Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs

From: To: Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs 08, 2020 Date: Tue, 08 Dec 2020 11:24:57 +0000 c Importan e: Normal News Briefing Tuesday, December Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. ; ATBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020 6:30 AM EST TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Georgia Recertifies Election Results As Trump Legal Efforts Continue Elsewhere. PROTESTS • Activists: Some Georgia-Related Federal Prosecutions Aim To Blunt Future Protests. • Growing Number Of Prosecutors Join Effort To Revisit Lengthy Prison Sentences. • Northam Signs Virginia No-Knock Search Warrant Ban. COUNTER-TERRORISM • FBI Spoke To IS Fighter About Australian Terrorist. • Opinion: Al-Qaeda Persists Despite Shifting US Priorities, Is Poised For "Comeback." • New Zealand Commission: "No Plausible Way" Mosque Attacker's Plans Could Have Been Detected. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Senate GOP Set To Link Durham Appointment To Confirmation Of Next AG. • Appeals Court Denies Request For NSA Leaker To Leave Prison Early. • Ratcliffe: "No Greater Threat" To US Than China. • Report Concludes Directed Pulse Microwave Energy Likely Responsible For Diplomats' Illnesses. • NDAA Would Alter Reporting Structure Of JAIC. • DISA Planning "Grey Network" To Support Classified Remote Programs. • Reports: Iran's Supreme Leader May Have Transferred Power To Son. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Sentencing Hearing In Nebraska Murder Rescheduled Over COVID Concerns. • Marijuana Subpoena May Have Been Linked To Missouri FBI Probe. • FBI, BIA Probing Discovery Of Body On Montana Reservation. • FBI Joins Search For Missing Florida Teacher. • Ohio Firefighter Arrested On Child Pandering Charges. • Attorneys Seek Bail For Ghislaine Maxwell. • FBI Seizes 40 Pounds Of Meth, Two Pounds Of Heroin In New Mexico. • Resident Of State Of New York Sentenced To Decade In Prison For Selling Crack. • Two Florida Men Charged In Ohio "Grandparent Scam." EFTA00148128 • Pennsylvania Man Gets Long Prison Sentence For Conspiring To Distribute Heroin. • Three Indicted For Selling Fentanyl In Connecticut. • Army Expected To Take Action Against "Significant Number" Of Servicemembers At Fort Hood. • Death Of Green Beret, Army Veteran At Fort Bragg Under Investigation. • Connecticut Sailor Pleads Guilty To Sexually Assaulting Children, Producing Child Pornography. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • New Jersey Lab At Center Of FBI COVID-19 Test Warning Only Recently Opened. • Former Los Angeles Councilman Pleads Not Guilty To Corruption Charges. • Bribery Trial Of Cincinnati Councilman Delayed. • Cincinnati Councilman Accepts Suspension After Bribery Arrest. • US Charges Maryland Attorney In Alleged Scheme To Obtain Somali Government Assets. • US Charges Ohio Developer With Embezzlement. • Georgia Man Sentenced In Pennsylvania Check-Cashing Scam. • Dish Network To Pay $210M To Settle Allegations Of Telemarketing Violations. • FTC Warns Of Robocall Scammers Posing As Amazon, Apple. CYBER DIVISION • FBI Warns Of Hackers Finding Their Way Into School Zoom Classrooms. • UK Man Who Hacked Webcams In 39 Countries Avoids Extradition To US. • Canadian Police Officer Says He Was FBI's Point Of Contact During Huawei CFO Arrest. • NSA Warns Russia-Backed Hackers Are Exploiting VMware Products. • Chinese Telecom Giants Scramble To Meet New Requirements Abroad. • Trump Signs Bill Requiring Minimum Cybersecurity Requirements For Feds. • Companies Attempting To Lure In Hackers With "Honey Pots." • Opinion: Public Schools Could Offer Practical Cybersecurity Aid. • Report: Global Losses From Cybercrime Expected To Be Just Under $1T For 2020. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • Child Sex Exploitation Prosecutions Triple In Frederick, Maryland Area. • Five More Federal Inmates Set To Be Executed Before Inauguration Day. • FBI Agent Discusses Common Themes In Minnesota Bank Robberies, ATM Burglaries. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • US Charges Man Living In Romania With Puppy Fraud Scheme. • US Charged Head Of Canadian Police Agency's Intelligence Following Gambling Operation. LAWFUL ACCESS • UK Watchdog: Encrypted Messaging Puts Children At Risk Of Abuse. OTHER FBI NEWS • Wray Taps Dugan As New Norfolk, Virginia SAC. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • US Expected To Surpass 200K New COVID Cases Per Day This Week. • Azar Says Administration Ready To Distribute Vaccines. • Giroir, Collins Defend FDA Vaccine Approval Process. • Pfizer, Moderna Will Not Attend White House Vaccine Summit Where Trump Will Sign "America First" Executive Order. • Giuliani Diagnosis Prompts Concern For Legislators With Whom He Interacted. • Johnson To Highlight Vaccine Skeptic, Mask Critic At Hearing. • IBM, Clear Rolling Out New Vaccine Apps. EFTA00148129 • Physicians Working To Boost COVID Vaccine Confidence Among African Americans. • US Sees Increase In Underage Migrants Testing Positive For Coronavirus. • Administration Officials Divided Over Wisdom Of California Lockdown. • New York Orders Hospitals To Expand Capacity, May Slash Indoor Dining. • Pritzker Says Illinois Facing "Most Crucial Month Of This Entire Pandemic." • DeWine To Extend Ohio Curfew. • Whitmer Extends Michigan's COVID Restrictions For Another 12 Days. • Nevada Hospitalizations Up 230% Over Past Month. • Staffing Shortages Especially Afflicting Rural Hospitals. • Florida State Police Raid Home Of Data Scientist Behind COVID Dashboard. • South Dakota's Noem Lauds Her Response To Coronavirus. • Liability Protections, State And Local Aid Stall COVID Relief Negotiations. • Lawmakers To Vote On Short-Term Spending Bill As Dual Negotiations Continue. • Axios Report: Trump Discussing Pardons "Like Christmas Gifts." • DHS Says It Has Fully Restored DACA For Now. • TPS Extended For Nine Months. • Border Wall Contractors Accused Of "Smuggling Armed Mexican Security Teams" Into US. • Office Of Special Counsel Says Navarro Repeatedly Violated Hatch Act. • NYTimes Analysis: Scrutiny Of Spending At Trump Properties Did Not Result In Limits. • McConnell Says Senate Will Take Up And Pass NDAA. • Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Appeal On Transgender Student's Rights. • Supreme Court Considers US Role In Holocaust Survivors' Cases Against Germany And Hungary. • Biden Has Reportedly Decided On Austin For Defense Secretary. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Britain Beginning Vaccination Campaign. • Canada Prepares To Begin Distributing Pfizer Vaccine This Month. • NYTimes Profiles Scandal-Plagued Executive For Chinese Vaccine Manufacturer. • US Economic Sanctions On Iran Could Impede Access To Coronavirus Vaccines, Analysts Say. • Lack Of Trust Said To Be Impacting Russia's COVID Vaccine Rollout. • Sao Paulo Governor Mandates Residents Get COVID Vaccine. • Iran Says Nuclear Official Was Killed By "Satellite-Controlled Smart System." • Duckworth Calls On State Department To Prioritize Return Of US Contractor Taken In Afghanistan. • With Brexit Talks At An Impasse, Johnson To Travel To Brussels This Week. • Maduro Alliance Claims Victory In Venezuelan Congressional Elections. • Romanian Prime Minister Resigns Following Unexpected Election Defeat. • NYTimes Analysis: Abortion Protests Shifting Gender Balance Of Power In Poland. • Ghanaians Go To Polls In Presidential Election. • Researchers Say Last Month Was Hottest November On Record. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Georgia Recertifies Election Results As Trump Legal Efforts Continue Elsewhere. EFTA00148130 Norah O'Donnell said on the CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, story 5, 1:45, 4.74M) that with "more states certifying their results, there are questions tonight about the future of the President's legal fight to overturn the election." In Georgia, CBS' Paula Reid reported, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, "a Republican, recertified the results [Monday] after a second recount." Raffensperger: "We have now counted legally cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, story 5, 1:30, Holt, 6.35M), Hallie Jackson said Joe Biden's "win [was] recertified in Georgia after a recount, with a top Republican there dismissing the campaign's baseless claims of widespread fraud." CNN (12/7, Collins, 83.16M) reports on its website that according to "multiple sources," there is "a sense developing within Donald Trump's legal team and what remains of his campaign staff that their efforts to overturn or delay the results of the election are coming to an end...despite what the President has said publicly. ... Following the news of Rudy Giuliani's coronavirus hospitalization, staffers only speculated further that it's a matter of time before their legal efforts come to a halt completely." The Washington Post (12/7, 14.2M) reports that Raffensperger "said Monday that the office would recertify the state's election results, which would reaffirm Biden's victory after a second statewide recount of presidential votes." The New York Times (12/7, Roose, 18.61M) reports Raffensperger's office "dedicated part of a morning news conference to debunking" several "falsehood[s]...in what was called `Disinformation Monday." According to the AP (12/7, Brumback), "the total number of votes in the recount results certified Monday and posted on the secretary of state's website was 766 fewer than the number certified when the ballots were first tallied after the election. Biden's lead dropped from 12,670 to 11,779." