 leads, but was unable to learn his whereabouts." The Daily Beast (11/13, Quinn, 1.39M) reports, "Authorities spent years following up on tips about Moses' whereabouts and traveling around the country in the hopes of finding him. In addition to being placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, Moses' face was also featured on billboards erected as part of the search in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. But it was the combination of new technology and the attentive eye of a loss prevention manager at the CVS store that sealed his fate." Among other news outlets reporting are WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, 256K), WPXI-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, Bonvillian, 34K), KDKA-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, 144K), WXYZ-TV Detroit (11/13, 236K), WJRT-TV Flint, MI (11/13, 67K), and the Pittsburgh Patch (11/13). FBI Following New Lead In 2004 Death Of Kansas Man. The Hays (KS) Post (11/14) reports, "The FBI continues to seek information regarding the 2004 suspicious death of Alonzo Brooks in La Cygne, Kansas. The investigation into this cold case was initiated in 2019 and a reward of up to $100,000 for information was announced at a press conference on June 11." The Post adds, "During this investigation, new information has come to light surrounding the evening of Brooks' death. Based upon interviews of individuals who had not previously spoken with investigators, the FBI has learned there was another party, the same evening, a relatively short distance away from the party Brooks attended. Through interviews, investigators have learned that a confrontation occurred at the nearby party, and many of the attendees left that gathering and joined the party at the farmhouse where Brooks was present. The FBI is seeking to identify and speak with any individuals who attended either party." The Kansas City (MO) Star (11/13, Koop, 549K) reports, "Brooks, who lived in Gardner, went to a party with friends at a farmhouse in La Cygne, a small east-central Kansas town, in 2004. The 23-year-old went missing for nearly a month, despite search efforts by law enforcement, before his family discovered his body in a creek near the house within an hour of searching, according to the FBI. After the case remained unsolved for years, the FBI began investigating it in 2019 as a possible hate crime and Brooks' death was featured on `Unsolved Mysteries.' A $100,000 reward was announced in June. On Friday, the agency said investigators have talked to people not previously interviewed in the case and learned of a second party on the April night he disappeared. Investigators want to speak with anyone who attended either EFTA00161620 party. 'Even the smallest bit of information that may seem insignificant standing alone could be vital to the investigators,' the FBI says." KSNW-TV Wichita, KS (11/13, 19K) reports, "The FBI is investigating Brooks' death as a potential racially-motivated crime. Brooks, who was 23 years old at the time he died, was one of only three African-Americans at the party he attended with approximately 100 people at a farmhouse on the outskirts of La Cygnet' Also reporting are KOAM-TV Pittsburg, KS (11/13), KCTV-TV Kansas City, MO (11/13, Sloan, 133K), WIBW-TV Topeka, KS (11/13, Motter, 86K), KSNT-TV Topeka, KS (11/13, Witmer), and KSHB-TV Kansas City, MO (11/13, Palmer, 90K). Fourth Suspect Charged In Mississippi Murder-For-Hire Case. The Hattiesburg (MS) American (11/12, Rowe, 32K) reports, "The FBI announced Thursday afternoon that a fourth person has been indicted in relation to a murder for hire plot tied to James 'Tim' Norman, one of the stars of the OWN Network series 'Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.' According to the news release, a federal grand jury indicted Travell Anthony Hill Thursday. He now faces one charge of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and murder for hire resulting in the death of Norman's nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr., in 2016. 'This murder-for-hire cold case from 2016 demonstrates once again the power of law enforcement partnership and persistence,' Richard Quinn, special agent in charge at the FBI's St. Louis office, said in a statement. 'By combining resources and expertise, the FBI and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department overcame numerous challenges to uncover the details of this plot.' Norman and another alleged co-conspirator, Terica Ellis, also face those charges. All three have pleaded not guilty." FBI Offers Reward For Information On Georgia Double Murder Case. WFXL-TV Albany, GA (11/13, Proctor) reports, "A reward of $5,000 is being offered in connection to 2019 shooting deaths of Cedric and Kevin Kind in Fitzgerald. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the murders are believed to be connected and gang related." WFXL-TV adds, "On July 13, 42-year-old Kevin Kind was found shot to death at a carwash on Palm Street about 8:30 a.m. His 40-year-old brother Cedric was found 30 minutes later dead inside his home on East Cyprus Street. In the 16 months since the incident, no arrests have been made according to the FBI." Ex-Illinois Police Officer Sentenced In Uzi Coverup. The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Main, 875K) reports, "The brother of former Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg was sentenced Friday to nine months in federal prison, one of three Kellogg family members targeted in a corruption investigation of the scandal-plagued south suburban government that Kellogg ran for 16 years." Derrick Muhammad, "a former Harvey police supervisor, pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom in Chicago to obstruction of justice, admitting he covered up a felon's possession of a stolen Uzi submachine gun." The Sun-Times adds, "According to federal prosecutors, the owner of a towing company found the gun in a car on his lot in 2018 and notified Muhammad. Muhammad knew the car owner - a felon - and orchestrated a coverup to keep the owner out of trouble, recruiting Harvey police Detective Derrick Moore to falsify a report and say he found the gun in the bushes behind the lot." Boy Scouts Facing More Than 82,000 Sex-Abuse Claims. The New York Times (11/15, Al, Baker, 18.61M) reports more than 82,000 people "have come forward with sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America, describing a decades-long accumulation of assaults at the hands of scout leaders across the nation who had been trusted as role models." The Times adds that the claims, "which lawyers said far eclipsed the number of abuse accusations filed in Catholic Church cases, continued to mount ahead of a Monday deadline established in bankruptcy court in Delaware, where the Boy Scouts had sought refuge EFTA00161621 this year in a bid to survive." The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Avila, Brickley, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) provides similar coverage. New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty To Hitting Federal Officer. The Los Alamos (NM) Daily Post (11/13) reports from Albuquerque, New Mexico, "Derrick Begay, 33, of Shiprock, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty Nov. 6 in federal court in Albuquerque to assault on a federal officer involving physical contact." The Daily Post adds, "According to the plea agreement and other court records, Jan. 22, a federal special agent with the a Bureau of Indian Affairs made contact with Begay on the side of a road in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation. The special agent requested that Begay get out of the vehicle, but Begay did not comply. At one point Begay lunged out of his vehicle and hit the special agent in the face. Begay got back into his vehicle and fled the scene with law enforcement in pursuit." Man Charged With Taking Gun From Kansas City Homicide Scene. The Kansas City (MO) Star (11/15, Nozicka, 549K) reports, "A man has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm after he walked up and took the gun of a victim killed in a shooting outside a Kansas City nightclub, according to federal prosecutors. Officers responded to the shooting about 2:45 a.m. Nov. 9 at the Rendezvous Lounge at 11816 Blue Ridge Boulevard, where they found 31-year-old Raymond Douglas suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at a hospital." According to the Star, "As they investigated the shooting, police found surveillance footage that showed Douglas approach a suspect vehicle and appear to retrieve a gun from his waistband, according to charging documents. A suspect then shot Douglas, causing him to fall to the ground. A man investigators later identified as James A. Jones, 33, was then seen on the video walking up, grabbing the Douglas' firearm and leaving between nearby businesses, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit." Wisconsin Man Charged With Abducting Missouri Minor. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/13, 632K) reports Nathan B. Nehs "is accused of holding a Missouri girl captive and repeatedly sexually assaulting her" over the course of two weeks in September 2020. The FBI started its investigation in mid-September, when the victim's parents alerted authorities. KYTV-TV Springfield, MO (11/14, 169K) reports that the minor is 14 years old. Drug Cartels Funneling Meth Into Las Vegas. An online KLAS-TV Las Vegas (11/13, Charns, 61K) article said Mexican cartels are "funneling enormous amounts of methamphetamine into Las Vegas," which has a high number of hotel rooms that help to "make it a perfect spoke on the drug-dealing wheel." According to DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dan Neill, smugglers can rest in Last Vegas before resuming the process to distribute meth to different parts of the US. Neil praised those who work for the DEA, the FBI and other law enforcement organizations that get "this stuff off the streets." Brevard County Sheriff's Office Publishes Video Showing Moments Preceding Death Of Army Veteran Inmate. The Washington Post (11/13, Kornfield, 14.2M) said, "For nearly two years, the family of U.S. Army veteran Gregory Lloyd Edwards knew what his last moments in a Florida jail were like only from the reporting of a local newspaper." Florida Today correspondents attempted "to fill in gaps about what happened to Edwards while he was in Brevard County Sheriff's Office custody on Dec. 10, 2018. But the agency refused to publicly share the security camera footage of a brawl with deputies and what followed." However, "on Friday, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey published the video," which shows what happened before Edwards "was strapped in a chair for 16 minutes, as he seemed to struggle to breathe, his chest heaving and his restrained body EFTA00161622 convulsing." Edwards, who had on a white hood that "deputies put over his head to keep him from spitting," eventually stopped moving and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Florida Man Sentenced Over Plan To Kill Judge, Prosecutor. The AP (11/13) reports U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom "sentenced Matthew Alexander King on Friday on charges of retaliation against a federal judge and solicitation to commit murder." King had "pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 10," and he was sentenced to 97 months in prison. FBI Searching For Colorado Man. KMGH-TV Denver (11/15, 168K) reports that the FBI and local authorities are "looking for the former IT director for the Town of Vail after he cut off his GPS monitoring device on Friday." Ronald James Braden had been "arrested by Vail police on July 4 on multiple charges including violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, embezzlement of public property, theft, forgery and more." Mother, Son Facing Charges After Drugs Recovered From New Mexico Homes. The Albuquerque (NM) Journal (11/15, Gallagher, 196K) reports Elizabeth Perez and her son, Christopher Perez, "are in custody and facing federal charges that could land them in prison for years. According to a recently unsealed search warrant," the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department "served a search warrant on both Perez homes in the 300 block of Aztec NW, recovering drugs and a cache of weapons." Colorado Man Arrested In Connection To New Jersey Bank Robberies. NJ News (11/15, 1.72M) reports Tyler James O'Toole, who is "accused of robbing a series of New Jersey banks," was "captured on Saturday." Authorities claim that he "robbed at least six banks in New Jersey between September and November and more than a dozen others in Connecticut and Pennsylvania." NJ News (11/13, 1.72M) also reports. Georgia Resident Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Meth. The Albany (GA) Herald (11/14) reports Georgia resident Derry Marquez Brooks has been "sentenced to 235 months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine out of his home." The Herald highlighted that the DEA and the FBI were involved with the investigation of this case. Virginia Man Tied To Meth Purchase In Georgia Gets 151-Month Prison Sentence. The Albany (GA) Herald (11/14) reported that a federal judge has sentenced Virginia resident Joseph Williams, who was "tied to the purchase of approximately three kilos of methamphetamine in Georgia," to 151 months in prison. The Williams "case was investigated by the Byron Police Department, the Peach County Sheriff's Office, the Perry Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the FBI." The Herald, and a similar WGXA-TV Macon, GA (11/13, Mayes, 656) Macon, GA (11/13, Mayes) website report, quoted US Attorney Peeler, who thanked those law enforcement organizations for "shutting down" a meth supply chain. Texas Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. KLTV-TV Tyler, TX (11/13, 30K) reports Troy Dewayne Daniels, who "pleaded guilty on August 6, 2020, to distribution of child pornography," was "sentenced to 210 months in federal prison [Friday) by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III." An undercover FBI agent spoke with Daniels over a series of social media applications, and the FBI raided his home in November 2019. EFTA00161623 California Man Arrested In Connection To Hate Crime. KABC-TV Los Angeles (11/13, 316K) reports William Stepanyan "was arrested Thursday in connection with a hate crime in which several suspects assaulted employees of a restaurant in Beverly Hills and damaged the business." Beverly Hills police said in a statement, "A joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Probation Department resulted in the arrest of one of the primary suspects responsible for (the) hate crime." FBI Investigating Texas Gang. The Killeen (TX) Daily Herald (11/14, 47K) reports that the FBI Violent Crime Task Force is continuing its investigation into the Temple gang, which has "brought violence and death to the streets of Central Texas." Pennsylvania Grand Jury Charges Man With Sexual Extortion Of Minors. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/13, Lindstrom, 380K) reports Markel] Smith "faces charges of child sexual exploitation and making threats via interstate communication with the intent to extort." Prosecutors "said that in 2018 and 2019 Smith threatened young girls, including an 11- year-old girl in New Jersey who sent him sexually explicit images after he threatened her and her family in May 2018." Virginian Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (11/15, 163K) reports Bradley Jeffrey-Moe "was convicted Friday on charges of receiving and possessing images of child sexual abuse." The FBI "executed a search warrant at the residence of...Jeffrey-Moe in July 2018" after an undercover investigation "identified Moe as having made available dozens of images of child sexual abuse for download over various peer-to-peer networks." Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. The Los Angeles Times (11/13, 4.64M) reports Texas youth sports coach Martin Fox "was sentenced Friday to three months in prison and three months of home detention" in connection to a college admissions scandal. He "admitted serving as a middleman between William "Rick" Singer, the Newport Beach college consultant at the heart of the scheme, and several university coaches and a teaching assistant whom Singer sought to bribe." Alaska Man Sentenced For Armed Robberies. The Juneau (AK) Empire (11/15, Lockett, 12K) reports, "An Anchorage man was sentenced to more than 13 years imprisonment for a pair of armed robberies, according to a Department of Justice news release." Kek Nyathor Bol, 22, "was sentenced Friday for a pair of summer 2019 robberies in Anchorage. The first was of a Cash America on June 1, 2019, wherein Bol entered the building, fired a round into the ceiling, and demanded money, according to the department. He escaped with slightly less than $400. Two weeks later, Bol robbed a Credit Union 1 location, again firing into the ceiling. He escaped with more. than $8,000, according to the press release." FBI Captures Suspect In Connecticut, Pennsylvania Bank Robberies. WTIC-TV Hartford, CT (11/13, Lessard, 77K) reports, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has captured a man believed to be responsible for several bank robberies across the northeastern United States." According to WTIC-TV, "A federal arrest warrant was issued for 23-year-old James O'Toole, 23, on November 4th. Authorities believe that starting in September, O'Toole committed at least six bank robberies in New Jersey. He is also a suspect in over a dozen other robberies in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Five robberies in Connecticut were all at People's EFTA00161624 United Banks located in Stop & Shop Grocery Stores, in Shelton, Norwalk, Danbury, Westport & Fairfield. In addition, O'Toole is wanted for his alleged involvement in a previous bank robbery in Glenview, Illinois." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. The Hill (11/14, Deese, 2.98M) reports, "A Fort Lauterdale, Fla., high school basketball coach was arrested for allegedly submitting close to $1 million in claims to the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to federal prosecutors." Terrence Williams "is a championship-winning coach at Stranahan High School. He was charged Friday with several financial crimes, including bank fraud and money laundering, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported." The Hill adds, "Prosecutors accuse Williams of applying for and receiving a loan of $984,710 for his company Williams Consulting Group LLC, according to the newspaper." The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (11/13, 742K) reports, "The FBI complaint says Williams claimed his company had 67 employees and an average monthly payroll of $393,884. But, in fact, it paid no such payroll and did not have any workers. The complaint further alleges that after receiving the loan, Williams laundered the vast majority of the money by transferring it to several of his bank accounts." Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. Loudoun (VA) Now (11/13) reported that an Ashburn, Virginia man "was sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic." Loudoun Now adds, "According to court documents, Tarik Jaafar, 43, conspired with his wife, Monika Magdalena Jaworska, from April 13 to May 6 applied for 18 separate PPP loans in the names of the four shell companies they had created, securing approximately $6.6 million in government support. 'As we've seen in the aftermath of many disasters and crises, criminals will exploit any opportunity to take advantage of programs intended to help businesses and individuals confronted with hardship,' said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division." Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Eisen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Friday agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle civil claims involving fake accounts at the bank, even as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit against another former Wells Fargo executive. Ex-Deputies Sue Texas AG Paxton For Retaliation. The AP (11/13, Bleiberg) reports Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "abused his office to benefit himself, a woman with whom he was said to have had an affair and the wealthy donor who employs her before retaliating against the members of his staff who reported him to the FBI, a lawsuit by four of the Republican's former senior deputies claims." The lawsuit increases the heightening "legal and political peril for the high-profile Texas official, who is facing calls for his resignation and a potential federal investigation over his staff's allegations that he committed bribery, abuse of office and other crimes." US Charges Massachusetts Tribal Chairman With Bribery In Casino Development. The AP (11/13, Marcelo) reports from Boston, "The chairman of a Massachusetts tribe and the owner of an architecture firm have been arrested and charged in a bribery scheme involving the tribe's plans to build a resort casino, federal prosecutors said Friday." Cedric Cromwell, 55, of EFTA00161625 Attleboro, Massachusetts, and David DeQuattro, 54, of Warwick, Rhode Island, "were indicted on charges of accepting or paying bribes and conspiring to commit bribery. Cromwell, who is chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, also faces extortion charges. Joseph Bonavolonta, the head of the FBI's Boston office, said Cromwell is accused of using his position as chairman to extort tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and engaging in a conspiracy with DeQuattro to commit bribery." The Attleboro (MA) Sun Chronicle (11/13, Linton, 15K) reports, "Cromwell was also indicted on four counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. 'The charges allege that Mr. Cromwell violated the trust he owed the Mashpee Wampanog Tribe by committing extortion, accepting bribes and otherwise abusing his position,' U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a statement." The Sun Chronicle adds, "According to the indictment, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Gaming Authority, led by Cromwell, contracted with the architecture-and-design company owned by DeQuattro in connection with the tribe's Taunton resort and casino plans. Between approximately July 26, 2014 and May 18, 2017, the architectural firm, through DeQuattro, provided Cromwell with a stream of payments and in-kind benefits valued at $57,549. In exchange, the firm was paid about $4.9 million under its contract with the Gaming Authority." The Falmouth (MA) Enterprise (11/13, Spencer, 28K) reports, "The indictment alleges Mr. Cromwell spent all the money on personal expenses, including payments to his mistress, and also received in-kind benefits in the form of a used Bowflex Revolution home gym that Mr. DeQuattro and the architecture company's president bought and had delivered to Mr. Cromwell's home. The president of the architecture firm, who was not named, authorized and signed company checks to reimburse Mr. DeQuattro for his payments to Mr. Cromwell, falsely characterizing the reimbursements as payroll expenses, the indictment alleges." The Springfield (MA) Republican (11/13, Stening, 395K) reports, "The indictment alleges that Cromwell spent all of the illicit funds he received on personal expenses, including payments to his mistress. Prosecutors said the federal government has provided grants of more than $10,000 to the tribe from 2014 to 2018. News of the charges come amid longstanding speculation of potential criminal wrongdoing among tribal leaders, which was amplified after the tribe was subpoenaed three times in recent months. In September, federal investigators have requested that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Gaming Authority, a five-member board charged with overseeing the First Light Resort & Casino, hand over documents, records and communications pertaining to contracts and agreements it entered into with the tribe's casino architect, Robinson Green Beretta Corp." WPRI-TV Providence, RI (11/13, Baffoni, DaSilva, 49K) reports, "The indictment says Cromwell used the money on personal expenses, including a weekend stay at a Boston hotel, a home gym and payments to his mistress. 'Both men's alleged actions undercut the efforts of hard-working tribe members and betrayed their trust,' Bonavolonta said, adding, "Cases like this fuel our commitment to rooting out public corruption, and as our investigation continues, we urge anyone with information to contact us." Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Seidel, 875K) reports, "A developer who made secret recordings for the feds of former Ald. Danny Solis and House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday." According to the Sun-limes, "Federal prosecutors charged See Y. Wong back in March, days before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Chicago and years after he played a key role in a public corruption investigation that has embroiled city and state politics in recent years. Wong made a secret 2014 audio and video recording for the feds of Solis and Madigan, according to court records and sources. That recording became part of the investigation that persuaded Solis to then secretly record the now-indicted Ald. Edward M. Burke. However, Wong only helped the feds because he hoped a judge would go easy on him EFTA00161626 one day for a fraud that was only identified when the feds filed a seven-page charging document known as an information against him in March." The Chicago Tribune (11/13, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, "Wong was charged in a seven-page criminal information in March for allegedly lying to banks and buyers involved with his Canal Crossing building, records show. He pleaded guilty Friday during a hearing held via video conference before U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle. The 20-page plea agreement does not specifically mention the Solis probe, but calls on Wong to provide "complete and truthful" information in any investigation and testify if necessary. Wong agreed to have his sentencing delayed until his cooperation is complete. Norgle set a status hearing in the case for Feb. 5." FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. El Paso (TX) Inc. (11/15, Crowder, 32K) reports, "Daniel Steadley, the former head of a once- popular health insurance-type plan in El Paso, has been indicted on 19 counts of fraud and arrested by the FBI after a protracted investigation involving state and federal agencies." According to El Paso Inc., "Gregg Sofer, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Quesada announced the legal actions against Steadley on Nov. 5, the day of his arrest. The following day Federal Magistrate Robert Castafieda set his bond at $50,000, and Steadley went free after posting a 10% cash deposit. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison." El Paso Inc. adds, "According to the Oct. 28 indictment, Steadley operated two companies from 2014 to 2018 that sold Unique MEC Healthcare Plans for as little as $99 a month to about 2,000 El Pasoans, and 'stole approximately $1.5 million in premiums from unsuspecting victims during his scheme." FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. The Houston Chronicle (11/13, Dellinger, 730K) reports, "The FBI is searching for a Chinese man accused of stealing and selling trade secrets from a Houston oil and gas company." According to the Chronicle, "Between 2019 and 2020, Lei Gao, 44, also known as "Jason," and others allegedly schemed to obtain trade secrets from a Houston-based manufacturer of advanced coiled tubing, according to the FBI. The stolen trade secrets were used to assist in the development of an advanced coiled tubing product, which Gao and con-conspirators introduced to the market for sale in 2020, the FBI said in a statement. Gao left the United States and returned to China in 2019 and has not returned, according to authorities." FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. Reuters (11/13, Malo) reports, "A California man who promised investors to turn cow manure into renewable energy has been arrested on a 24-count indictment after allegedly defrauding them of $8.75 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice." Reuters adds, "U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott charged Raymond Brewer, 64, with wire fraud and money laundering, saying he duped investors into funding his business that purported to turn cow dung into methane natural gas, but instead spent the money on his home, a property in Montana and several cars. Brewer was arrested on Thursday." Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. The Canyon (CA) News (11/13) reports, "On Thursday, November 12, federal authorities arrested nine defendants, who allegedly laundered millions of dollars derived from health care fraud and tax fraud schemes. Two indictments allege that a total of 10 defendants were involved in the operation that laundered over $30 million in tax refunds from 7,000 fraudulent tax returns. The tax returns were filed using stolen identities from American taxpayers. Seven defendants were arrested Thursday, November 12, and there are three still being sought." Authorities "also arrested two additional defendants who are being charged in two other indictments. One involves a short sale scheme involving a $2 million residence, that was EFTA00161627 forfeited earlier this year to the United States, and one involving a car leasing scam. There is also an additional defendant in the real estate scam who is a fugitive." Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. The Everett (WA) Herald (11/14, Stevick, 151K) reports from Seattle, "A Snohomish insurance agent accused of stealing $750,000 from clients pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Seattle." Vicki Boser, 57, "is charged with five counts of wire fraud after allegedly stealing three-quarters of a million dollars in premium payments from clients. Boser owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc. She's accused of issuing fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies." CYBER DIVISION WS3ournal Al: Schools Throughout US Contending With Ransomware Attacks. In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (11/13, Al, Hobbs, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that schools throughout the US are contending with a swell of increasingly belligerent ransomware attacks. The attacks come in a year in which schools have already had to deal with fallout from the pandemic. Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. The AP (11/13, Bajak) reports that in a blog post on Friday, "Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers." Though "most of the attacks in recent months were unsuccessful," Microsoft "provided no information on how many succeeded or how serious those breaches were." The company "said most of the targets - located in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States - were 'directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19." The blog post "identified one of the state-backed hacker groups as Fancy Bear, the Russian military agents who Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in July were behind such intrusion attempts," while two others "were North Korea's Lazarus Group and a group Microsoft calls Cerium." TechCrunch (11/13, Whittaker, 605K) reports that Tom Burt, Microsoft's customer security and trust head, said, "We think these attacks are unconscionable and should be condemned by all civilized society." Burt also said, "Microsoft is calling on the world's leaders to affirm that international law protects health care facilities and to take action to enforce the law." The news coincided "with the Paris Peace Forum, where Microsoft president Brad Smith will urge governments to do more to combat cyberattacks against the healthcare sector, particularly during the pandemic." NBC News (11/13, Collier, 6.14M) reports that most of the companies targeted "have vaccines already in clinical trials." In some instances, the hackers "successfully breached their target," though it "wasn't immediately clear how serious those intrusions were, and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to elaborate." The Wall Street Journal (11/13, McMillan, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports companies developing COVID-19 vaccines say they are being targeted by Russian and North Korean cyberattacks. The attacks represent an espionage risk, as well as a challenge to the integrity of the research - and could also delay clinical trials. University of Oxford professor of international law Dapo Akande said, "We need to kind of raise the profile and to raise the quality of the discussion around these issues as to what is off-limits." DHS Says Becton Medical Pump Has Cybersecurity Issues. EFTA00161628 Law360 (11/13, Subscription Publication, 8K) reports, "Becton Dickinson & Co.'s Alaris infusion pump has cybersecurity weaknesses that, if exploited, could force users, typically hospitals, to operate them manually," DHS announced Friday. It "scored a 6.5 out of 10 on the agency's vulnerability scale and could lead to the pump, which is used to provide fluids, blood and medications to hospital patients, losing wireless capability, the agency said." The medical tech producer "said that the issue is not related to another of the pump's problems, which led to a voluntary recall and corresponding securities lawsuits." ByteDance Granted 15-Day Extension To Divest TikTok. Reuters (11/13, Shepardson) reports the Administration "granted ByteDance a 15-day extension of a divestiture order that had directed the Chinese company to sell its TikTok short video-sharing app by Thursday." Reuters adds, "TikTok first disclosed the extension earlier in a court filing, saying it now has until Nov. 27 to reach an agreement. Under pressure from the U.S. government, ByteDance has been in talks for a deal with Walmart Inc and Oracle Corp to shift TikTok's U.S. assets into a new entity." On Friday, the Treasury Department "said...the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) granted the 15-day extension to 'provide the parties and the committee additional time to resolve this case in a manner that complies with the Orden" The Wall Street Journal (11/13, McKinnon, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that the Commerce Department on Thursday acknowledged that it was unlikely to enforce the original deadline to the legal challenges in US courts brought by ByteDance. CNN Business (11/13, Fung, Pham, 21.56M) reports that after the Thursday deadline, "confusion reigned over what consequences might be in store for TikTok." However, on Friday "TikTok told a federal judge that the US government had granted the company's request for an extension." The executive order "did not say that TikTok would be banned if it missed the deadline; in fact, it outlines no consequences at all." Its "ambiguity highlights the extremely unusual approach the Trump administration has taken" with TikTok. A provisional deal with Oracle and Walmart "would see TikTok reorganized as a new, global company headquartered in the United States, with US investors accounting for a majority of the new company's ownership." Now, "TikTok will have another 15 days to get its deal done," and users "will still be able to access the app" in that time. Bloomberg (11/13, 4.73M) reports that "federal judges in Washington and Pennsylvania have blocked" a potential ban on the app "set to go into effect on Nov. 12." The Department of Commerce "said on Thursday that it would comply with those orders, even as the government appeals the decisions." DOJ oversaw the sale order, which was "part of a separate process." President Trump "has said nothing about TikTok since last week's election, focusing instead on his legal battles to upend the vote." In its filing last week, ByteDance "said it hadn't heard back from" CFIUS "after offering a compromise to resolve the government's national security concerns and avoid a forced sale." Reuters (11/13, Shepardson) reports, "The Trump administration contends TikTok poses national security concerns, saying the personal data of U.S. users could be obtained by China's government." The app, "which has over 100 million U.S. users, denies the allegations." Separate restrictions from the Department of Commerce "have been blocked by federal courts, including transaction curbs scheduled to take effect on Thursday that TikTok warned could effectively ban the app's use in the United States." Also reporting is The Hill (11/13, Klan 2.98M). TikTok Employee Who Filed Suit Against Administration Agrees To Abandon Case. Bloomberg (11/14, Davis, 4.73M) reports, "A TikTok employee who sued the Trump administration over its ban of the video-sharing app has agreed to drop his case." Patrick Ryan "submitted a filing dated Nov. 13, stating that both sides were asking the court to dismiss the case with prejudice." A reason was not