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12/7, 895K) says the President's "efforts to overturn Georgia's election results have met a wall of opposition from an unlikely source: Republican state officials and GOP-appointed judges who have loudly rejected his calls to undo Joe Biden's narrow victory in the state. ... Trump's pleas to top state officials to interfere in the election have been soundly rejected by Republican politicians he once endorsed." The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Corse, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), Axios (12/7, 521K), and The Hill (12/7, Greenwood, 2.98M) also cover the certification, while other outlets examine the impact of the fight between Trump and his party's leaders in Georgia on the two January 5 Senate runoffs. Steve Osunsami said on ABC World News TonightVi (12/7, story 4, 2:20, Muir, 7.76M), "The deadline in Georgia to register to vote in this upcoming runoff election" was Monday night. At a weekend rally, Trump "was trying to help the two sitting Republican senators who hope to hold onto their seats. ... The real worry: that Republicans might not show up to vote is born from the President's own made-up stories about widespread election fraud in the November election." Politico (12/7, Arkin, 4.29M) reports, "During a feverish weekend of campaigning...Georgia Republicans continued to indulge Trump's untruths about the last election, while imploring their backers to show up for the next one." The AP (12/7) reports that Secretary of State Pompeo "plans to deliver a speech extolling the Trump administration's foreign policy this week in Georgia, ahead of key Senate run-off elections in the state that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress." Fox News (12/7, Steinhauser, 27.59M) reports on its website that while it is "normal for secretaries of state to speak to domestic audiences, the address by Pompeo comes as the nation's campaign spotlight is shining on Georgia. ... And it comes as Pompeo, who political pundits consider a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender, has faced criticism this year for giving speeches considered to be tinged with political overtones." The New York Times (12/7, Herndon, 18.61M) looks at GOP strategy in the contests, writing that Republicans are focusing primarily on Raphael Warnock, the African American minister challenging Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and largely ignoring Jon Ossoff, the Democratic challenger to Sen. David Perdue (R-GA). Trump Reached Out To Pennsylvania House Speaker. The Washington Post (12/7, Gardner, Dawsey, Bade, 14.2M) reports the office of Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler EFTA00148131 has confirmed that Trump called the GOP speaker "twice during the past week to make an extraordinary request for help reversing his loss in the state." Cutler spokesman Michael Straub said, "The President said, 'I'm hearing about all these issues in Philadelphia, and these issues with your law. What can we do to fix it?" The Post says the calls "make Pennsylvania the third state where Trump has directly attempted to overturn a result." The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/7, Roebuck, 347K) reports, "With less than a day to go until the federal deadline for states to lock in their delegates for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote, Pennsylvania Republicans have bombarded state and federal courts with a flurry of new legal filings, grasping for last-minute traction in their thus far unsuccessful attempts to overturn the results of the presidential election." Trump Campaign Appeals To Nevada Supreme Court. The AP (12/7, Ritter) reports attorneys for the Trump campaign are appealing to the Nevada Supreme Court "to overrule a lower court judge and nullify...Biden's electoral win in Nevada. ... A hearing was not immediately scheduled, but the appeal is expected to get fast-track handling." The Las Vegas Review-Journal (12/7, 345K) reports, "Campaign attorneys representing Trump's proposed slate of presidential electors filed a notice of appeal in the District Court shortly after Judge James Russell denied their request to essentially overturn the state's presidential result." Sidney Powell Suits Rejected In Two States. Reuters (12/7, Hals, Brice) reports federal judges in Georgia and Michigan rejected efforts by Sidney Powell, "a former lawyer for the Trump campaign," to decertify Biden's win in those states. US District Judge Timothy Batten in Atlanta and US District Judge Linda Parker in Detroit "ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to bring the lawsuits and that the cases were filed too late." Batten "said [in) a hearing on Monday that the plaintiffs were seeking 'perhaps the most extraordinary relief ever sought' in connection with an election." Batten said, "They want this court to substitute its judgment for that of two-and-a-half million Georgia voters who voted for Joe Biden, and this I am unwilling to do." The Washington Post (12/7, 14.2M) reports that Batten, "who was appointed by President George W. Bush, forcefully rejected the plaintiffs' requests. Citing other technical reasons, Batten said that he was unwilling to reverse the decision of Georgia's voters, which has been reaffirmed through two recounts of presidential votes." Bloomberg (12/7, Davis, 4.73M) reports that Powell, "who is no longer associated" with Trump's legal team, "filed the suits last month on behalf of Republican voters." According to Bloomberg, Powell has "claim[ed) that foreign agents from Iran and China conspired with Democratic officials and poll workers to infiltrate voting machines and switch votes" from Trump to Biden. The Detroit Free Press (12/7, 1.52M) reports Parker said in her opinion, "This lawsuit seems to be less about achieving the relief Plaintiffs seek - as much of that relief is beyond the power of this Court - and more about the impact of their allegations on People's faith in the democratic process and their trust in our government." Amistad Project "Has A Tie To President Trump's Legal Team." The Washington Post (12/7, Swaine, Helderman, Dawsey, Hamburger, 14.2M) reports that the Amistad Project, "a conservative legal organization that has filed lawsuits challenging the election results in five states, has a tie to President Trump's legal team, raising questions about the independence of what has appeared to be an endeavor separate from the president's last-gasp legal maneuvering." Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis "serves as special counsel to the Thomas More Society, which has filed lawsuits through the newly formed Amistad Project alleging problems with the vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin." Trump's Capitol Hill Defenders Urge Him Not To Concede. CNN (12/7, Raju, Herb, 83.16M) reports on its website that Trump's "staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill are urging him not to concede even after [Bider') wins the Electoral College vote next week, calling on their party's leader to fight for his unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud all the way to the House floor in January. ... Asked if Trump should concede next Monday," Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said, "No. No way, no way, no way." However, the Dallas Morning News (12/7, EFTA00148132 946K) reports veteran Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), who is retiring, "referred Monday to 'President-elect Biden' in a briefing call about a major defense bill pending in the House, becoming only the third Texas Republican in Congress" to have done so. PROTESTS Activists: Some Georgia-Related Federal Prosecutions Aim To Blunt Future Protests. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12/7, 895K) reports, "Paul Torino, a member of the Atlanta Anti-Repression Committee," is among the activists claiming that some Georgia-related federal prosecutions launched in the wake of George Floyd's death "are intended to blunt future protest against the government." But after five men were "arrested in June for allegedly setting an unoccupied Gainesville Police car on fire," FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker stated, "We are not focused on peaceful protests, but instead concentrating on identifying, investigating and disrupting those individuals who are taking advantage of the protests to incite violence and engage in criminal activity." Growing Number Of Prosecutors Join Effort To Revisit Lengthy Prison Sentences. The Washington Post (12/7, Jackman, 14.2M) reports on a "push to begin revisiting lengthy prison sentences, as part of the justice reform effort being promoted by big city prosecutors around the country," that is "gaining momentum even in states like Maryland, where there is no formal mechanism for prosecutors to revisit settled cases." The Post says Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Monday "announced the launch of a sentencing review unit in Baltimore to address both mass incarceration and racial inequities in the justice system. ... Also Monday, the newly elected district attorney of Los Angeles, George Gascon, announced at his swearing-in that he, too, is launching a sentencing review unit." The Post adds similar initiatives are being launched by prosecutors in San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Northam Signs Virginia No-Knock Search Warrant Ban. USA Today (12/7, Atkinson, 10.31M) reports that with members of Breonna Taylor's family "there to witness," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Monday "ceremoniously signed the so- called 'Breonna's Law' bill into Virginia's books. ... It was the second time Northam signed the legislation banning no-knock search warrants across Virginia - he originally approved it in late October." The Washington Post (12/7, Schneider, 14.2M) says the Monday ceremony "was designed to highlight the law as a step to address racial inequity, with Northam noting that no- knock warrants have been found to disproportionately target Black people." The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch (12/7, Leonor, 277K) reports two of Taylor's aunts "wore black shirts that read 'no more no-knocks,' and face masks with Taylor's name and photo. They emphasized that justice for Taylor won't be realized until the officers involved in her killing face criminal charges - officials in Kentucky have so far declined - but celebrated Virginia for being 'on the right side of this fight." COUNTER-TERRORISM FBI Spoke To IS Fighter About Australian Terrorist. The News (AUS) (12/6, Schelle, 355K) reports, "An Islamic State fighter told FBI agents in Syria that he visited a convicted Australian terrorist in jail before he travelled overseas," but "lawyers for terror plotter Abdul Nacer Benbrika argued in the Supreme Court of Victoria that it was not relevant in the case to keep their client behind bars for longer." According to the News, "The terrorist fighter Jamil Shqeir told the United States intelligence agency in 2019 that he had gone to visit Benbrika in jail before he left for Syria years prior." According to the News, "Benbrika has spent the past 15 years behind bars for plotting attacks on Melbourne's MCG and EFTA00148133 Crown as well as a nuclear reactor in Sydney and was due to be released this year," but "the Australian government wants to keep him in jail for an extra three years because they believe he's at risk of committing further terrorist acts." Opinion: Al-Qaeda Persists Despite Shifting US Priorities, Is Poised For "Comeback." Colin P. Clarke, a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center, writes in an op-ed in Newsweek (12/7, 1.53M) that Al-Qaeda "has sidestepped the dilemma of leadership decapitation." It has shifted "its organizational structure to afford its affiliates in the Sahel, the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere with the operational autonomy to develop attack plans and map out strategic objectives." In recent years, the group "has focused on grassroots organizing in an attempt to make inroads with local populations in countries like Mali, Yemen, and Syria. By lowering its profile, including by working through front organizations, al-Qaeda has concentrated its resources on gaining popular support." Though the US and its allies want to move on from the Global War on Terrorism, "al-Qaeda and its network of global affiliates will remain a significant challenge, and in some parts of the world may be poised for a major comeback." New Zealand Commission: "No Plausible Way" Mosque Attacker's Plans Could Have Been Detected. The New York Times (12/7, Graham-Mclay, 18.61M) reports that an official commission in New Zealand has concluded that "there was `no plausible way' Christchurch mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant's plans "could have been detected by New Zealand's government agencies `except by chance.' Still, the inquiry "faulted the government on several counts. It found that lax gun regulations had allowed Mr. Tarrant to obtain a firearms license when he should not have qualified. And it said that the country's `fragile' intelligence agencies had a limited understanding of right-wing threats and had not assigned sufficient resources to examine dangers other than Islamist terrorism." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Senate GOP Set To Link Durham Appointment To Confirmation Of Next AG. The Hill (12/7, Bolton, 2.98M) says Attorney General Barr "is setting the stage for a Senate brawl on his way out the door with the appointment of U.S. Attorney John Durham to serve as special counsel well beyond the end" of the current Administration. Senate Republicans say Joe Biden's choice for attorney general "should promise not to terminate Durham." The New York Post (12/7, Jacobs, 4.57M) says the next attorney general "will be the only one in public office with the ability to fire Durham or revoke his prosecutorial authority, meaning that whoever he selects as AG will likely face conflicting demands from both parties on the matter." Appeals Court Denies Request For NSA Leaker To Leave Prison Early. The Washington Examiner (12/7, Dunleavy, 448K) reports, "An appeals court denied a request by Reality Winner...to serve out the remainder of her prison sentence in home confinement because of the coronavirus outbreak." Judges of the 11th Circuit "upheld the district court's decision to deny Winner's request to leave prison early amid the pandemic." Judge Beverly Martin wrote, "Ms. Winner argues the District Court abused its discretion when it denied her motion because it refused to hold a hearing and did not properly consider her evidence." Winner's lawyer Joe Whitley argued that his client "signed up to serve her sentence under the care, custody, and safety of the Bureau of Prisons - she did not agree (nor did this Court require her) to be confined to an institution that was caught unprepared for this virus." Ratcliffe: "No Greater Threat" To US Than China. EFTA00148134 DNI Ratcliffe said on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight (12/7), "There are a lot of people who for economic reasons do not want China to be our greatest threat. There are a lot of people who for political reasons don't want China to be our greatest threat in America. But the intelligence doesn't lie. China is our greatest threat, and it's not even close. No other country has the capability of essentially taking away the American dream and the specific plan to do so." US Sanctions Chinese Officials Tied To Hong Kong Crackdown. Reuters (12/7, Pamuk) reports that on Monday, the Trump Administration "imposed financial sanctions and a travel ban on 14 Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification last month of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong." Reuters says the sanctions "targeted the vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the top decision- making body of the Chinese legislature." The AP (12/7, Lee) reports that "just last week, the administration further restricted visa access for Chinese Communist Party officials as part of the campaign which has also seen penalties imposed on China for its actions in western Xinjiang province, Tibet, Taiwan and the South China Sea." Secretary of State Pompeo released a statement reading, "Beijing's unrelenting assault against Hong Kong's democratic processes has gutted its Legislative Council, rendering the body a rubber stamp devoid of meaningful opposition." The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Talley, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that the Chinese Embassy had no immediate comment, though earlier Monday said such moves would be construed "as meddling in China's sovereign affairs." US Says China Flouting Sanctions On North Korea. The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports US officials are charging China with increasingly flouting international sanctions on North Korea, no longer bothering to try to obscure some of the efforts. One senior State Department official said, "It is not particularly disguised or hidden. The fact that China is making it easier on them makes it a much more reliable revenue stream than they've had." Report Concludes Directed Pulse Microwave Energy Likely Responsible For Diplomats' Illnesses. Andrea Mitchell reported on NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, story 7, 1:50, Holt, 6.27M) that the National Academies of Sciences has concluded that "the most likely explanation" for illnesses that struck US diplomats and CIA officers in China, Cuba, and Russia is "directed pulse microwave energy." David Reiman, National Academies of Sciences report editor: "Pulsed directed microwave radiation can be focused on a particular space or physical environment at the level of several yards or a dozens of yards." Mitchell: "Russia has a long history of working on these weapons but denies involvement." NDAA Would Alter Reporting Structure Of JAIL. C4ISR & Networks (12/7, Eversden) reports that the 2021 NDAA "would alter the reporting structure of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, raising the office to report directly to the deputy secretary of defense, instead of the department's chief information officer." As such, Congress has "signaled its confidence in the Pentagon's young artificial intelligence office through a series of measures to increases its standing in the agency, including giving its director acquisition authority." The bill "establishes a board of advisers to give the center strategic advice and technical expertise on AI matters." It "still needs President Donald Trump's approval." CSIS fellow Lindsey Sheppard said, "This