provided. EFTA00161629 Qualcomm Gets US Permission To Sell 4G Phone Chips To Huawei. Reuters (11/14, Nellis) reports that Qualcomm "on Friday received a license from the U.S. government to sell 4G mobile phone chips" to Huawei, "an exemption to U.S. trade restrictions imposed amid rising tensions with China." Qualcomm was among the companies "forced to stop selling to the Chinese technology firm in September after U.S. trade restrictions took effect." A company spokesperson "declined to comment on the specific 4G products Qualcomm can sell to Huawei but said they were related to mobile devices." Huawei lacks the ability to design its own chips after "U.S. trade restrictions...blocked its access to chip design software and fabrication tools." North Korea-Linked Twitter Accounts Garnering Attention. ABC News (11/13, Kwon, 2.97M) reports, "Two relatively new Twitter accounts that appear to belong to North Korean officials began getting a lot of attention on Friday." Tweets from the accounts "include photos and propaganda similar to those disseminated by state-run media," and "criticize South Korean political parties for their close ties to the U.S." The accounts follow "only Uriminzokkiri, the propaganda outlet under the auspices of North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland." Their posts are "not only in Korean but also Chinese, Japanese and English, presumably to appeal to a wider audience." Kim Myong II, or @korea_myongil, "describes himself as the director of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland." Meanwhile, Han Song II, posting as @korea_songil, "identifies himself as a director at an institute for unification in North Korea." Google Unable To Resolve Dispute With DO) Over Protective Order. Reuters (11/13, Bartz) reports Google and the US Justice Department "failed to reach agreement over a protective order for third parties like Microsoft that provided data to the government for its lawsuit against the search and advertising giant." Reuters adds Google's court filing asked "for two in-house attorneys to have access to the confidential data while the Justice Department and state attorneys general involved in the lawsuit have disagreed." LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES NYTimes Analysis: NYPD Insufficiently Disciplining Officers Accused Of "Serious Misconduct." In a nearly 2,600-word article, New York Times (11/15, Southall, Watkins, Migliozzi, 18.61M) says its analysis found a "pattern of lenient punishment" by the New York Police Department "holds true for about 71 percent of the 6,900 misconduct charges over the last two decades" when its Civilian Complaint Review Board "recommended the highest level of discipline and a final outcome was recorded." The Times says the records "show that the Police Department often used its power over the disciplinary process to nullify the review board's determination that serious misconduct had occurred and that the stiffest punishment should be meted out." Recreational Marijuana Industry Players Preparing To Operate In New Jersey Following Approval Of Ballot Measure. The Wall Street Journal (11/14, Avila, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports recreational marijuana industry players are getting ready to establish shop in New Jersey after residents voted in favor of a ballot measure making the recreational utilization of cannabis legal. Judge Provides DO) With Single Day To Explain Why Woman's Execution Should Not Be Put Off Due To COVID Infections Among Lawyers. The Washington Times (11/13, Mordock, 492K) reports US District Judge Randolph Moss on Friday "gave the Justice Department just one day to explain why the scheduled execution of the EFTA00161630 only woman on federal death row should not be postponed because her lawyers have contracted serious cases of COVID-19." Government attorneys requested Randolph for additional "time to make their case, saying they needed until Wednesday to file their arguments." Moss, "however, was unmoved, saying the dispute has to move quickly so lawyers for Lisa Montgomery could still have time to appeal her execution." Democratic Legislators Press Administration To Cease Federal Executions During Presidential Transition. The Washington Times (11/13, Mordock, 492K) reports a number of Democratic legislators on Friday pressed the Administration "to suspend all federal executions during the transition of power to presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden." The Democrats "say Mr. Biden deserves an opportunity to evaluate the death penalty, which was restarted earlier this year by Attorney General William R Barr." In a letter to Barr, the legislators said, "A record number of Americans voted in favor of President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris and they deserve an opportunity to implement their policy agenda without the Trump administration rushing into to take preemptive steps." According to the Times, "The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts." Maryland Judiciary Halts Jury Trials For Remainder Of 2020 Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases. The Washington Post (11/13, Mettler, Morse, 14.2M) reports, "As coronavirus cases continue to surge nationwide and across the Washington region, the Maryland Judiciary announced this week that it will reimpose certain restrictions on court operations - shifting some proceedings back online and halting jury trials through the end of the year." The Post adds that "since early October, the courts had been operating normally under the freedom designated in the judiciary's fifth phase of progressive reopening." However, the return to Phase 3 "will go into effect Monday and last through Dec. 31. Under the new guidelines, grand juries can continue at the discretion of administrative judges and new grand juries can be empaneled." Jury trials that had been slated to commence during that timeframe "will be rescheduled, the orders say. Trials that have already empaneled a jury may continue." The Post adds, "All other jury trials are expected to resume Jan. 4." Arlington's Leading Prosecutor, Public Defender Engaged In Legal Challenges To County Judge. The Washington Post (11/13, Weiner, 14.2M) says that Arlington residents in 2019 voted in "a progressive top prosecutor backed by the county's public defender." The Post adds, "Now Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and Public Defender Brad Haywood are engaged in an unusual set of legal challenges to one county judge." Dehghani-Tafti on Monday "filed a motion in circuit court challenging Judge Daniel S. Fiore II's handling of a plea agreement her office offered to a man allegedly found with 50 pounds of marijuana at Reagan National Airport. Separately, Haywood recently went to the Virginia Supreme Court and accused Fiore of violating his clients' due process rights in ways that are 'basic and rare' by refusing to schedule hearings for some defendants who are asking to be released from jail on bond or to have their sentences reconsidered." Judge Rebukes Fairfax County Law Enforcement, Prosecutors For Not Providing Exculpatory Evidence In Murder Case In Timely Manner. The Washington Post (11/13, Jouvenal, 14.2M) reports, "A judge has strongly rebuked Fairfax County police and prosecutors for taking nine months to disclose key evidence that shows that an 18-year-old accused of first-degree murder might have acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man in Springfield last year." The Post adds, "The commonwealth violated its legal duty to provide exculpatory evidence to Kelvin Omar Gonzalez in a timely fashion and irreparably EFTA00161631 damaged his ability to mount a defense at his Jan. 5 trial, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Thomas P. Mann wrote in an opinion this month." Poll: About 80% Of Americans Believe Crime Has Risen During Past Year. The Hill (11/13, 2.98M) reports a Gallup poll put out on Friday indicates that about "80 percent of Americans say that crime has increased over the past year." The poll "found that 78 percent of Americans surveyed say that there is more crime in the U.S. than there was a year ago, up 14 points from a similar poll conducted by Gallup last year." The Hill adds, "The poll found that the increase in perceptions of crime was largely driven by Republican respondents, 83 percent of whom say crime has increased. Meanwhile, 73 percent of Democrats polled said that crime had increased." OTHER FBI NEWS DO) Report Says FBI Wanted To Arrest Epstein At Virgin Islands Beauty Pageant Before Plea Deal. The Miami Herald (11/14, Wieder, Hall, 1.09M) reports, "A Justice Department look-back report into its abortive 2008 prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had planned to arrest Jeffrey Epstein in May 2007, but pulled back after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, led by former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, frowned on the plan. The report also concludes that Epstein wasn't assisting the federal government in prosecuting Wall Street traders behind the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns or serving as an "intelligence asset," long rumored to be reasons for his notoriously lenient treatment. That determination raises questions about an FBI document that seems to identify Epstein as providing information to the bureau." NBC News (11/13, Fitzpatrick, 6.14M) reports, "The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility found that former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who oversaw the case when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida in the mid-2000s, exercised "poor judgment" but did not engage in misconduct. The full report quotes one prosecutor as telling a colleague that the FBI had 'wanted to arrest [Epstein) in [the) Virgin Islands during a beauty pageant...where he is a judge. "The case agent recalled that she and her co-case agent were disappointed' about being denied the opportunity to make the arrest in May 2007, the report says, and an FBI supervisor overseeing the case was 'extremely upset' about it. It wasn't until a year later, in 2008, that Epstein surrendered to authorities after signing a plea deal. That the FBI wanted to bring charges against Epstein in 2007 was already known but the agency's interest in arresting him at a beauty pageant in the Virgin Island has not been previously reported." Tennessee Man Convicted Of Homicide Seeks New Trial Because Testifying Officer Is Under FBI Probe. The Knoxville (M) News Sentinel (11/14, Dorman, 307K) reports, "A man convicted of killing his fiancée in a fiery crash after speeding away from Knox County narcotics officers is seeking a new trial on grounds that the former narcotics chief who testified against him is under investigation by the FBI." David Henderson, "a former assistant chief deputy at the Knox County Sheriff's Office, was a key witness in the case against Harlan Ferguson, who was convicted in September 2019 of vehicular homicide, evading arrest, reckless endangerment and driving under the influence. Defense arguments questioned the officer's conduct. Seven months later, on April 9, federal agents armed with a search warrant showed up to Henderson's house in Corryton. Henderson, who worked at the sheriff's office for 26 years, retired the next day. 'I am aware the FBI is conducting an investigation involving Assistant Chief David Henderson,' Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler confirmed in an April 17 statement." EFTA00161632 Four Colorado Detectives Honored By DO) For Busting Gift Card Scam. The Denver Post (11/13, Nicholson, 720K) reports, "Four Thornton Police Department detectives have been recognized by the U.S. Justice Department for their work in breaking up million dollar credit and gift card scam that targeted mostly senior citizens." According to the Post, "Detectives Bryan Bennett, Ty Deichert, Fred Longobricco and Ian Ranshaw were honored Friday, in a virtual presentation from police headquarters by the DO) as part of the 4th Annual Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in Policing. On Jan. 15, 2018, Walmart notified Thornton police that they were investigating a scheme involving stolen credit card information. The Thornton detectives partnered with the FBI, the U.S. Postal Service, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department pursuing the international case, according to a news release." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS Trump Says "I Concede Nothing," Criticizes Media For Calling 2020 Election For Biden. President Trump on Sunday tweeted, "He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!" Trump added, "He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!" Typical of the tone of the coverage, Kelly O'Donnell reported on NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, story 4, 2:25, Snow, 3.53M) that "the President's veneer of election denial cracked today when these two words jumped out: `He won.' A concession by tweet, building on this Friday verbal slip." Trump: "Whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell." However, O'Donnell added it "was short lived. Ninety-two minutes elapsed and the President blasted out this. `I concede nothing. We have a long way to go." Similarly, the Washington Post (11/15, Sonmez, Hamburger, Firozi, 14.2M) says that the President "doubled down on his refusal to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden, even after suffering resounding court defeats over his election challenges and amid a growing popular-vote margin for the Democrat." The Post adds that as Trump "continued to falsely accuse Democrats of fraud, an influential Michigan Republican said Sunday that the certification of the state's election results should not be delayed, in a move likely to further ramp up pressure on the president. And Trump's campaign on Sunday scrapped a major part of its federal lawsuit challenging the election in Pennsylvania." Per the AP (11/15, Freking), "There has been no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. In fact, election officials from both political parties have stated publicly that the election went well and international observers confirmed there were no serious irregularities." The AP adds that Trump's campaign "has tried to mount legal challenges across the country, but many of the lawsuits have been thrown out and none has included any evidence that the outcome might be reversed." Similarly, the Washington Times (11/15, Howell, 492K) says that while Trump "says a mix of software issues and mail-in ballot chicanery cost him the election," his legal battles "have largely fallen flat." Meanwhile, McClatchy (11/15, Wilner, 19K) says that Trump spent Sunday "promoting baseless conspiracy theories" on Twitter, where he "said that widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting, software glitches and a lack of Republican poll watchers altered the outcome of the race." The Hill (11/15, Budryk, 2.98M) reports the tweets, "like many of the president's recent posts about the election, were flagged by Twitter as containing disputed claims about election fraud." Although Bloomberg (11/15, Sink, 4.73M) reports Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller "said in a statement that the president's initial tweet `was referring to the mindset of the EFTA00161633 media," and asserted on Fox News' MediaBuzz (11/15, 536K) that "the President's not conceding anything," the Wall Street Journal (11/15, Peterson, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) states that Democrats claimed the tweet shows Trump is coming to recognize that the outcome of the election has been decided in Biden's favor. Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain, on NBC's Meet The PressVi (11/15, 2.85M) said Trump's reaction is "a further confirmation of the reality Joe Biden won the election...not through fraud or anything else the President is baselessly alleging. He won because he got more votes. That's why he won, he got more votes, in the popular vote by a lot and the same number of electoral votes President Trump called a landslide four years ago. If the President is prepared to recognize that reality, it's positive. Donald Trump's Twitter feed does not make Joe Biden President or not President. The American people did that." Reuters (11/15, Lynch, Heavey) reports that Biden "was called as the winner Nov. 7 after enough state results came in to hand the former Democratic vice president victory." Reuters adds Biden "has won 306 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College system that determines the presidential winner, according to Edison Research, far more than the 270 needed." However, USA Today (11/15, Jackson, 10.31M) reports that "some" of Trump's "top aides" last week "contin(ued] to insist that the president won a second term, despite the results." USA Today highlights that White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany "answered a question about whether Trump would attend Biden's inauguration by saying that Trump will attend 'his own inauguration' while Secretary of State Pompeo "falsely claimed Trump won a second term, saying there would be a `smooth transition to a second Trump administration." In addition, The Hill (11/15, Williams, 2.98M) reports Stephen Moore, an economist and adviser to Trump, in an interview with WABC-AM "said the president is `a little grouchy' over the results of the election," but "expressed optimism that Trump would get reelected despite almost every major media outlet calling the race for...Biden." He asserted Trump "really did deserve, in my opinion, to be reelected. And he may yet be reelected when we count every vote." The New York Times (11/15, Fuchs, Delkic, Cameron, 18.61M) says the response from Trump and Administration officials come "as a growing number of top Republicans urged...Trump on Sunday to allow for an orderly presidential transition." The Times highlights that Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday "urged Republican leaders to acknowledge Mr. Trump's election defeat, and is part of a growing list of party members who are either rebuking the president's baseless claims of election fraud or calling for a smooth presidential transition." In addition, former Trump national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on CNN "admonished the president for his claim on Twitter that the presidential election was rigged against him." McMaster said, "What the president says in this tweet, it's just wrong, it's regrettable, it's counterproductive." CNN White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins said on CNN's Inside PoliticsVi (11/15, 766K), "This could be the closest we get to a concession from President Trump. This is what people around him have been giving us a heads up that this is how they believe this would go. The President would maintain that he believed, of course without evidence, that the election was fraudulent and that it was wrong and that it was stolen from him, but that he would acknowledge that Biden won and of course, leave the White House in January." Michael Shear of the New York Times said on CNN's Inside PoliticsVi (11/15, 766K), "It's the closest that we've seen to a kind of non-concession concession. I've always thought that what he would ultimately do is acknowledge the reality that's in front of him while ranting about the fact that it was stolen from him or that it wasn't valid, or continuing to assail the election process." Giuliani Says Trump Is Contesting Election "Vigorously." On the CBS Weekend NewsVI (11/15, story 3, 2:10, Yuccas, 12.6M), Chip Reid reported Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, "who is heading the President's team challenging the election results, told Fox News Mr. Trump is not backing down." Giuliani, on Fox News' Sunday Morning FuturesVi (11/15, 2M), said, "The media has tried to call the election, and they don't have a legal right to call the EFTA00161634 election. It gets decided by our electors, not by NBC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN and even Fox. You don't get the right to call it and I don't get the right to call it, so he's contesting it vigorously. As he's gotten more evidence of the rigging that went on, he's really outraged and I am too. It's way beyond what people think including a very dangerous foreign company that did the votes in 27 states, a company that's not American, a company that's foreign, a company that has close ties with Venezuela and therefore China, and uses a Venezuelan software that's been used to steal elections in other countries." The Hill (11/15, Budryk, 2.98M) reports Giuliani also said, "What he's saying is more, I guess you would call it sarcastic or a comment on the terrible times in which we live, in which the media has said he won, but by going on to point out that it was illegal. Obviously, he's contesting it vigorously in the courts." In addition, USA Today (11/15, Cummings, 10.31M) reports Giuliani "claimed to possess evidence supporting his claims but declined to share it on air." McEnany: Democrat Secretaries Of State Redesigned Election Systems To "Prop Up" Biden. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News Life Liberty & Levin (11/15) that there were "Democrat secretaries of states around this country redesigning our election systems, flouting the state legislators who under article one section four has the power to determine the time, manner and place of election, flouting that and changing and redesigning a system. ... These democrat secretaries of state, I can't express enough what they have done." They were "designing a system to prop up Democrats and Joe Biden." Trump Campaign Calls On Judge To Preserve Lawsuit To Block Pennsylvania From Certifying Election. Bloomberg (11/15, 4.73M) reports the Trump campaign "urged" US District Judge Matthew Brann on Sunday "to preserve its bid to block Pennsylvania from certifying...Biden as the winner, claiming there's evidence that voters in Democratic-leaning counties were improperly allowed to fix errors with their ballots." Bloomberg says campaign lawyer Linda Kerns made the court filing "two days after attorneys with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP walked away from the case. The campaign said that firm 'buckled' under criticism from 'leftist mobs." According to Bloomberg, "A hearing on the swing state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit is set for Nov. 17, with a separate evidentiary hearing scheduled for two days later." However, the Washington Post (11/15, Swaine, Viebeck, 14.2M) says that Trump's campaign "scrapped a major part of its federal lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania." The Post says the revised lawsuit "remov[ed] allegations that election officials violated the Trump campaign's constitutional rights by limiting the ability of their observers to watch votes being counted." Trump's Lawyers Demand Investigations Over Issues With Dominion Voting Software. The Washington Times (11/15, Swoyer, Miller, 492K) reports Trump's legal team on Sunday "said allegations of rigged voting machines not only cast doubt on the election results but also demand a national security investigation." According to the Times, "Dominion Voting Systems' widely used ballot-scanning machines and vote tabulation software are suspected of inflating vote totals for...Biden," although "those suspicious so far are not fully substantiated." Sandoval Taking "Break" From CISO Work To Help Voter Integrity Fund. The Washington Post (11/15, Al, Swaine, Rein, 14.2M) reports on its front page that Camilo Sandoval, the federal government's chief information security officer, "said in an interview that he has taken a break from his government duties to work for the Voter Integrity Fund, a newly formed Virginia-based group that is analyzing ballot data and cold-calling voters in an attempt to substantiate the president's outlandish claims about illicit voting." The Post adds Sandoval "is one of several Trump appointees in the federal government - some in senior roles - who are harnessing their expertise for the project, according to the group's leader." The Post says the participation of the Administration officials "shows the extent of the efforts by the president's allies to justify his unfounded allegations of widespread ballot fraud." However, the Washington Times (11/15, Miller, 492K) reports Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton "said...the president's claim of election fraud is 'all a blue smoke EFTA00161635 and mirrors." The Times adds that the "outspoken Trump critic" on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday "said Republican leaders need to explain to Trump voters that the president lost the election fair and square." Amid Criticism Of Georgia Recount, Democrats Say Results Will Not Change Outcome. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/15, Edwards, 895K) reports that before Georgia began its "unprecedented" hand recount, "efforts were in the works to discredit it." The Journal-Constitution adds that as Trump's campaign "demanded heavier scrutiny of absentee ballots - followed by a weekend tweetstorm by Trump himself complaining about mail-ins - questions were also being raised about the objectivity of Voting Works, a nonprofit providing technical assistance to the state." While two Voting Works officers "donated to the campaigns of Democrats Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and John Kerry," the Journal-Constitution says that the nonprofit over the past two years "has earned a national reputation for helping states and counties run risk-limiting audits." Meanwhile, Bloomberg (11/15, Allison, 4.73M) reports Georgia's hand recount "is proceeding rapidly with little change in the results so far, according to lawyers working for...Biden's campaign." Reuters (11/15, Hunnicutt, Lynch) reports Biden's campaign claims the recount has "shifted vote totals `almost imperceptibly,' offering no evidence of widespread irregularities in the battleground state." In addition, an AP (11/15) "fact check" says the President has "wrongly claimed that Georgia election officials are unable to verify signatures on absentee ballot envelopes because of a legal settlement known as a consent decree." According to the AP, "There is nothing in the consent decree that prevents Georgia election clerks from scrutinizing signatures. The legal settlement signed in March addresses accusations about a lack of statewide standards for judging signatures on absentee ballot envelopes." Biden Team, Republicans Intensify Pressure On Administration To Recognize Transition. Reuters (11/15, Heavey, Hunnicutt) reports Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Sunday said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday "said the federal government needs to sign off on transition team efforts this week so that Biden's team can receive national security briefings and address COVID-19." A Wall Street Journal (11/15, Peterson, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article headlined "Biden Turns Up Pressure for Administration Recognition" provides similar coverage, as does the Washington Times (11/15, 492K), which reports Klain "said Mr. Biden's team will begin consulting with Pfizer and other vaccine makers this week but they would like to be able to speak with key officials involved in the vaccine rollout, calling it a `giant logistical project;" and he "said the GSA's stonewalling is making that difficult." The AP (11/15, Alonso-Zaldivar, Weissert) reports Klain "said Biden's experts also need a detailed understanding of distribution plans being finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Pentagon. In some ways, that's the more critical issue, he said." Politico (11/15, Mueller, 4.29M) reports that excluding Biden and his team "at this point in the pandemic could endanger public health by risking a delay in a vaccine roll-out, a national strategy for testing and the distribution of crucial supplies, experts say." USA Today (11/15, Fritze, 10.31M) reports Biden campaign officials "are prohibited from interacting with agency leaders, including those at public health agencies, until the Trump administration formally recognizes the outcome of the election - a recognition that has not yet taken place." USA Today adds NIAID Director Fauci in an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday "said starting those conversations now would have an "obvious" benefit for the next administration." On ABC World News TonightVi (11/15, story 4, 2:30, Llamas, 4.5M), Rachel Scott reported Fauci is "saying it's time to work with Joe Biden." Fauci: "It's almost like passing a baton in a race. You don't want to stop and then give it to somebody. You want to just essentially keep going. And that is what transition is. So, it certainly would make things more smoothly if we could do that." EFTA00161636 Meanwhile, USA Today (11/15, Yasharoff, 10.31M) reports former President Barack Obama in a "CBS Sunday Morning" interview "reflected on a wide range of topics" and "brushed off...Trump's and his supporters' fight against the election results." Obama asserted, "Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States and Kamala Harris will be the next vice president of the United States. There is no legal basis." The Hill (11/15, Folley, 2.98M) also reports that Obama "said...that it's `disappointing' more Republican lawmakers are not challenging...Trump, who is continuing to push unsubstantiated conspiracy theories around the election after his projected defeat." Bloomberg (11/15, Allison, 4.73M) reports Obama said, "When your time is up then it is your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego, and your own interests, and your own disappointments." He added, "My advice to President Trump is, if you want at this late stage in the game to be remembered as somebody who put country first, it's time for you to do the same thing." In an interview with CBS' 60 MinutesVI (11/15, 7.02M), Obama was asked his advice for Trump. Obama said, "A President is a public servant. They are temporary occupants of the office, by design. And when your time is up, then it is your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego, and your own interests, and your own disappointments. My advice to President Trump is, if you want at this late stage in the game to be remembered as somebody who put country first it's time for you to do the same thing." Asked if it is time for Trump to concede, Obama said, "Absolutely. I mean, I think it was time for him to concede probably, the day after the election, or at the latest, two days after the election." In an interview with CBS' 60 MinutesVi (11/15, 7.02M), Obama was asked about President Trump's claims of widespread election fraud. Obama said, "The President doesn't like to lose and never admits loss. I'm more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humoring him in this fashion. It is one more step in delegitimizing not just the incoming Biden Administration, but democracy generally and that's a dangerous path. We would never accept that out of our own kids behaving that way if they lost, right? I mean, if my daughters, in any kind of competition, pouted and then accused the other side of cheating when they lost, when there was no evidence of it, we'd scold them. I think that there has been this sense over the last several years that literally anything goes and is justified in order to get power." The Hill (11/15, Choi, 2.98M) reports former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson on Sunday "said...the Trump administration's refusal to aid in a transition to a Biden presidency is a disservice to Americans as well as national security, stating that a new administration cannot begin without any information." On ABC's "This Week," Johnson said, "A new government cannot start on January 20 from a standing-still position. This is what transitions are for. Intelligence briefings, [presidential daily briefings], when you're in office, in national security are your eyes and ears." Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), on CNN's State Of The UnionVi (11/15, 1.1M), said, "I am less and less worried about [the lack of progress on a transition] because as more and more victories state-by-state are confirmed for Biden, I think public support in any way, shape, or form for the President is now going down. But I will say this, Trump will have the distinction of doing more than any person in the history of this country in undermining American democracy. The idea that he continues to tell his supporters that the only reason he may have lost this election is because of fraud is an absolutely disgraceful un-American thing to do and I would just hope to God he has the decency in him to man-up and say, you know what? We fought hard, we lost the election, good luck to Joe Biden, I love America." In addition, The Hill (11/15, Budryk, 2.98M) reports that as the President continues to refuse to concede, "Republican governors and officials called on the Trump administration to begin the transition process." On CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said, "It's clear that, certainly, based on what we know now, that Joe Biden is the president- elect and that transition, for the country's sake, it's important for a normal transition to start through." DeWine added, "The president can go on his other track and his legal track. We EFTA00161637 should respect that, but we also need to begin that process." The Hill (11/15, Rahman, 2.98M) also reports DeWine said, "I was certainly a supporter of and remain a supporter of the president, but the president has every right to go into court, every right to bring any kind of evidence that he has and no one should begrudge him that or say that there's anything irregular about that." The Hill (11/15, Budryk, 2.98M) reports Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday "echoed some Republican senators' calls for Biden to begin receiving briefing materials during the transition period." On NBC's Meet The PressVi (11/15, 2.85M), Hutchinson said, "I expect Joe Biden to be the next President of the United States. It was good actually to see President Trump tweet out that he won. I think that's the start of an acknowledgment, and it is very important that Joe Biden have access to the intelligence briefings to make sure that he is prepared during times of transition: our enemies have an opportunity to try to take advantage of us. We want to make sure that there is a smooth transition, particularly when it comes to the vaccine distribution, that everybody understands what we're doing there and what the plan is for the future? TV Networks Discuss Reforms For Election Night Coverage. The Washington Post (11/14, Farhi, 14.2M) says the "piecemeal reporting" on the TV networks "created a whipsaw effect on election night and for several days thereafter, as officials whittled down a historic number of mail-in ballots," yet the question is "was the whipsaw necessary?" According to the Post, "News organizations knew weeks beforehand that the pandemic had created an unprecedented demand for mail-in voting - and that such ballots were favored by Democrats, a dynamic geared to shift the count dramatically depending on when they were counted." However, the Post adds the networks "say they told viewers that early results could give a distorted picture of the race," and "there is little appetite, among either state officials or journalists, for ending the traditional system of reporting incomplete results as they trickle in - no matter how misleading they may be." NYTimes Analysis: No Mandate From Election, But Rather "Muddled Plea To Move On From Trump-Style Chaos." In a more than 3,100-word analysis headlined "With Trench Warfare Deepening, Parties Face Unsettled Electoral Map," the New York Times (11/15, Burns, 18.61M) asserts that as Biden "prepares to take office and preside over a closely divided government, leaders in both camps are acknowledging that voters seem to have issued not a mandate for the left or the right but a muddled plea to move on from Trump-style chaos." The Times adds that "on the electoral landscape, both parties find themselves stretched thin and battling on new fronts, with their traditional strongholds increasingly under siege. Indeed, Democrats and Republicans are facing perhaps the most unsettled and up-for-grabs electoral map the country has seen in a generation, since the parties were still fighting over California in the late 1980s." US Adds Another Million Coronavirus Cases In Under A Week. The Washington Post (11/15, Al, Firozi, 14.2M) says coronavirus cases "reported in the United States passed 11 million on Sunday, as the nation shatters records for hospitalizations and daily new infections and as leaders turn to new, painful restrictions to stem the pandemic's long- predicted surge." According to the Post, "The milestone came one week after the country hit 10 million cases, a testament to just how rapidly the virus is spreading - the first 1 million