NDAA would clear that roadblock by giving the LAIC its own acquisition authorities to get technology in the door." DISA Planning "Grey Network" To Support Classified Remote Programs. MeriTalk (12/7, Mayo) reports that DISA "is looking to implement an enterprise 'grey network' to enable" DOD components to "securely support classified remote programs." Head of DISA's EFTA00148135 Emerging Technology Directorate Dr. Stephen Wallace "laid out the agency's approach to a grey network at AFCEA's TechNet Cyber conference on December 3." Wallace said, "we're looking for is a global Enterprise Grey Network that has many of the common services that these classified remote programs rely on, but in a consistent enterprise fashion, so that you're not recreating the wheel time and time again." Wallace added, "We do realize the urgency in it, and our ability to provide something like that will bring a lot of value to our mission partners, and we've heard that from them, so we're very interested in delivering something like that as quickly as possible." Reports: Iran's Supreme Leader May Have Transferred Power To Son. Fox News (12/7, McKay, 27.59M) reports that amid speculation "over the declining health of Iran's Supreme Leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," there were "unconfirmed reports over the weekend" he had "transferred power to his son, cleric Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei." The son "has seen as a potential successor to his father's throne" for over a decade, and his "increasingly dogmatic role overseeing numerous security and intelligence departments are viewed as part of the grooming process to ascend to the top spot, according to the Jerusalem Post." He has "been profiled as a mostly hardline, conservative figure — even more refractory than his father - with especially tight ties" to the IRGC. However, the "process of succession isn't quite as simple as the Ayatollah merely making a preference. Iran has constitutional laws with regards to the process of choosing the next-in-line." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Sentencing Hearing In Nebraska Murder Rescheduled Over COVID Concerns. The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star (12/7, Pilger, 399K) reports, "A multi-day hearing to determine whether Aubrey Trail will get the death penalty for the killing of a 24-year-old Lincoln woman has been reset for March after one of his attorneys tested positive for COVID-19." According to the Journal Star, "On Friday, the defense filed a motion to continue the aggravation and mitigation hearing, which was set to start next week in Wilber. In the filing, attorney Ben Murray listed a number of COVID-related reasons prompting him to ask for a continuance. Among them, that the pandemic was making it impossible for out-of-state witnesses, who included Trail's relatives in Tennessee, to travel to Nebraska. 'The present pandemic substantially impairs counsel's ability to take on the "extraordinary responsibility" of representing a person whose life is at stake and provide effective representation,' he wrote." Marijuana Subpoena May Have Been Linked To Missouri FBI Probe. The Independence (MO) Examiner (12/7, Hancock, 13K) reports, "The head of Missouri's medical marijuana program testified under oath that a grand jury subpoena his agency received late last year was likely connected to an FBI investigation in Independence." The Examiner adds, "The revelation by Lyndall Fraker, director of medical marijuana regulation at the Missouri Department of Health and Seniors Services, is the first indication of the target of the federal subpoena. In November 2019, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services received the subpoena, which was issued by the United States District Court for the Western District. It demanded the agency turn over all records pertaining to four medical marijuana license applications. The copy of the subpoena that was made public redacted the identity of the four applicants at the request of the FBI." FBI, BIA Probing Discovery Of Body On Montana Reservation. The Billings (MT) Gazette (12/7, Kordenbrock, 180K) reports, "A death investigation involving two federal agencies is ongoing after a body was found on the Crow Indian Reservation in late November." An FBI spokesperson "confirmed the investigation Monday afternoon. The FBI and EFTA00148136 the Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating jointly, according to the FBI." The FBI "was notified on Nov. 29 that a body had been discovered on the Crow Reservation. Citing the ongoing nature of the investigation, FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Yi Barker said by email that additional information could not be shared Monday, but that more information would be released when possible." FBI Joins Search For Missing Florida Teacher. The Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal (12/7, Kustura, 166K) reports, "The FBI and local law enforcement agencies are helping Port Orange police in the search for a teacher missing since Oct. 25." The News-Journal adds, "In a press conference Monday morning, Sgt. Steven Nagy, a Port Orange police detective, said that in addition to the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Daytona Beach police and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office are assisting with the investigation into the disappearance of Robert Heikka. Heikka, 70, a teacher at Creekside Middle School, failed to show up for work on Oct. 26, Andre Fleming, an officer and spokesman for Port Orange police, said." Ohio Firefighter Arrested On Child Pandering Charges. The Zanesville (OH) Times Recorder (12/7, Holmes, 34K) reports, "A member of the Frazeysburg Fire Department is in jail on child pandering charges stemming from a recent FBI case." The Times Recorder adds, "On Thursday, officials in Muskingum County became aware of the information and began their own investigation. According to Sheriff Matt Lutz, deputies arrested Chad Buchanan, 42, on Thursday after a search of his house on 2525 Country Side Road around 9 p.m. Lutz said several items were seized from the home." Buchanan "has been charged with one second-degree felony count of pandering obscenity involving a minor, one second-degree felony count of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and one third-degree felony count of gross sexual imposition. Lutz said no other members of the fire department are anticipated to have been involved in the investigation." Attorneys Seek Bail For Ghislaine Maxwell. The AP (12/7, Neumeister) reports from New York, "A lawyer for the onetime girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein said Monday that her client, who again seeks release on bail, has lost weight and hair as she suffers under onerous jail conditions imposed in part because Epstein killed himself last year in a federal lockup." According to the AP, "The claims by defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim were made on Ghislaine Maxwell's behalf after lawyers for the Metropolitan Detention Center warden in Brooklyn defended conditions at the facility in a Friday letter that was publicly filed on Monday. `Ms. Maxwell remains in good health; the lawyers wrote in the letter as they defended her treatment as by-the-book following of rules to ensure the safety of all federal inmates. The letters were filed on the same day that a Nov. 25 letter was unsealed in which two of Maxwell's lawyers said they were renewing her application to be released on bail after compiling information not available when her initial request was rejected in July. Judge Alison J. Nathan said she will decide later this month whether to conduct a hearing." FBI Seizes 40 Pounds Of Meth, Two Pounds Of Heroin In New Mexico. The Albuquerque (NM) Journal (12/7, Gallagher, 196K) reports, "FBI agents seized 40 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of heroin last week during an investigation of an Albuquerque man suspected of being a member of the notorious SNM prison gang." According to the Journal, "Agents arrested Michael Anthony Hernandez, 44, known as "Polo," as part of a five-year racketeering investigation into the gang, which has sought to extend its influence from inside the prison to the streets of cities and towns throughout New Mexico. According to a search warrant affidavit, agents believe Hernandez put out a `hit' or `greenlighe on a lower-level drug dealer who owed him money for a drug transaction. He was being held on probation and EFTA00148137 parole violations pending further charges. He has not been charged in connection with the alleged hit plan." Resident Of State Of New York Sentenced To Decade In Prison For Selling Crack. The Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette (12/7, Cook, 82K) reports Schenectady resident Robert J. Chaires has been sentenced "to 10 years in federal prison for" selling crack cocaine. The Chaires "case was investigated by the FBI and its Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of federal, state and local law enforcement" organizations. The WTEN-TV Albany, NY (12/7, 71K) website also covers this story. Two Florida Men Charged In Ohio "Grandparent Scam." The Warren (OH) Tribune Chronicle (12/7, 72K) reports from Cleveland, "Two Tampa, Fla. men are charged in a nine-count federal indictment involving the scamming of elderly people throughout the Northern Ohio district." John Tyler Pla, 25, and Johnny Lee Palmer, 25, both of Tampa, "are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. A federal grand jury sitting in Toledo returned the indictments. 'Protecting our district's elderly and vulnerable populations from scammers and fraudsters is an important part of the work we do every day at the Justice Department,' Herdman said." FBI Special Agent Eric B. Smith "said his unit is increasingly watching over the elderly to prevent scams. 'The FBI encourages everyone to educate their elderly family and friends on financial scams such as this,' Smith said, referring to the case against the Florida men." Pennsylvania Man Gets Long Prison Sentence For Conspiring To Distribute Heroin. The Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader (12/7, Lewis, 115K) reports Pennsylvania resident Hakim Wilburn has been "sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison" for "conspiring to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin." Wilburn "and his wife, Danielle Moore, were arrested when agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and police in Hanover Township and Wilkes-Barre executed search warrants at a residence on Boland Avenue, Hanover Township, and other properties." The Wilkes-Barre (PA) Citizens' Voice (12/7, 149K) also covers Wilburn's 198-month sentence. Three Indicted For Selling Fentanyl In Connecticut. The Connecticut Post (12/7, O'Neill, 347K) reports Connecticut residents Kyle Pitts, Curon Jonson and Jabari Walcott "face federal charges for selling fentanyl in the Hartford area," according to a federal grand jury indictment. The Post highlights that "the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force" was involved with the investigation of this case. Army Expected To Take Action Against "Significant Number" Of Servicemembers At Fort Hood. The AP (12/7, Baldor) reports, "Army leaders are expected to fire or suspend a 'significant number' of officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in a dramatic purge to correct a command culture they believe failed to address leadership failures and a pattern of violence that included murders, sexual assaults and suicides." According to "officials familiar with the matter," Army Secretary McCarthy "will take administrative action that will remove soldiers from their jobs, and likely trigger investigations that could lead to a wide range of punishments." Death Of Green Beret, Army Veteran At Fort Bragg Under Investigation. The New York Times (12/7, Levenson, Ismay, Opam, 18.61M) reports the Army is "investigating the deaths last week of a Green Beret and an Army veteran whose bodies were found in a training area at Fort Bragg in North Carolina." While officials have not said how they died, "they said the deaths were not related to official unit training activities." Chris Grey, a spokesman for EFTA00148138 the Army Criminal Investigation Command, said in a statement, "I can confirm that we are investigating this as a homicide investigation. ... I will release more at the appropriate time." Connecticut Sailor Pleads Guilty To Sexually Assaulting Children, Producing Child Pornography. The New London (CT) Day (12/8, Florin, 109K) reports, "Navy sailor Randall J. Tilton faces up to 210 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in New Haven to what investigators say is one of the worst cases of sexual abuse of young children, two of whom were just 4 and 6 months old when he began to violate them." According to the Day, "The 31- year-old New Hampshire native, a Machinists Mate 1st Class stationed since 2016 at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton aboard the USS South Dakota, is also accused of producing pornographic images of his victims that were distributed via the internet and dark web. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of production of child pornography, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS New Jersey Lab At Center Of FBI COVID-19 Test Warning Only Recently Opened. The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) (12/7, Lowe, 177K) reports from Ventnor, New Jersey, "The North Jersey-based diagnostic lab at the center of an FBI warning last week regarding the efficacy of its COVID-19 tests only recently moved into its Atlantic Avenue storefront, the building owners said." On Friday, the FBI "released a statement directing anyone who received a coronavirus test at the Infinity Diagnostic Laboratory at 6715 Atlantic Ave. to be retested as soon as possible. Although the statement did not specify what initiated the warning, it did include a notice that a 'rapid' finger prick blood test is an antibody test and should not be used for diagnosing active cases of COVID-19." NBC10 News "reported that the building was raided by the FBI on Thursday, but officials from the FBI declined to comment citing an ongoing investigation." Former Los Angeles Councilman Pleads Not Guilty To Corruption Charges. The AP (12/7) reports from Los Angeles, "Former City Council member Jose Huizar pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he took bribes to help developers win favors for large building projects in the city's burgeoning downtown district." Huizar "entered the plea to a new racketeering indictment that added additional charges. The 41-count complaint includes allegations of bribery, honest services fraud and money laundering." Huizar "was arrested in June on allegations that he masterminded a $1.5 million pay-to-play scheme tied to the approval of developments. They included a 77-story tower in Huizar's district that would have been the largest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River. The developer, who already had a hotel in the district, was accused of providing cash and benefits worth $800,000 to Huizar and others that included a dozen trips to Las Vegas casinos and funds to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against the councilman." The My News LA (CA) (12/7) reports, "Huizar, 52, of Boyle Heights, has a June 22 trial date in the case, which is a result of a federal investigation into alleged widespread corruption at Los Angeles City Hall that has also ensnared political operatives, lobbyists and the former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety." Huizar "was charged in July in a 34-count indictment that alleged a conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in which he's accused of agreeing to accept at least $1.5 million in illicit financial benefits. The racketeering charge alleges 402 overt acts that Huizar and his co- conspirators are accused of committing to further their criminal enterprise, including bribery, honest services fraud, and money laundering." EFTA00148139 KTLA-TV Los Angeles (12/7, Gutierrez, 766K) reports, "The superseding indictment also names Raymond Chan, a deputy mayor who oversaw economic development for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2016 and 2017. He also is a former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The case has already resulted in guilty pleas from a former Huizar aide, a City Hall lobbyist and two real estate consultants." Bribery Trial Of Cincinnati Councilman Delayed. WXIX-TV Cincinnati (12/7, Baker, 42K) reports from Cincinnati, "The January trial date for suspended Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor on federal corruption-related charges has been postponed at the request of his lawyer and the attorney representing his business partner, who also faces charges, court documents show. 'In order to permit adequate time to review the voluminous discovery in this case, and due to the difficulties created by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Ohio and nationwide, Defendants' counsel jointly requested a continuance of this matter. The Government did not object to the request,' the records state. 'Having been so advised and for good cause shown, the Court vacated the trial date previously set for January 11, 2021 and converted the final pretrial conference set for January 4, 2021 at 3:00pm to a telephonic status conference." Pastor "was accused in an indictment last month of bribery, extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes related to his role on council." Cincinnati Councilman Accepts Suspension After Bribery Arrest. The Cincinnati Enquirer (12/7, Coolidge, 223K) reports, "Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld has accepted a suspension from council, a process initiated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost after Sittenfeld was arrested on federal bribery charges. Sittenfeld will be paid his $65,000 salary while temporarily suspended. He said: 'This has been a very difficult time, ensuring false accusations, inaccurate stories and having some folks not be willing to wait to get the complete and accurate facts is painful for me and those around me:" The Enquirer adds, "It will now be up to Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ralph 'Ted' Winkler, a Republican, to name a temporary replacement for Sittenfeld, who is a Democrat." Sittenfeld "is one of three Cincinnati councilmembers arrested and accused of pay-to-play schemes this year and the second member of council to accept a state suspension, which bars them from working, but allows them to collect their salary." US Charges Maryland Attorney In Alleged Scheme To Obtain Somali Government Assets. The Washington Post (12/7, Marimow, 14.2M) reports, "More than a decade ago, Bethesda lawyer