cases took more than three months." The New York Times (11/15, Rabin, 18.61M) reports the spread of the coronavirus "began accelerating across much of the country in mid-October. It took just over two weeks for the nation to go from eight million cases to nine million on Oct. 30; from nine to 10 million took only 10 days." The Times adds that the US "logged more than 159,100 new cases on Saturday, the third highest total of the pandemic, raising the new seven-day average to more than 145,000, with upward trends in 48 states and an 80 percent increase in new cases from the average two weeks ago." Reuters (11/15, Abraham, Gupta) says the latest 7-day average EFTA00161638 "shows the United States is reporting more than 144,000 daily cases and 1,120 daily deaths, the highest for any country in the world." In addition, Bloomberg (11/15, 4.73M) says that on Sunday, Florida "reported the most new infections since July," California "reached a three-month high," and New Jersey "counted record Covid-19 cases for the second straight day." The AP (11/15) reports that West Virginia on Sunday "set another weekly record for the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, even with one day left to count." On the CBS Weekend NewsVI (11/15, story 2, 2:15, Yuccas, 12.6M), Lilia Luciano said, "Hospitalizations across the country now at a record high of more than 69,000. The worst hot spots, North and South Dakota, which lead the nation in highest death rates." CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook: "People need to know we not going to suddenly be back to normal. It is going to be gradual change over the course of 2021." Meanwhile, Trevor Ault reported on the lead ABC World News TonightVI (11/15, lead story, 4:30, Llamas, 4.5M) segment that hospitalizations "are climbing in every state except Massachusetts and South Carolina." Ault added that the coronavirus is "now claiming more than 1,000 American lives a day, a 60 percent jump from October." The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Al, McKay, Ailworth, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports on its front page that unlike the previous waves of the coronavirus, Americans are being infected nationwide and a Wall Street Journal (11/15, Bender, Dalton, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article headlined "As Covid-19 Surges, The Big Unknown Is Where People Are Getting Infected" says that health officials seeking to respond are struggling to determine how Americans are contracting the coronavirus. The AP (11/15, Izaguirre) reports that despite "painstaking efforts to keep election sites safe, some poll workers who came in contact with voters on Election Day have tested positive for the coronavirus, including more than two dozen in Missouri and others in New York, Iowa, Indiana and Virginia." According to the AP, "The infections cannot be tied definitively to polling places. Because COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the U.S., there is no way to determine yet whether in-person voting on Election Day contributed to the surge, public health experts said. Still, the infections among poll workers raise concerns because of how many people passed through voting sites, which implemented social-distancing rules, erected protective barriers and stocked sanitizer, masks, gloves and other safety gear. In most places, poll workers were required to wear masks." Meanwhile, NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, story 8, 2:50, Snow, 3.53M) senior medical correspondent Dr. John Torres "asked five top infectious disease doctors across the country how have your Thanksgiving plans changed." A front-page Wall Street Journal (11/15, Al, Passy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article titled "The Hottest Ticket In Town This Year Is Your Family's Covid-Constrained Thanksgiving" also reports on how the pandemic is impacting holiday preparations. Meanwhile, on NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, story 6, 2:25, Snow, 3.53M), Blayne Alexander reported college students nationwide will soon be returning home for Thanksgiving, which "experts worry...could potentially bring the virus home for the holidays." Alexander outlined some precautions that schools are taking to prevent such an outcome from taking place. Some Nursing Homes In Rural Areas Face Outbreaks Of COVID-19. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, McGinty, Mathews, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports nursing homes, especially in rural areas, are facing outbreaks of COVID-19, and many are struggling with staff shortages. Administration Officials, Republican Governors Call On Americans To Take Surging Coronavirus Cases Seriously. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Puko, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Administration officials on Sunday urged Americans to continue to take safety precautions as the pandemic spreads. EFTA00161639 On CNN's State Of The UnionVI (11/15, 1.1M), NIAID Director Dr. Fauci said, "What we've got to do is make [wearing a mask, washing hands, avoiding crowds, and social distancing] uniform, not spotty. Everybody has got to do it. There is no excuse not to do that right now. Because we know that we can turn things around. I mean, that is the tool we have. As I've mentioned just recently and as you eluded to, we have good news with regard to the vaccine. So there is light at the end of the tunnel." Fauci added, "We can get this to plateau and to come down. Obviously, everyone is sensitive to what we call COVID fatigue. People are worn out about this. But we have got to hang in there a bit longer." On ABC's This WeekVi (11/15, 2.91M), Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Admiral Brett Giroir hailed "remarkably positive news about the vaccine that's over 90 percent effective. That will bring an end game to the pandemic. However, we're in a critical situation today with over 180,000 cases yesterday. Hospitalizations up. Mortality up. I want to tell the American people we know what to do. We've done it many times before in the sunbelt and in the south." Giroir added, "You must physically distance. When you can't physically distance, everybody can wear a mask in public spaces. That's critically important that they do work. We have to do things like limit attendance at bars and indoor restaurants. If we do these things, combined with the testing, we can flatten the curve. If we don't do these things, the cases will continue to go up." In addition, The Hill (11/15, Choi, 2.98M) reports Giroir "confirmed a report on Sunday that...Trump has not attended a meeting with the [White House's coronavirus task force] in several months, but said he is `not concerned' about Trump's absence." Giroir asserted, "The vice president does chair the coronavirus task force." Giroir added, "We often have several Cabinet members there, and the vice president briefs the president every day, or nearly every day, on coronavirus." Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), on CNN's State Of The UnionVi (11/15, 1.18M), said, "I think people are tired. As Dr. Fauci said, there is the fatigue that set in and also the experts such as Dr. Fauci all the time told us that when we got to the fall and it got colder, we were going to see an uptick. I don't think any of us thought we would see an uptick like we have. A month ago, a thousand people were in our hospitals in Ohio, just a week ago, we had 2,000. Now we have over 3,000. So it's rolling through Ohio. We had a mask order that we put on in July. It still remains on." DeWine added, "While there is good compliance in many places, we have some, unfortunately, that are outliers and we are going to work to take care of that." The Washington Times (11/15, Howell, 492K) reports DeWine "said hospitals are 'certainly not overwhelmed yet,' though some major hospitals have deferred elective surgeries - an early sign there could be a problem." Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), on NBC's Meet The PressVi (11/15, 2.85M), said the spread of the virus in his state "is very, very worrisome and as you know, I have put together our winter task force primarily looking at the hospitalization issue. That sort of governs everything that happens because you want to have the hospital space for COVID patients but also for others that have needs or require elective surgery. And so we're engaging in that. What has to be done is everybody do simply what the medical professionals, our scientists say nationally and that is to protect yourself and others by following the public health guidelines. We have a mask mandate but you cannot have a mask mandate, that does send a great signal, it does increase compliance, but there's never 100 percent compliance and that's a challenge that we have right now." Biden Advisers, Democrats Urge Americans To Take Pandemic Seriously. Joe Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain, on NBC's Meet The PressVi (11/15, 2.85M), said, "It's a very grave situation. Back in September then-candidate Joe Biden warned America was headed to a very dark winter if the administration didn't step up its action." Klain added Biden last week "met with his COVID task force and made a public statement afterwards where he called on all EFTA00161640 Americans to mask up. He urged governments to impose masking mandates now and reiterated the fact when he becomes President, he will impose one on a nationwide basis." However, Klain said Biden is "not the President now. There's not that much Joe Biden can do right now to change things other than to reiterate [that] all Americans and our state and local governments need to step up right now." Former Surgeon General and co-chair of Biden's COVID task force Dr. Vivek Murthy, on Fox News SundayVi (11/15, 1.15M), said, "We are in an alarming phase of this pandemic. But these are staggering numbers that we never really thought we would see in terms of cases and hospitalizations, not to mention the overall death toll, but what's happening is a couple things: One is we never really got our caseload down to a level that was truly manageable in the spring and we didn't actually have the testing and contact tracing to prevent subsequent rises and infection but what's happening now in particular is that with the winter as people move indoors, this is actually the perfect set up for the virus because we know it's easier to spread indoors than outdoors but there's one less component here which is really important, which is pandemic fatigue. People are tired." Meanwhile, Politico (11/15, Mueller, 4.29M) also reports Murthy described a national lockdown as "a measure of last resort" and instead pushed "for a more nuanced approach." Biden coronavirus adviser Dr. Atul Gawande, on ABC's This WeekVI (11/15, 2.91M), discussed what steps are necessary to halt the surge in COVID cases. Dr. Gawande said, "Number one is a clear voice from the top backing a national comprehensive plan. We've lacked that. It's led to disarray for the public and confusing messages. That will change. Number two is mask wearing as Admiral Giroir says. The evidence is overwhelming this can stop and reverse the spread. What I would say to those citizens is simply that when a person goes into a store and does not wear a mask, when they go to a public gathering and are not wearing a mask, they're hurting everyone's freedom. They're putting people in danger. Moreover, they're turning people away from shops and stores. That's hurting jobs. That's the critical mix of things. Opposing masks is like opposing washing hands. It's not political. We can do this." Bloomberg (11/15, Czuczka, 4.73M) reports Gawande "called for targeted measures" such as masks and testing. Infection disease specialist Dr. Michael Osterholm, on NBC's Meet The PressVi (11/15, 2.85M), discussed his projections for the coronavirus. Dr. Osterholm said, "Let me say at the outset the future is in our hands. Especially the next three weeks, because these cases are already in the pipeline, meaning people are already infected. The numbers will go way up. Our position is this: imagine what the world will be like if we make the changes we need to make. We will be heading to a vaccine in the next few months where we can start to imagine having summer baseball back, barbecues, et cetera. But in the meantime we are in a very dangerous period. The most dangerous public health period since 1918. If we don't basically take the important steps like some swapping air with our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, we're going to see these numbers grow substantially." Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), on CNN's State Of The UnionVI (11/15, 1.1M), said the Administration "put an emphasis on trying to get this vaccine done as quickly as possible. They were not alone. Everybody else worked together. We have a global pandemic. We have lost in this country over 245,000 lives, those numbers are going up every single day. I think common sense suggests that we needed a vaccine as quickly as possible. Now, as you heard Dr. Fauci say, the challenge now is once you get the vaccine, how do you get it out to 300 million people as quickly and as effectively as possible? And I look forward to the Biden administration working right now, as I know they are, on plans to do that. One of the concerns that we have is that as a result of the pandemic in all 50 states in this country right now, you're seeing...resources, doctors, nurses, hospitals being stretched to the limit." More States Enact Tough Restrictions As Coronavirus Spreads. EFTA00161641 On the lead NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, lead story, 3:05, Snow, 3.53M) segment, Kate Snow reported state and local officials nationwide "are scrambling to combat COVID as we head into another work and school week. At least 15 states have ordered increased restrictions, made changes to business rules, or rolled back re-opening plans just in this past week." Meagan Fitzgerald added Washington Gov. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Sunday became "the latest to tighten restrictions after daily cases surged to a record Saturday." Bloomberg (11/15, Yang, 4.73M) reports that under the new Washington state restrictions, "restaurants will no longer be allowed to serve patrons indoors, and outdoor dining will be limited to no more than five people under the new measures," while "gatherings with people outside of the same household indoors will also be prohibited, unless visitors follow quarantine rules." Reuters (11/15, Layne) reports "most" of the restrictions "will take effect Monday at 11:59 p.m. and last for one month." In addition, Reuters (11/15, Heavey) reports Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Sunday "ordered a ban on in-person high school and college classes as well as indoor dining service for three weeks starting on Wednesday as increasingly cold weather drives people indoors where the virus can spread more easily." Reuters adds Whitmer "banned public events at concert halls, casinos, movie theaters, skating rinks and other venues, while in-home gatherings will be limited to 10 people from no more than two households." Meanwhile, The Hill (11/15, Bowden, 2.98M) reports that after White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Scott Atlas "criticized" the new Michigan restrictions, Whitmer "fired back." Whitmer "told CNN on Saturday that the remarks were the latest effort by the White House to single her out, as the Democratic governor of a swing state, over her response to the COVID-19 pandemic which has surged in the form of risings rates of new cases around the nation in recent days." The Washington Post (11/15, Knowles, 14.2M) reports North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) on Friday "acknowledged that his state and country were in dire straits," prompting him to reduce capacity for "bars, restaurants and event venues" while announcing masks "must be worn inside businesses, indoors in public spaces and outdoors in public when social distancing can't be maintained, backed by potential fines of up to $1,000 for the first offense." However, the AP (11/15, MacPherson, Groves) reports nurses in North Dakota "fear things are about to get even harder now that...Burgum has allowed the state's beleaguered hospitals to use infected but asymptomatic workers to treat COVID-19 patients." In addition, the New York Times (11/15, Estrin, 18.61M) reports New York "may soon" impose new restrictions on religious services as the number of cases in New York City continue to rise. However, the Wall Street Journal (11/15, Hawkins, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that schools in New York City will stay open on Monday after the city on Sunday remained below the 3% seven-day positivity threshold required for them to close, which the New York Times (11/15, Shapiro, Rubinstein, 18.61M) describes as a "relatively conservative" figure, but Kathy Park reported on NBC Nightly NewsVI (11/15, story 2, 1:50, Snow, 3.53M) that with "infections spiking, some schools in Georgia and Boston have temporarily closed. The same for Sheridan, Colorado." Bid To Recall Polis Over Colorado COVID-19 Restrictions Fails. The Hill (11/15, Folley, 2.98M) reports an initiative to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) "launched by critics who say he overstepped his authority in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has failed to collect the necessary signatures." However, The Hill adds the organizers of the effort "said they intend to request an extension, with one of the backers, Lori Cutunilli, reportedly blaming the governor's coronavirus restrictions for the effort's failure to obtain the needed signatures by the Friday deadline." WPost Al: Republicans Credit Performance To Opposition To Coronavirus Restrictions. On its front page, the Washington Post (11/15, Al, Witte, 14.2M) says Joe Biden "may have won the presidency pledging a national mask mandate and a science-based EFTA00161642 approach to controlling the pandemic. But in the states where the virus is spiking highest — particularly in the Upper Midwest — Republicans made substantial gains down-ballot. Often they did so by railing against the very tool that scientists say could best help arrest the virus's spread." Per the Post, the results of the election "suggest there is no political penalty in many areas of the country for failing to heed the advice of public health authorities. There may, in fact, be a benefit in not doing so and in arguing that economic interests take precedence." Trump Hails Progress On Vaccine, Says It Will Be Available Within "Weeks," Though Not In New York. The AP (11/13, Madhani, Miller) reports that on Friday in the White House Rose Garden, President Trump "hailed developments in the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus as he delivered his first public remarks since his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden, even as he refuses to concede the election." According to the AP, Trump "said a vaccine would ship in 'a matter of weeks' to vulnerable populations, though the Food and Drug Administration has not yet been asked to grant the necessary emergency approvals." The AP says, "Public health experts worry that Trump's refusal to take aggressive action on the pandemic or to coordinate with the Biden team during the final two months of his presidency will only worsen the effects of the virus and hinder the nation's ability to swiftly distribute a vaccine next year." CBS News (11/13, Watson, 3.68M) reports that the President spoke after Operation Warp Speed, "the project to develop a vaccine and speed up its production, met at the White House." According to CBS News, "The president said 20 million vaccine doses will be available for distribution in December to high-risk populations," and "should be available to the general public by April, Mr. Trump said, with one exception - New York. Mr. Trump threatened to withhold the vaccine from New York, after its governor, Andrew Cuomo, said it was misfortunate the timing of the first successful vaccine came under Mr. Trump's administration." Trump is quoted as saying, "As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population, with the exceptions of places like New York state where, for political reasons, the governor...wants to take his time on the vaccine, he doesn't trust where the vaccine's coming from. ... We won't be delivering it to New York until we have authorization to do so, and that pains me to say that." CNBC (11/13, Lovelace, Higgins-Dunn, 3.62M) reports Trump said Cuomo "will have to let us know when he's ready for it because otherwise, we can't be delivering it to a state that won't be giving it to its people immediately." The President added the vaccines "are coming from the greatest companies anywhere in the world, greatest labs in the world, but he doesn't trust the fact that it's this White House, this administration, so we won't be delivering it to New York until we have authorization to do so and that pains me to say that." According to CNBC, "Shortly after Trump's comments, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement threatening to sue Trump if a vaccine was not sent to the state once available. 