Jeremy W. Schulman began working to reclaim millions of dollars belonging to the government of Somalia from accounts frozen during the country's years of political turmoil. Now, Schulman is facing the possibility of decades in prison after the government accused him of defrauding the people he was claiming to help." Prosecutors "say Schulman, who was indicted last week on federal fraud charges, exploited connections to the Somali government and pretended to officially represent the war-torn country's interests to enrich himself. His lawyers say that the Justice Department has it wrong and that Schulman was a trusted adviser and advocate of the Somali people." Schulman, 47, "made an initial appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms and through his lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges." US Charges Ohio Developer With Embezzlement. The Akron (OH) Beacon Journal (12/7, 198K) reports that an Aurora, Ohio man "is accused of embezzling money through a nonprofit and using more than $1 million of it to gamble." Arthur Fayne, 58, "was indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court. The Cleveland-area real-estate developer is accused of using a subsidiary of a nonprofit to embezzle money for personal use. According to a press release from U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland, Fayne owned Business Development Concepts in Cleveland and was vice president of a subsidiary of an unnamed EFTA00148140 nonprofit. Fayne is accused of entering into contracts on behalf of the nonprofit that allowed him to divert money to himself." The Beacon Jopurnal adds, "According to the FBI, Fayne used that money for personal interests, including gambling. He's accused of using and losing more than $1 million at a casino using the funds over three separate occasions." The Cleveland Plain Dealer (12/7, Heisig, 895K) reports, "Prosecutors said Fayne stole more than $885,000 intended for a construction management contractor and an audio-visual technology installation subcontractor, as his company was used as an intermediary for payments made by a nonprofit behind the project. At the same time, Fayne was using his company's money to gamble, losing large amounts between 2016 and 2018, according to the FBI." Georgia Man Sentenced In Pennsylvania Check-Cashing Scam. The Erie (PA) Times-News (12/7, Palattella, 33K) reports, "A 34-year-old man from Atlanta was sentenced in federal court in Erie on Monday to four years in federal prison for his lead role in a nationwide check-cashing scheme that the U.S. Attorney's Office said exploited homeless people in Erie and elsewhere." Victor K. Lemmons "was arrested in Erie in 2018 on charges that he and his co-defendant, Jasmine L. Carter, 31, also of the Atlanta area, used homeless people to cash fraudulent checks created with stolen account information. Carter was sentenced in September to 31/2 years in federal prison after she pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud." Prosecutors "said Lemmons was the leader of the operation, which authorities alleged netted an estimated $1.1 million nationwide between 2015 and 2018, according to court records." Dish Network To Pay $210M To Settle Allegations Of Telemarketing Violations. The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Sebastian, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that in a settlement with the Justice Department and four states, a subsidiary of Dish Network Corp. will pay $210 million stemming from alleged telemarketing violations. DOJ, along with the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio, said the company made millions of unlawful telemarketing calls to consumers and was responsible for millions of additional calls made by retailers marketing its products and services. FTC Warns Of Robocall Scammers Posing As Amazon, Apple. NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, story 8, 1:20, 6.35M) reported the FTC has issued a warning about "robocall scams suggesting that your Apple iCloud account has been hacked" or "trying to trace a suspect Amazon purchase." CYBER DIVISION FBI Warns Of Hackers Finding Their Way Into School Zoom Classrooms. WWL-TV New Orleans (12/7, Farris, 67K) reports from New Orleans, "With more work meetings and school classrooms online, hackers are playing pranks by joining in uninvited, but the FBI says they are seeing an increase of a type of Zoom bombing that can send people to federal prison." WWL-TV adds, "A video from YouTube prankster `Ben of the Week' has 7.7 million views. He's labeled on TikTok as a comedy skit creator. Some may think Zoom bombing, and disrupting children trying to go to school virtually, is funny, but to the FBI, a different type of Zoom hacking is no laughing matter. `In some of the more extreme circumstances, we are seeing people that are putting child sexual abuse material up as kind of the, you know, the element used to upset the group and shock everybody and shut it down,' said Dan Genck, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the New Orleans Field Office." UK Man Who Hacked Webcams In 39 Countries Avoids Extradition To US. EFTA00148141 The Guardian (UK) (12/7, 4.19M) reports, "A 58-year-old man from Wigan who hacked into hundreds of webcams in dozens of countries has avoided extradition to the US after a judge ruled that it was not in the interests of justice." Christopher Taylor, "a full-time carer for his wife of 38 years, had faced up to 20 years in a US prison after he was charged with wire fraud and two counts of computer fraud in Georgia," but "on Monday a judge at Westminster magistrates court blocked the extradition, ruling that because of Taylor's strong family links in the UK, any prosecution for the offences should take place here." District judge Michael Fanning "also said that Taylor's extradition would breach both his and his wife's human rights, on the basis that disrupting his care for her would amount to a disproportionate interference with both of their Article 8 rights to a family life." Canadian Police Officer Says He Was FBI's Point Of Contact During Huawei CFO Arrest. Reuters (12/7, Berman) reports, "A police officer stationed at Vancouver's airport on the day" Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou "was arrested two years ago testified on Monday he found himself to be in a `very uncomfortable position' as the point of contact" for the FBI. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Sergeant Ross Lundie testified, "At the end of the day, I'm not there to provide information and act on behalf of the FBI. I'm there working as an RCMP member." Lundie added, "Assisting the FBI, given my background - this is a very uncomfortable position to be in." In court, "Lundie testified that he was concerned about the appearance of collusion between the CBSA and the RCMP in the lead up to Meng's arrest. He told the court it was `reasonable' for CBSA to secure Meng's electronic devices in Mylar bags - which block all signals - before the RCMP arrested her." Business In Vancouver (CAN) (12/7, Chiang) reports that Lundie "said he has had contact with various law enforcement agencies throughout his career — and may have answered questions from the FBI on the Meng case's operations." However, he "emphasized that such contact was coincidental - that his main role was to serve the RCMP and assist in the operations of the police's central financial crimes unit." Defense lawyer Richard Peck "accused the RCMP sergeant of trying to cover up his role in having contact with the FBI throughout the case, noting the lack of the mentioning of the U.S. investigative agency in any of his written notes or legal Will Say." Peck also attacked "Lundie's lack of useful notes in the arrest process, to which the RCMP officer responded by admitting he should take better notes." NSA Warns Russia-Backed Hackers Are Exploiting VMware Products. Reuters (12/7, Bing) reports that a new NSA cybersecurity alert "warns that Russian `state- sponsored' hackers are actively exploiting a software vulnerability in multiple products made by cloud computing company VMware Inc." The agency "said organizations should apply `as soon as possible' a software patch provided by the company on Saturday." Hackers would be able to "execute operating system commands remotely on the infected device, allowing for the theft or corruption of data." VMware separately warns "that the hackers would first need to gain access to a user's account through a stolen password to fully take advantage of the vulnerability." Bloomberg (12/7, Sebenius, 4.73M) reports that the advisory warned "Russia was using the flaw to `access protected data." The warning comes after a recent DHS alert "about Iranian hackers - saying that they are becoming more sophisticated and improving their offensive arsenal, leading to the possibility of `cyber-enabled kinetic attacks' in the future." A December 3 CISA notice warned "Iranian actors are defacing web pages, taking sites offline by flooding them with traffic, stealing personal data and conducting influence operations on social media." Also reporting are CyberScoop (12/7, Vavra), Gov Info Security (12/7, Olenick), and NextGov (12/7, Baksh). Chinese Telecom Giants Scramble To Meet New Requirements Abroad. EFTA00148142 According to CNET News (12/7, Keane, 1.99M), "countries like the UK and Sweden have banned the use" of Huawei's "equipment as their 5G networks develop. The company's phones