'This is nothing more than vindictive behavior by a lame-duck president trying to extract vengeance on those who oppose his politics,' James said." Bloomberg (11/13, Wingrove, Court, 4.73M) says Trump "has stayed silent as the U.S. coronavirus outbreak rages anew, a leadership vacuum that leaves governors and health authorities to grapple with record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations." Bloomberg adds, "The president could help by asking Americans directly to wear masks, encouraging Republican governors to do more to slow the spread, publicly backing health officials or even directing his staff to jointly coordinate with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, to ensure a smooth hand-off, health experts say. Trump has instead been absent. He's discouraged masks and social distancing and is blocking the start of Biden's transition while refusing to concede defeat, compounding the federal inaction." Slaoui: 20 Million Americans Could Get Vaccine Next Month. Politico (11/13, Owermohle, 4.29M) reports Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed, on Friday said 20 million people in the US could receive a coronavirus vaccine in December with EFTA00161643 25-30 million people nationwide being vaccinated in the following months, although "that timeline depends on the Food and Drug Administration authorizing the emergency use of one or more vaccines — which could happen in a matter of weeks, Slaoui noted." Vaccine Hesitancy, Supply Chain Among Hurdles To Vaccine Distribution. The Washington Post (11/13, Fadulu, 14.2M) reports, "Regional coordination will be paramount for the successful distribution of an eventual coronavirus vaccine, a D.C. health official told the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on Thursday, and overcoming mistrust among communities of color will be essential." The tense history of experimentation - including the Tuskegee Study - have made "vaccines...a touchy subject for" people of color. Additional logistical challenges remain, particularly cold storage, as "both the Pfizer vaccine and one being developed by Moderna must be stored at negative 70 degrees Celsius." Meanwhile, Reuters (11/13, Baertlein, O'Donnell) reports US states, cities, and hospitals "are scrambling to buy ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, ignoring advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hold off." According to Reuters, "The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer's vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F)." CDC Urges Americans To Wear Masks. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/13, story 10, 1:34, Holt, 5.27M), Vicky Nguyen reported that as the coronavirus continues to spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "wants Americans to masking up to protect our health and help save our economy. Research shows masks capture the droplets from our breath, cough or sneeze and also dilute whatever escapes, adding social distancing and good air circulation and COVID risk goes way down." Nguyen added the CDC "recommends a fitted face covering over your nose and mouth. It can be as simple as a disposable mask. If you wear a cloth mask, just make sure it has at least two layers of fabric. Wash those cloth masks frequently and while not recommended, you can reuse the disposable ones if they're clean and dry. And with holiday gatherings coming up, wear a mask when you're not eating." The New York Times (11/13, Mandavilli, 18.61M) reports the CDC's most recent recommendations "have been as notable for what they do not say as for what they do," as the agency, in a turnabout, is now "hewing more closely to a scientific evidence, often contradicting the positions of the Trump administration." The CDC in briefs published Tuesday "described the benefits of masks to wearers, not just to those around them." Agency researchers "also urged people to celebrate Thanksgiving only with others in their households or, failing that, to wear a mask with two or more layers." However, the Times says officials at the CDC "have not publicly announced these findings nor held news conferences to explain them, instead posting the bulletins quietly online. Word of them has often appeared first on Twitter and noted by outside experts. Dr. Robert Redfield, the agency's director appointed by Mr. Trump, has remained largely silent despite record-breaking numbers of coronavirus cases." Rand Paul, Rep.-elect Greene Criticize Mask Mandates. The Washington Post (11/13, Armus, 14.2M) reports Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in a Fox News interview on Thursday called on the millions of Americans who have recovered from the coronavirus to "celebrate." Paul added, "We should tell them to throw away their masks, go to restaurants, live again, because these people are now immune." However, the Post highlights that the "medically suspect comment from Paul, who tested positive for the virus in March, contradicts widespread public health guidance as well as consistent messaging from many doctors and scientists: There is no evidence that people who have already contracted the virus are now immune to it, they have repeatedly said. And there is a possibility they can still spread the virus to others." Meanwhile, the Washington Times (11/13, Munoz, 492K) reports Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) "criticized the Capitol's rules on masks Friday at the orientation for new EFTA00161644 members." According to the Times, "A mask mandate was implemented in the Capitol and House office buildings over the summer after Rep. Louie Gohmert, Texas Republican, tested positive for COVID-19 in July." Alito Describes Covid-19 As "Constitutional Stress Test." The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Bravin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a speech on Thursday to the Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention criticized liberal critics of the court and described coronavirus restrictions as a "previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty." Justice Alito added, "The Covid crisis has served as a sort of constitutional stress test, and in doing so it has highlighted disturbing trends that were already present before the virus struck." More Than 130 Secret Service Agents In Quarantine. According to the Washington Post (11/13, Al, Leonnig, Dawsey, 14.2M), "More than 130 Secret Service officers who help protect the White House and the president when he travels have recently been ordered to isolate or quarantine because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had close contact with infected co-workers." The Post adds, "The spread of the coronavirus - which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency's core security team - is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held." The Post does not say how many of the agents tested positive. Reuters (11/13, Hosenball, Chiacu) reports that "two U.S. government sources familiar with the situation confirmed to Reuters that Secret Service officers had tested positive for the virus but did not provide a specific number." According to Reuters, "One of the sources said a larger number of officers who had not tested positive had gone into quarantine as a protective measure." ABC World News TonightVI (11/13, story 5, 0:38, Muir, 6.44M), the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/13, story 3, 0:16, Tracy, 4.12M), and NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/13, story 4, 0:24, Jackson, 5.27M) provided similar coverage in brief broadcasts. Pfizer Could Apply For FDA's Emergency Authorization Of Vaccine As Soon As This Week. On ABC World News TonightVI (11/15, story 2, 2:15, Llamas, 4.5M), Elwyn Lopez reported Pfizer, "the first drug maker to release an early analysis of vaccine trial data," could apply for the FDA's emergency authorization "as early as this week." BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin: "If everything continues to go well, we will start to deliver the vaccine end of this year, beginning next year." However, Lopez added, "Supplying and distributing millions of doses will not be easy." According to Lopez, "Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine needs to be stored at around minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Big box pharmacies say they are ready, but smaller ones might be forced to rely on dry ice." She added, "Even though Pfizer says its vaccine is up to 90 percent effective, top health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci say that public health measures such as social distancing and wearing masks will still need to be maintained even once you get a vaccine." The AP (11/15) reports Sahin said, "Our goal is to deliver more than 300 million of vaccine doses until April next year, which could allow us to already start to make an impact." He added, "I'm very confident that transmission between people will be reduced by such a highly effective vaccine - maybe not 90% but maybe 50%." Cuomo Threatens To Sue Administration For Equitable Vaccine Distribution. Politico New York (11/15, Mahoney) reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is "promising to `mobilize an army' to ensure that Black and brown New Yorkers have equal access to any coronavirus vaccines, and threatened a lawsuit against the Trump administration if its distribution plan isn't overhauled to make that possible." On Sunday, Cuomo said, "The Trump administration is designing the distribution plan, and their plan basically has private health care companies administer the vaccines." He added, "The president talks about CVS and Walgreens EFTA00161645 and national chains. Sure. But they are mainly located in rich communities, not in poor communities." According to Politico, Cuomo's comments came after Trump on Friday said the Administration will not deliver the vaccine to New York until the governor approves the vaccine for distribution. Physicians, Nurses Retiring Early, Leaving lobs During Pandemic. The New York Times (11/15, Abelson, 18.61M) reports, "Thousands of medical practices have closed during the pandemic, according to a July survey of 3,500 doctors by the Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit group." Approximately "8 percent of the doctors reported closing their offices in recent months, which the foundation estimated could equal some 16,000 practices," while "another 4 percent said they planned to shutter within the next year." In addition, "other doctors and nurses are retiring early or leaving their jobs." Republicans Showing Little Interest In Pursuing Biden Investigations. The Hill (11/15, Bolton, 2.98M) reports Republicans "are showing little appetite for aggressively pursuing GOP investigations into President-elect Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden" if they keep their majority in 2021. While Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) "are signaling they will take a tough stance on the incoming administration," other Republican senators "are taking a wait-and-see approach. One of the considerations among Republicans is a desire by some to lower the partisan temperature and possibly explore common ground with Democrats on infrastructure, trade and other issues." Nonetheless, "Grassley and Johnson don't appear to be slowing down in their scrutiny of the Biden family." Millions Face Loss Of Unemployment Benefits If Congress Fails To Reach Deal On Coronavirus Relief. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Davidson, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports if lawmakers are unable to break a monthslong impasse over coronavirus relief legislation, millions of people will be left without unemployment benefits on Jan. 1 after two programs passed by Congress - one to provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits on top of the 26 weeks unemployed workers receive in most states and another to expand eligibility for such benefits - expire. According to the Journal, as of Oct. 24, more than 13 million people were enrolled in one of the programs. The CBS Weekend NewsVi (11/15, story 6, 2:05, Yuccas, 12.6M) says "Democrats and Republicans remain far apart" on the legislation. WPost Al: Local Officials Struggle To Allocate Federal Relief Aid. In a more than 2,200-word front-page article, the Washington Post (11/15, Al, Tan, Chason, 14.2M) reports local governments nationwide "are struggling to push Cares Act money into the hands of the people who need it most. Officials say the funds were slow to trickle down to them, in part because of political squabbling. Stringent and evolving rules from the Treasury Department complicated the process." The Post adds, "For many localities, it has been an unprecedented task: quickly distributing millions in relief while trying to curb a rising tide in infections and fill gaping budget holes. Some simply did not have the infrastructure in place to make it happen." Klain: Relief Bill Could Be The First Example Of Post-Election Bipartisanship. The Hill (11/15, Choi, 2.98M) reports Joe Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain told NBC's Meet The Press Vi Sunday "that passing a COVID-19 relief bill could be the first bipartisan action made after the election as the Biden team continues to wait for access government officials and resources to begin the formal transition process." Klain said, "There's a lot of things that are going to have to wait until Joe Biden is president, but this is not one of them. ... This is a national crisis. It needs bipartisan national action now." Klain "offered praise of Pelosi, insisting the incoming administration would `have her back.' He said, "What I want her to hear is that we have her back in handling this. But we have the backs of the American people. ... I mean...it's not that she hasn't been at the table. She's been at the table. We just now see the administration - current administration - has walked away from the table. So, our message to Speaker Pelosi is EFTA00161646 keep doing what you're doing. To the Republicans, let's get this done. I mean, this could be a first example of bipartisan action post the election." Trump Allies See Newsmax As Potential Rival To Fox News. In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal (11/15, Mullin, Chung, Hagey, Ballhaus, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports allies of President Trump see Newsmax TV as a possible competitor to Fox News among pro Trump voters who view Fox's news division as insufficiently supportive of the President. Sources told the Journal that Hicks Equity Partners, which has ties to a Republican National Committee co-chair, has been in talks to acquire and invest in Newsmax, although Newsmax Media CEO Chris Ruddy said no deal was ever reached with the private equity firm. Judge Rules Wolf Serving Illegally, Invalidates His Suspension Of DACA. The Washington Post (11/15, Sacchetti, 14.2M) reports US District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of New York "has ruled that acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf lacked the authority to limit the work permits of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children because his appointment to the top position in the department did not appear to be lawful." In "an unusual Saturday ruling" Garaufis "said...that the `plain text' of the department's order of succession showed that Wolf's ascension to acting secretary did not follow established law and was part of several hastily crafted administration moves designed to get people into the top DHS position outside of standard operating procedures." The AP (11/14, Porter) reports Garaufis wrote, "DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated. ... Therefore, the actions taken by purported Acting Secretaries, who were not properly in their roles according to the lawful order of succession, were taken without legal authority." The Washington Times (11/14, Dinan, 492K) says the ruling "is the latest blow to President Trump, who for more than three years has been trying to unwind the deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant `Dreamers,' his predecessor began in 2012." The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Hackman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) provides similar coverage. Miller: Americans Are "Not A People Of Perpetual War." The Washington Times (11/15, Wolfgang, 492K) reports in a written message to the Defense Department over the weekend, Acting Defense Secretary Miller made "clear that he'll use his brief time atop the Pentagon to implement President Trump's vision of winding down `endless wars' abroad." In the message, Miller "stressed that the nation must continue its decades-long effort to defeat al Qaeda and other extremist groups" but he "also made clear that the American mission must change and that the U.S. military must adopt a more supportive role abroad." Miller wrote, "We are not a people of perpetual war - it is the antithesis of everything for which we stand and for which our ancestors fought. ... All wars must end. Ending wars requires compromise and partnership. We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it's time to come home." Bolton: Recent Pentagon, NSA, DHS Firings Are "Very Damaging." Politico (11/15, Bice, 4.29M) reports former national security adviser John Bolton told ABC's This WeekVI on Sunday that recent leadership changes at the Pentagon, NSA and DHS will damage the current and incoming administrations. Bolton said, "When you decapitate the office of the secretary of Defense with less than 10 weeks to go in the administration, really it's very damaging, not just for the current administration, but for the incoming administration as well." Bolton "added that it's hard to pin down the motivation behind the moves, but that the primary reason could be `personal pique." Bolton said, "There are rumors about other things, perhaps creating facts on the ground for the ... Biden administration, by withdrawing troops from EFTA00161647 Afghanistan, releasing documents relating to the Russia collusion charge. ... It's hard to say, but it's destructive." SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts Into Orbit On NASA Mission. The New York Times (11/15, Chang, 18.61M) reports SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carried four astronauts to orbit on Sunday night on a mission to dock with the International Space Station for a six-month stay. The four astronauts aboard the rocket are Michael S. Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Victor J. Glover of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut. The CBS Weekend NewsVI (11/15, lead story, 2:40, Yuccas, 12.6M), in its lead story, said Sunday's launch "was also momentous for NASA. For the first time since the final shuttle flight in 2011, the space agency knows it has a reliable American taxi to the ISS again." The AP (11/15, Dunn) says Sunday's launch "kicks off what NASA hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the US and the space station, after years of delay." Vice President Pence, chairman of the National Space Council, joined NASA Administrator Bridenstine in Florida to watch the launch. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Pasztor, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Bridenstine told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center, "Make no mistake. Every flight is a test." But, he added, "It's also true that we need to routinely be able to go to the International Space Station." The Washington Post (11/15, Shaban, Davenport, 14.2M) says that with Sunday's launch, NASA "took another step toward a new era in human spaceflight in which private companies partner with the government to build and design spacecraft and rockets. And it marked a coming-of-age moment for SpaceX, the California company founded by Elon Musk that was once viewed as a maverick start-up but is now one of the space industry's stalwarts and one of NASA's most significant partners." Bloomberg (11/15, Bachman, 4.73M), among other news outlets, also report on the successful launch, while NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, story 5, 2:05, Snow, 3.53M) and ABC World News TonightVi (11/15, story 7, 1:40, Llamas, 4.5M) both previewed the mission before the launch. SCOTUS Has Not Acted On Trump Tax Suits In Weeks. The Washington Post (11/13, Al, Barnes, 14.2M) reports on its front page that the Supreme Court justices, "for more than three weeks, have been holding on to the president's last-ditch plea to shield his private financial records from Manhattan's district attorney." The Post says "two cases have followed the court's decision this summer that the president is not immune while in office to answering subpoenas from prosecutors or congressional committees. However, the justices said that Trump was entitled to argue in lower courts that the requests for records from banks and Trump's longtime accounting firm Mazars USA were too sweeping, or made to harass or embarrass the president." The New York Times (11/13, Rashbaum, Weiser, 18.61M) says the President "lost more than an election last week," and "when he leaves the White House in January, he will also lose the constitutional protection from prosecution afforded to a sitting president." According to the Times, "After Jan. 20, Mr. Trump, who has refused to concede and is fighting to hold onto his office, will be more vulnerable than ever to a pending grand jury investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the president's family business and its practices, as well as his taxes." Hollyanne Milley Saves Man Who Collapsed During Veterans Day Ceremony. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Lubold, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports working cardiac nurse Hollyanne Milley, the wife of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley, on Wednesday rescued a man who had collapsed during the wreath-laying ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery. Milley administered two rounds of chest compression CPR before the man, a veteran in his 60s, came to. EFTA00161648 Explosion At VA Hospital Complex In Connecticut Leaves Two Dead. The Washington Post (11/13, Horton, 14.2M) reports, "An explosion at a Veterans Affairs hospital complex in Connecticut killed two people Friday morning, officials said." Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie "said the explosion on the West Haven hospital grounds occurred in an area that does not serve patients." In a statement, Wilkie said, "Neither of the victims were VA patients and patient care was not affected." The blast happened "in the basement of an outer building" as repairs were being made "to a leaking steam pipe, VA officials said at a news conference. Repairs were completed and the line was refilled with steam, which prompted the explosion, officials said." The Post adds, "One of the people killed was a contractor. The other was a VA employee and a Navy veteran, said VA Connecticut Healthcare System director Alfred Montoya." The New York Times (11/13, Gold, 18.61M) reports officials indicated that in addition to the two fatalities, three people were injured as a result of the explosion. During a news conference, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said, "This is a profoundly sad and tragic day for everyone in Connecticut, and everyone around the country who cares about veterans." Also during the conference, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said, "It's a tragedy in the middle of a pandemic." ABC World News TonightVi (11/13, story 9, 0:15, Muir, 6.44M) and the CBS Evening News Vi (11/13, story 9, 0:20, Garrett, 4.12M) provided similar coverage in brief broadcasts. WPost Al: McEntee Leading Purge Of "Insufficiently Loyal" Administration Officials. In a front-page article headlined "In Trump's Final Days, A 30-year-old Aide Purges Officials Seen As Insufficiently Loyal," the Washington Post (11/13, Al, Dawsey, Eilperin, Hudson, Rein, 14.2M) says that since the election, President Trump "has axed his defense secretary and other top Pentagon aides, his second-in-command at the U.S. Agency for International Development, two top Homeland Security officials, a senior climate scientist and the leader of the agency that safeguards nuclear weapons," and "engineering much of the post-election purge is Johnny McEntee, a former college quarterback who was hustled out of the White House two years ago after a security clearance check turned up a prolific habit for online gambling." The Post adds McEntee "has been distributing pink slips, warning federal workers not to cooperate with the Biden transition and threatening to oust people who show disloyalty by job hunting while Trump is still refusing to acknowledge defeat, according to six administration officials." INTERNATIONAL NEWS UK Prime Minister To Self-Isolate After Contact With Lawmaker With COVID-19. On ABC World News TonightVi (11/15, story 3, 0:20, Llamas, 4.5M), Tom Llamas reported British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "has been told to self-isolate after coming into contact with someone who tested positive. Johnson battled the virus in April, spending several days in intensive care." However, Reuters (11/15, Schomberg) reports Johnson, "who was admitted to intensive care in a London hospital earlier this year with the novel coronavirus, is well and does not have any symptoms, a spokesman for the prime minister said on Sunday." The AP (11/15) reports the statement from Johnson's office "didn't say how long Johnson planned to isolate, but U.K. health authorities' guidance is that anyone contacted by Test and Trace should quarantine for 14 days." Bloomberg (11/15, Tong, 4.73M) says that Johnson has been sidelined "after coming into contact with a lawmaker who tested positive for Covid-19." Bloomberg adds, "The development looks set to damage Johnson's attempt to regain control of the national agenda, after a chaotic few days in Downing Street saw the departure of his most powerful aide, Dominic Cummings, and Communications Director Lee Cain." EFTA00161649 Coronavirus Cases In Italy's Hospitals Threaten To Outstrip Spring Peak. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Sylvers, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the burgeoning number of coronavirus cases in Italy's intensive-care wards is threatening to outstrip the pandemic's spring peak, boosting concerns as the nation locks down more areas. Experts had warned that the summer reopening, with people flocking to mountains and beaches, could spell disaster. Study Suggests Coronavirus Was Circulating In Italy Beginning In September 2019. Reuters (11/15, Vagnoni) reports that the novel coronavirus "was circulating in Italy since September 2019, a study by the National Cancer Institute (INT) of the Italian city of Milan shows, signaling that COVID-19 might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought." Italy's first COVID-19 patient "was detected on Feb. 21 in a little town near Milan, in the northern region of Lombardy." But the Italian researchers' findings, "published by the INT's scientific magazine Tumori Journal, show that 11.6% of 959 healthy volunteers enrolled in a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, had developed coronavirus antibodies well before February." Germans Should Expect Another 4-5 Months Of "Lockdown Light," Economy Minister Says. Reuters (11/15, Schuetze) reports Germans "should brace for another 4-5 months of severe measures to halt the rise in coronavirus infections and should not expect the current rules to be eased quickly, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told weekly Bild am Sonntag." Germany "has imposed a set of measures dubbed a 'lockdown light' to rein in the second wave of the pandemic that the country is seeing in common with much of the rest of Europe." While restaurants "are closed, schools and shops so far remain open." French Police Break Up Parties That Violate Second Lockdown Restrictions. Reuters (11/15, Hartmann, Ausloos-Lalanda) reports French police "stepped up controls in Paris over the weekend to ensure residents were complying with strict lockdown rules imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, amid signs that some people were breaching them." The AP (11/14, Nellas) reports the police later announced "at least one person at the party was infected with the coronavirus." Meanwhile, Reuters (11/15, Mahe) reports Catholics "held an open air mass in the western French city of Nantes on Sunday to protest against COVID-19 restrictions, under which masses are banned in churches." According to Reuters, "Some Catholics also gathered by the Saint Louis Cathedral in Versailles, near Paris, but police banned a demonstration planned by Catholics in the capital." Classrooms Remain Open Across Europe Despite Lockdowns. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/15, story 3, 1:30, Snow, 3.53M), Sarah Harmon reported that while "much of Europe is in lockdown," schools remain open for in-person instruction. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin: "We cannot and will not allow our children and young people's futures to be another victim of this disease." Harmon added, "In Ireland, England, Germany, and France, students are in the classroom." Asian Economies Recovering Fastest From Coronavirus. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Jeong, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports on the economic recovery of Asian countries, which it attributes to Western demand and success in containing COVID-19. India To Fly In Physicians, Take Other Steps To Stem Surge Of Virus Cases In Delhi. EFTA00161650 The Washington Post (11/14, Slater, Masih, Dutta, 14.2M) reports the Indian city of Delhi "is battling both toxic air and a record surge in coronavirus cases." Physicians and scientists "say the combination will have deadly consequences, as exposure to pollution increases the risk of severe respiratory illnesses." The city "is adding more than 7,000 cases a day, and that figure is expected to rise." Reuters (11/15, Varadhan) reports that India "will fly doctors in from other regions, double the quantity of tests carried out and ensure people wear masks in efforts to contain the coronavirus spread in the capital New Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday." Mexico Tops 1M Coronavirus Cases As Country Continues To Defy Accepted Prevention Practices. The AP (11/14, Stevenson, Delgado) reported Mexico on Saturday "topped 1 million registered coronavirus cases and nearly 100,000 test-confirmed deaths, though officials agree the number is probably much higher." How "did Mexico get here? By marching resolutely, even defiantly, against many internationally accepted practices in pandemic management, from face mask wearing, to lockdowns, testing and contact tracing." Indeed, "officials in Mexico claim science is on their side." ESwatini's Prime Minister Tests Positive For COVID-19. Reuters (11/15, Masuku) reports ESwatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini "tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating at home, he said in a government statement on Sunday. Dlamini is asymptomatic and feeling well, he added." WPost Al: Trump Has Worsened Iran Crisis Since Taking Office. A front-page Washington Post (11/15, Al, Warrick, Mekhennet, 14.2M) analysis says that although the Trump Administration "is entering its final months with a flurry of new sanctions intended to squeeze Iran economically," by "nearly every measure, the efforts appear to be faltering ... As a result, Trump is widely expected to leave President-elect Joe Biden with a crisis that is worse, by nearly every measure, than when he was elected four years ago: an Iranian government that is blowing past limits on its nuclear program, while Washington's diplomatic and economic leverage steadily declines." India Denies Pakistan's Claim It Funded Militant Groups. Reuters (11/15, Pal) reports India on Sunday denied Pakistan's allegation that it "helped fund militant groups on Pakistani soil, with a foreign ministry spokesman dismissing them as 'fabricated' and 'figments of imagination." At a news conference Saturday, Pakistan's foreign minister and military "said they had obtained documents that showed New Delhi had met with and funded members of the Pakistani Taliban, as well as Baloch insurgent groups from the southern province of Balochistan." Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi "said...the country would present its evidence to the United Nations and other international bodies." India's foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement, "This desperate attempt will find few takers as the international community is aware of Pakistan's tactics." US Condemns Tigray Forces' Attacks On Eritrea. Reuters (11/15, Lewis) reports Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy on Sunday "denounced attacks by Ethiopia's rebellious Tigray region on neighbouring Eritrea." Nagy tweeted, "The United States strongly condemns the TPLF's unjustifiable attacks against Eritrea on November 14 and its efforts to internationalize the conflict in Tigray. We continue to urge immediate action to protect civilians, deescalate tensions, and restore peace." The Washington Post (11/15, Wroughton, 14.2M) reports that "at least two rockets were fired from Ethiopia into neighboring Eritrea overnight Saturday as the conflict between regional rulers in Ethiopia's northern Tigray state and the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy EFTA00161651 Ahmed spilled across the border, further raising fears that more countries in the Horn of Africa could be drawn into the conflict." In what the Post calls "a major escalation of a two-week-old conflict, Tigray's president, Debretsion Gebremichael, said his forces had fired missiles" at the Eritrean capital of Asmara "because it had sided with Ahmed's government in Addis Ababa." The New York Times (11/15, Walsh, 18.61M) likewise says the risks of the fighting "could be even wider: the potential fracturing of Ethiopia and the upending of the entire Horn of Africa." The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Bariyo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) quotes Gebremichael as saying, "The Eritrean and Ethiopian army are fighting us. We shall protect our country from invaders." In an interview the AP (11/15, Anna), Gebremichael said, "As long as troops are here fighting, we will take any legitimate military target and we will fire," accusing Eritrea of sending troops into the Tigray region and denying reports that Tigray regional forces have entered Eritrea. Reuters (11/15, Paravicini), among other outlets, also reports the fighting. UN: 20,000 Ethiopian Refugees Flee To Sudan. Reuters (11/15) reports the UNHCR said Sunday that "at least 20,000" people have fled into Sudan from the conflict in northern Ethiopia. Israel Advances Plan To Build 1,200 Apartments In East Jerusalem Settlement. Bloomberg (11/15, Levingston, 4.73M) reports Israel is "pushing forward with controversial plans to develop a Jewish enclave in a strategic area of East Jerusalem." On Sunday, the Israel Land Authority "solicited bids to build 1,257 apartments in the Givat Hamatos area, a project that was originally approved in 2014 but was delayed over international opposition." Reuters (11/15, Heller) reports critics said the announcement "was aimed at shoring up the project before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office." Israel Seeks To Attract Gulf Tourists To Jerusalem. The AP (11/15, Hazboun, Krauss) reports that when the UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel, "the Palestinians decried the move as a 'betrayal' of both Jerusalem...and the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the city's holiest Muslim site." But with Israel "now courting wealthy Gulf tourists and establishing new air links to the major travel hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Palestinians in East Jerusalem could soon see a tourism boon." Macron: Europe Needs Its Own Sovereignty In Defense Strategy. Reuters (11/15) reports French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Sunday that "Europe still needs its own independent and sovereign defense strategy, even if it is dealing with a new US government which may result in friendlier ties." In the interview with "Revue Grand Continent" publication, Macron "rebuffed comments from German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to Politico on Nov. 2, in which the German minister said Europe would have to remain dependent on US military protection for the near future." Said Macron, "The United States will only respect us as allies if we are serious about our own position, and if we have our own sovereignty regarding our defense." Sandu Leads Moldova Presidential Run-Off. Reuters (11/15, Tanas) reports opposition candidate Maia Sandu "held a narrow lead" over incumbent Igor Dodon in a presidential election run-off in Moldova on Sunday. Dodon "said he remained optimistic of victory, despite partial results which showed Sandu on 51.3% of votes compared to 48.67 for Dodon, with 91.6% of ballots counted." Dodon, "who on Friday had called on supporters to take to the streets if he felt the election was stolen from him, said his team's data suggested he had won by a wide margin within the country but did not show results from voters abroad." Belarus Police Detain Hundreds Amid Raid On Protester's Shrine. EFTA00161652 Bloomberg (11/15, Nicholson, 4.73M) reports Belarus riot police on Sunday "detained hundreds protesting the death of a Minsk man taken into custody earlier in the week." After clashes with demonstrators "around the capital through the afternoon, police encircled a group gathered at a makeshift memorial to 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka." Nearly 500 people were detained in Sunday in Minsk and other cities, "according to Minsk-based human rights center Viasna." The AP (11/15) puts the number of arrests at "more than 900 people," and Reuters (11/15, Soldatkin) reports a witness said police in Minsk "used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowds." Azerbaijan Delays Takeover Of Disputed Territory. The AP (11/15, Heintz) reports Azerbaijan on Sunday "postponed taking control of a territory ceded by Armenian forces in a cease-fire agreement, but denounced civilians leaving the area for burning houses and committing what it called 'ecological terror." Azerbaijan agreed to delay the takeover until Nov. 25 "after a request from Armenia." The New York Times (11/15, 18.61M) reports that under a Russia-brokered peace deal, Azerbaijan "was set to take control of a swath of the breakaway, ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh." Russian peacekeeping troops, overseeing the handover, "rumbled into the district of Kelbajar on Friday," where Reuters (11/15, Staff) reports they were "to guard the 12th century Armenian Dadivank monastery" as "Ethnic Armenians have set fire to their homes, severed electricity cables and cut down trees before leaving the area." Erdogan Visits Northern Cyprus, Calls For Two-State Solution For Island. The New York Times (11/15, Kwai, 18.61M) reports Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday "visited disputed territory in northern Cyprus that is occupied by Turkish forces, angering Cypriot and Greek leaders and stoking a decades-long conflict." During the visit, Erdogan "said he supported a two-state solution to the dispute over Cyprus," because there were "two different peoples" on the island with "two different democratic orders." Reuters (11/15, Koca, Spicer) quotes Erdogan as saying, "Our priority is to ensure a fair, lasting and sustainable solution. ... A two-state solution must be negotiated on the basis of sovereign equality." To the AP (11/15, Hadjicostis), Erodgan's remarks "throw into doubt a new bid to restart dormant Cyprus reunification talks." Bloomberg (11/15, Hacaoglu, 4.73M), among other news outlets, also report the Turkish leader's comments. Moroccan Forces Clash With Western Sahara Fighters. The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Malsin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Moroccan forces exchanged gunfire Sunday with members of an independence movement in the contested Western Sahara region. The fighting between Morocco and members of the Polisario Front ended a nearly 30-year-old truce agreement. Peru's Interim President Steps Down Amid Protests. The New York Times (11/15, Kurmanaev, 18.61M) reports that amid "widespread opposition," Peru's interim president, Manuel Merino, stepped down Sunday, "his sixth day on the job, plunging a country already facing an economic tailspin and a devastating pandemic into a constitutional crisis." Merino had taken power on Tuesday "after legislators shocked the nation by voting to remove the popular incumbent, Martin Vizcarra, and then swearing in Mr. Merino, who was the head of Congress." The Times says that by giving up the presidency, "Merino opened up a power vacuum and left Peruvians bracing for the prospect of living under a fifth president in five years." According to the Wall Street Journal (11/15, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), it is now unclear who will take over the presidency, but Merino, Reuters (11/15, Aquino) reports, "asked his Cabinet to remain in place to assist in the transition." To the AP (11/15, Bricefio, Armario), Merino's resignation plunged Peru into its "worst constitutional crisis in two decades." EFTA00161653 Bloomberg (11/15, Quigley, 4.73M) reports Merino's announcement "was greeted with cheers from demonstrators in the streets of Lima and other cities." The Washington Post (11/15, Tegel, 14.2M), among other outlets, also reports Merino's resignation. WPost Al: Brazil Grapples With Racial Redefinition Amid US Protests. The Washington Post (11/15, Al, McCoy, Traiano, 14.2M) reports on its front page that Brazil is "home to more people of African heritage than any country outside Africa. But it is rarely identified as a Black nation." Now, however, "as affirmative action policies diversify Brazilian institutions and the struggle for racial equality in the United States inspires a similar movement," a growing number of Brazilians are "redefining themselves." Death Toll In Philippines Typhoon Rises To 67. Reuters (11/15) reports the death toll from "the deadliest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67, while many areas remained submerged in a northern region hit by the worst flooding in more than four decades, officials said on Sunday." President Rodrigo Duterte "flew to Tuguegarao province to assess the situation in Cagayan Valley region, which was heavily flooded after Typhoon Vamco." NYTimes Analysis: Chinese Legal System Fails To Protect Women From Domestic Violence. The New York Times (11/15, Chen, 18.61M) profiles a woman identified only as "Lhamo," who is a Tibetan farmer in southwestern China that has about 200,000 followers on Douyin - the Chinese version of the TikTok app. Lhamo was recently attacked in her home by her ex- husband and died two weeks later. According to the Times, Lhamo's case, "one of several that have gained national attention this year, reflects the shortcomings of China's legal system in protecting women from domestic violence — even when they repeatedly seek help, as Ms. Lhamo did." While "public outrage has helped some get justice...for many women like Ms. Lhamo it comes too late." WSJoumal Al: Lee's Influence On Hong Kong Democracy Movement Waning. In a front-page analysis, the Wall Street Journal (11/15, Al, Lyons, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Hong Kong's Martin Lee, once the face of the city's democratic movement, is becoming marginalized under Beijing's new security law. After it was published, Lee has declined all media requests for comment. Mahuta Named First Maori Woman In New Zealand Cabinet. The New York Times (11/15, Cave, 18.61M) profiles the new foreign minister of New Zealand, Nanaia Mahuta, who is the first Maori to hold a cabinet post in the country. According to the Times, "she is expected to focus on organizing Covid-safe tourism across the region while expanding economic links with other Pacific Island nations and Australia." THE BIG PICTURE Headlines From Today's Front Pages. Wall Street Journal: PNC Is In Advanced Talks To Buy U.S. Arm Of Spain's BBVA Asia-Pacific Countries Sign Major Trade Pact In Test For Biden Pandemic Speeds Americans' Embrace Of Digital Commerce Covid Is Resurging, And This Time It's Everywhere The Rise and Fall of Martin Lee and His Dream of a Democratic Hong Kong The Hottest Ticket In Town This Year Is Your Family's Covid-Constrained Thanksgiving EFTA00161654 New York Times: Trump, Trying to Cling to Power, Fans Unrest and Conspiracies With Trench Warfare Deepening, Parties Face Unsettled Electoral Map Sex-Abuse Claims Against Boy Scouts Now Surpass 82,000 Washington Post: Fight For Equity In Brazil Spurs Racial Redefinition Localities Struggle To Disburse Relief Aid Trump's Strategy On Iran Falters GOP Virus Approach Succeeds At Ballot Box After Protests, Voters Back Changes To Justice System Trump Appointees Hunt For Unproven Voter Fraud Financial Times: Blow To Johnson Plans For Reboot As PM Forced To Self-Isolate Asia-Pacific Countries Sign One Of The Largest Free Trade Deals In History US Surge In Coronavirus Cases Darkens Outlook For Economy Washington Times: Trump: Biden Won Because Of 'Rigged' Election Republicans Start To See Ballot Harvesting Benefit Drones Make Big Difference In Way Azerbaijan Wins Armenia Clash COVID-19 Rates Alarm Officials As Americans Grow Weary Of Limits Unions Shield Teachers As Parents, Students Lament Lost School Days Story Lineup From Last Night's Network News: ABC: COVID Surge; Pfizer Vaccine; UK-Boris Johnson Self-Isolating; Presidential Transition; Louisiana-Tenn's Body Found; Washington-Hiker Found in Whiteout Conditions; SpaceX Launch; Hurricane Iota; Rick Moranis Assaulted in NYC; Masters; Air Force Dad Surprises Son. CBS: SpaceX Launch; COVID Surge; Presidential Transition; Biden-Transition; Masters; Economy; Hurricane Iota; Biden-Climate Change; Mexico-Dogs Rescued From Flood Waters; Racing Pigeon Sells For $1.9 Mil; National Museum of the United States Army. NBC: COVID Surge; COVID-Schools; COVID-Overseas; Presidential Transition; SpaceX Launch; COVID-Universities; Hurricane Iota; COVID-Thanksgiving; Five Siblings Adopted Together. Network TV At A Glance: COVID Surge - 9 minutes, 50 seconds Presidential Transition - 7 minutes, 5 seconds SpaceX Launch — 6 minutes, 25 seconds Hurricane Iota - 1 minute, 40 seconds Story Lineup From This Morning's Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: Poll Workers Test Positive for COVID; Trump-Pandemic; COVID Surge; Stimulus Bill. CBS: SpaceX Launch; Presidential Transition; COVID Surge; Economy; Hurricane Iota; Masters Results. FOX: Presidential Transition; Biden-Transition; SpaceX Launch. NPR: Georgia-Hand Recount; COVID Surge; Navajo Nation-COVID Restrictions; Colorado- Wildfires. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE EFTA00161655 Today's Events In Washington. White House: • President Trump — has lunch with the Vice President. • Vice President Pence — joins THE PRESIDENT for lunch; leads a Governors' video teleconference on COVID-19 response & recovery; participates in a Dignified Transfer. US Senate: • Senate aims to end debate on judicial nominee - Senate convenes and proceeds to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Kristi Johnson to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, with agenda including vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 3:00 PM US House: • House of Representatives meets for legislative business; 2:00 PM • House of Representatives returns after Columbus Day / Veterans Day District Work Period Cabinet Officers: • Secretary of State Pompeo continues France / Turkey / Georgia / Israel / UAE / Qatar / Saudi Arabia trip - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continues trip to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with agenda, respectively, including meeting President Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and other senior officials in Paris; meeting the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, in Istanbul; meeting President Salome Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, and the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II in Tbilisi; meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel; meeting Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayd in the United Arab Emirates; meeting Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Qatar; and meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia Visitors: • No visitors scheduled. This Town: • U.S. Supreme Court releases an order list; 9:30 AM • U.S. Supreme Court convenes for public non-argument session Location: Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM • Economic Club of Washington, DC, virtual event with Israel, UAE and Bahrain ambassadors - Economic Club of Washington, DC, hosts Virtual Global Signature Event with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S. Yoursef Al Otaiba, and Bahrain Ambassador to the U.S. Abdulla Al Khalifa discussing the opportunities, challenges, and the way forward to meaningful changes in the region following the signing of the Abraham Accords Declarations in September; 10:40 AM • Dem Rep. Jamie Raskin participates in Digestive Disease National Coalition virtual forum - Digestive Disease National Coalition hosts 'Patient Access to Care and Treatments in the Cost-Shifting Era' virtual forum, with Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin and DDNC President Samir Shah; 11:00 AM • USGLC 'Mid-Atlantic Regional Summit' with Dem Sen. Chris Coons and UK foreign secretary - U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosts 'Mid-Atlantic Regional Summit' virtual event on U.S. global leadership amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with speakers including Democrats Sen. Chris Coons and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler, former Rwandan Minister of Health Dr Agnes Binagwaho, CBS News Chief Congressional Correspondent EFTA00161656 Nancy Cordes, Procter & Gamble Global Government Relations & Public Policy Associate Director Tara Hogan Charles, AstraZeneca Microbial Sciences Vice President Dr Mark Esser, McCain Institute Board of Trustees Chair Cindy McCain, former USAID COVIC-19 Task Force Executive Director Dr Ken Staley, and USGLC President and CEO Liz Schrayer; 12:00 PM • Bicameral Dems discuss passage of `key democracy reform' legislation - Declaration for American Democracy host press call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. John Sarbanes, who urge the incoming Biden administration and Congress to 'double down on democracy reform' by passing the For the People Act. Other speakers-include-Declaration-for-American-Demacracy-Directoriaria-MorgarvNAACP-Civic— Engagement Vice President Jamal Watkins, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President and CEO Vanita Gupta, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, Democracy21 President Fred Wertheimer, People for the American Way President Ben Jealous, End Citizens United//Let America Vote Action Fund President and Executive Director Tiffany Muller, March for Out Lives Executive Director Alexis Confer, Public Citizen President Robert Weissman, and Indivisible Acting Co-Executive Director Matthew Traldi; 1:00 PM • U.S. Chamber releases 2020 Growth Engine Report - U.S. Chamber of Commerce holds online event 2020 Growth Engine Report, to outline recommendations to promote a modern financial regulatory system. Speakers include U.S. Chamber Center for Capital President and CEO David Hirschmann, Executive Vice President Tom Quaadman, Schneider National former President and CEO Chris Lofgren, Blackrock Vice Chairman Barbara Novick, Peck Madigan Jones Consultant Jay Heimbach, Liberty Mutual Senior Vice President and Chief Public Affairs Officer Ed Kenealy, and Capital One Executive Vice President and Head of External Affairs Andy Navarrete; 2:00 PM • Federal Reserve Board vice chairman speaks at Brookings event - Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy at Brookings hosts a conversation with Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Richard Clarida about the latest developments in the economy and monetary policy; 2:00 PM • Brazilian Vice President Mourao speaks on CFR event - Council on Foreign Relations hosts Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao for an online event, to discuss Brazil's policies toward the Amazon and the future of relations with the U.S.; 3:00 PM Copyright 2020 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. 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