are also virtually invisible in the US, despite its massive presence around the world." CNET provides a timeline of regulatory news relating to Huawei "going back to 2018." Most recently, on December 7, Huawei was "reportedly willing to meet Sweden's requirements after its equipment was banned from the country's 5G network." Meanwhile, Sky News MI (12/7) reports, Finland is "expected to introduce a new law which could see Chinese telecommunications equipment excluded from the nation's networks." Finland's transportation and communications minister, Timo Harakka, has stated "the country would not directly be banning Huawei equipment with the law." Though not named, Huawei and ZTE "are expected to be covered by legislation that prohibits including any equipment within the core of a network if it 'would endanger national security or defence.' Trump Signs Bill Requiring Minimum Cybersecurity Requirements For Feds. Reuters (12/7, Merken) reports that President Trump "has signed new legislation aimed at limiting the risks to government and incentivizing manufacturers to address [cyber] security gaps" through the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020. The legislation "will require minimum security requirements for procurement and use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices by the federal government. Trump signed the bipartisan bill into law on Friday, the White House said." Companies Attempting To Lure In Hackers With "Honey Pots." The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Mitchell, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that some companies are attempting to "lure cybercriminals into thinking they're getting close" to valuable information, and then "they trap them." Land O'Lakes Chief uses DeceptionGrid, a tool that "deploys an array of decoys and booby traps throughout the Land O' Lakes network that mimic crucial information." The company aims to "convince hackers that they have gotten access to the company's crown jewels." Another technology, from Illusive "plants dozens of fake but believable data points into every company-issued laptop or cellphone." Opinion: Public Schools Could Offer Practical Cybersecurity Aid. Heidi Boghosian, an attorney, writes in an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer (12/7, Boghosian, 347K) reports that the day before Thanksgiving, attackers "inserted malicious software" in Baltimore County School District's systems - or ransomware - "then threatened to block access or publish data unless the district paid a ransom." The attack "closed County schools (surrounding the city of Baltimore, which has its own school system) for two days on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1." The Inquirer says school administrators "weren't equipped to guard against this threat." However, colleges "with advanced cybersecurity expertise" could "step up to help stop the epidemic of cyberattacks." Public school systems "could provide these university-level programs with a real-world clinic for practical learning." Report: Global Losses From Cybercrime Expected To Be Just Under $1T For 2020. The Washington Post (12/7, Riley, 14.2M) reports, "Estimated global losses from cybercrime are projected to hit just under a record $1 trillion for 2020," according to a study from CSIS and McAfee. The $945 billion in losses "is almost double the monetary loss from cybercrime than the $500 billion in 2018." The pandemic "provided new opportunities for hackers to target consumers and businesses," as it "inspired an unprecedented number of online scams preying on the fears of both consumers and businesses - and a mass migration of employees to remote work created a perfect storm." McAfee Senior VP CM Steve Grobman said, "When workers move to home environments, they are essentially becoming their own I.T. support. ... It's really about understanding that this is a different environment and building a security strategy to effectively defend it." EFTA00148143 LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES Child Sex Exploitation Prosecutions Triple In Frederick, Maryland Area. The Frederick (MD) News-Post (12/7, Keller, 74K) reports, "The prosecution of child sex exploitation cases has tripled locally, but with the number of tips increasing by more than one million nationally and a fear of underreporting on their minds, members of the Frederick County Cyber Crime Task Force expect they will need to devote even more resources to solving these crimes." The News-Post adds, "The FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Maryland State Police, Frederick County State's Attorney's Office, Frederick County Sheriff's Office and Frederick Police Department on Monday revealed the results of the first 18 months of work by the cyber crimes task force. The task force, formed in May 2019 as a memorandum of understanding between the state's attorney's office, sheriff's office and city police, serves to investigate, apprehend and prosecute internet sexual predators who exploit children." Five More Federal Inmates Set To Be Executed Before Inauguration Day. The AP (12/7, Tarm, Balsamo) reports that the Trump Administration is "ratcheting up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday and concluding just days before" Inauguration Day. If the five "go off as planned, it will make 13 executions since July when the Republican administration resumed putting inmates to death after a 17-year hiatus." FBI Agent Discusses Common Themes In Minnesota Bank Robberies, ATM Burglaries. WCCO-AM Minneapolis (12/7, 14K) reports from Minneapolis, "During the unrest that followed George Floyd's death, rioters set fires and looted stores. Vandals also burglarized ATMs, a crime that's up in Minnesota this year. A long-time FBI agent shared what drives thieves and bank robbers, and how the community helps solve these crimes." WCCO-AM adds, "Bank heists are glamorized in the movies with a coordinated crew of criminals like in `Oceans 11; or the 1991 film `Point Break.' And while organized crews do exist, FBI Agent John Gainer says it's more common to see robbers working solo. 'We find people that are in a desperate situation is the typical type of person that gets involved in a bank robbery,' Gainer said." According to WCCO- AM, "Suspected bank robbers run the gamut in Minnesota, from a range of backgrounds. Although historically more are men than women. Gainer says they often find a gambling or substance addiction as the motivation." INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS US Charges Man Living In Romania With Puppy Fraud Scheme. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12/7, Ove, 616K) reports, "Last spring, a New Brighton woman wanted to buy a puppy for her mother. She found a website advertising mini-dachsunds for sale and inquired about one of them, `Pansy: On March 11, she received a text from `Hector Cantu' indicating that Pansy was still available for $600." The woman "ended up sending $9,100 in wire payments through Western Union," and "the whole thing was a fraud perpetrated by a man living in Romania who pulled the same scam on hundreds of victims in the U.S, the FBI said." Desmond Fodje Bobga, 27, "a Cameroon citizen attending college in Romania, is in custody after his arrest last week by Romanian law officers. In a sealed complaint filed in August, the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh accused Mr. Bobga of taking money for dogs and not delivering." US Charged Head Of Canadian Police Agency's Intelligence Following Gambling Operation. EFTA00148144 CBC (CAN). (12/7, Anderson, Culbert, McKeown, 319K) reports that American gambler RJ Cipriani, an FBI informant, "played a key role in a series of events that eventually led the RCMP to charge their head of intelligence, Cameron Ortis, with leaking secrets." In 2017, the gambler "was asked to gamble money in Australia by former U.S. college football player Owen Hanson." However, "eventually fearing he was being drawn into criminal activity, he went to the FBI." Hanson was then "charged and convicted of drug trafficking." The FBI found in his possessions "six encrypted cellphones Hanson had purchased from Richmond, B.C.- based Phantom Secure, a company the RCMP had been investigating for allegedly supplying encrypted technology to organized crime. The FBI then joined with the RCMP and Australian police in an investigation of Phantom Secure." LAWFUL ACCESS UK Watchdog: Encrypted Messaging Puts Children At Risk Of Abuse. The Guardian (UK) (12/8, Bland, 4.19M) reports, "The children's commissioner for England has warned that end-to-end encryption is putting children at risk of abuse, as a survey finds that most eight-year-olds are using messaging apps supposedly restricted to those aged 13 or older." The Guardian adds, "In a report published on Tuesday, Anne Longfield said plans by social media firms to widen the use of encrypted messaging would make it impossible for platforms to monitor content. Longfield argued that such technology, which keeps messaging hidden from anyone who is not a participant in a conversation, could stop police from gathering crucial evidence of child sexual exploitation." The report, Access Denied: How End-to-end Encryption Threatens Children's Safety Online, "says: `The privacy of direct messaging platforms can conceal some of the most heinous crimes against children, including grooming, exploitation and the sharing of child sexual abuse material." OTHER FBI NEWS Wray Taps Dugan As New Norfolk, Virginia SAC. The Hampton Roads (VA) Virginian-Pilot (12/7, Harper, 227K) reports, "A veteran FBI agent with more than 20 years of experience gathering intelligence and investigating a wide variety of crimes has been chosen to head the agency's Norfolk field office." Brian Dugan, 49, "was appointed to the position by FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to a news release. His tenure began Monday. Dugan replaces Martin Culbreth, who retired in October after leading the Norfolk office for four years." WAVY-TV Norfolk, VA (12/7, 64K) reports, "Dugan joined the FBI as a special agent in 1998 and was first assigned to the San Diego Field Office to mostly work domestic terrorism cases. In 1999, he transferred to the San Francisco Field Office to conduct gang investigations. Most recently, Mr. Dugan served as section chief of the HUMINT Operations Section in the Directorate of Intelligence at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS US Expected To Surpass 200K New COVID Cases Per Day This Week. CNBC (12/7, Feuer, 3.62M) says on its website that the US "reported more than 175,600 new cases of the virus and more than 1,100 deaths caused by Covid-19 on Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But the data historically tends to come in lower at the end of the weekend and the beginning of the week." CNBC also reports the US recorded a "record-high" seven-day average "of more than 196,200 cases of the virus, up more than 20% compared with a week ago." CNBC adds, "If current trends hold, that figure will likely top EFTA00148145 200,000 this week." On ABC World News TonightVi (12/7, story 2, 3:25, Muir, 7.46M), Matt Gutman said the US "topped a million cases in the first five days of December." In the lead CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, lead story, 4:05, 4.74M) story, Norah O'Donnell reported the coronavirus is "now rocketing across the US so rapidly more than one million people have been infected in just the past five days and that is pushing the country past 14.9 million cases." O'Donnell added that NIAID Director Fauci is "telling CBS News the coming weeks will be even worse, with the US breaking records every day for new cases and deaths. And he says the country hasn't even seen the full brunt of infections from Thanksgiving." CBS' Carter Evans also said that in "a grim reality, every hour the US is seeing more than 8,000 new COVID cases and nearly 100 deaths." CNN (12/7, Holcombe, 83.16M) reports on its website that as the US "nears an average of 200,000 Covid-19 cases a day, experts say `behavior and cold weather' are behind the current surge gripping American communities." HHS Secretary Azar on Sunday said, "People are going indoors, they're not minding the three W's." Azar continued, "Our advice is always the same. Wash your hands, watch your distance, wear face coverings." Meanwhile, Reuters (12/7, Canipe) highlights that the US "lost 15,000 people to COVID- 19 last week, the deadliest seven days since April." The number of new cases also "rose 19% to 1.4 million in the week ended Dec. 6, after falling the previous week as many testing centers were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports." Bloomberg (12/7, Levin, 4.73M) says that the US "is now averaging about as many deaths per day from Covid-19 as it was in April when the pandemic ambushed the New York area." Bloomberg adds the seven-day average for fatalities "rose to 2,201 on Sunday, just one shy of the peak on April 18, according to Johns Hopkins University data," while the average number of daily deaths has been "predicted in the range of 1,643 to 1,886 through Dec. 26, according to a four-week forecast from the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Reich Lab." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, story 2, 2:25, 4.66M), O'Donnell reported doctors and nurses "tell CBS News this surge is the worst since the pandemic began, and they may not be able to care for future patients." David Begnaud highlighted Renown Health in Reno, Nevada, which "is in crisis mode. Look at what they have had to resort to. They're putting patients in their parking garage." Begnaud added that he "just spoke with one of the lead ICU doctors at the main hospital [in Las Vegas], and she said they are...extremely busy with some of the sickest COVID patients." Fauci Cautions That Christmas Is Likely To Cause Further Spike In Cases. The Washington Post (12/7, Armus, Cunningham, 14.2M) reports Fauci "warned Monday that Christmas celebrations could facilitate the spread of the virus even more than Thanksgiving, because Christmas gatherings often start several days before the holiday and continue through New Year's." Bloomberg (12/7, Clukey, 4.73M) reports that during a Monday news briefing with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Fauci said, "Without substantial mitigation, the middle of January could be a really dark time for us." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, story 3, 2:20, 4.66M), O'Donnell reported Fauci in an interview "said stay at home orders are needed to prevent hospitals from being overrun. And should last long enough to ensure that everyone who needs lifesaving care can get it." Fauci: "We have a base line of infections that literally is breaking records every day number of hospitalizations and numbers of deaths. The numbers are really stunning." Asked why the Christmas holiday will be worse than Thanksgiving, Fauci explained, "When you look at Thanksgiving, that say very brief period of time, of travel and congregating. When you are talking about Christmas, you go through Christmas and Hanukkah, you go through the week between Christmas and New Year's, and then you have another celebration, on New Year. That extends that vulnerable period by two or three times what you do in Thanksgiving. That's the reason why the Christmas issue bothers me even more than Thanksgiving." EFTA00148146 Bloomberg (12/7, Court, 4.73M) also reports Fauci "said he won't celebrate the holiday with his daughters for the first time in more than 30 years." Bloomberg adds Christmas Eve also marks "Fauci's 80th birthday, for which he and his wife plan a Zoom celebration with their children." Azar Says Administration Ready To Distribute Vaccines. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, story 2, 3:25, 6.27M), Lester Holt reported the Administration "says it is ready to set the wheels in motion for the biggest mass vaccination program in the nation's history as soon as this week," and HHS Secretary Mar in an interview "played down concerns of potential vaccine shortages and described the first hours after the FDA approval of a vaccine." Asked about the distribution process, Azar stated, "Each week, we'll be able to vaccinate more and more people. Be thinking of our most vulnerable citizens, like our seniors in nursing homes or frontline healthcare workers, and as we move forward, we'll just see tens and tens of millions of more people getting vaccinated. Eventually, general vaccination programs that, by the second quarter of next year we believe we'll have enough vaccine across all of the manufacturers for every American who would like to be vaccinated." In an interview with Axios on HBOVi (12/7), Azar said, "By January 20, we will have actually vaccinated many tens of millions of American individuals by that point, okay? That process will be running, and the individuals taking over at that point I hope will continue that process because I believe it'll be a success." Azar added, "Vaccine hesitancy will decrease, vaccine confidence will increase as time goes by." Gottlieb Criticizes US Vaccine Distribution Plans. USA Today (12/7, Rodriguez, 10.31M) reports the Administration "hopes to have close to 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine" by the end of the year and "plans to distribute half of those in December and hold back the other half to give the same people their second dose of the two-shot regimen," but former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb "says that's a bad idea. Instead, Gottlieb says he would give out 35 million doses now, and presume the second doses will be available when people need them." In an interview, Gottlieb said, "We should get as many shots in our arms as possible right away." He added, "The idea that we need to cut [the doses] in half and give half of it now and hold onto it, so we have supply in January to get the second dose ... I just fundamentally disagree with that." Hospitals Working To Determine Which Healthcare Workers Will Receive COVID Vaccine First. The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Al, Evans, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports hospitals are rushing to finalize plans to determine which healthcare workers will receive the COVID vaccine first, as initial supplies are widely expected to fall below what is needed to ensure all high-priority workers are vaccinated. Giroir, Collins Defend FDA Vaccine Approval Process. Assistant HHS Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said on Fox News' America's Newsroom (12/7, 896K), "We're not skipping any steps in safety and effectiveness." Giroir continued, "All the data we've seen thus far of Pfizer and of Modema have been very extraordinarily positive. But, this is an open, transparent process. The FDA will take its signal from the advisory committee and hopefully we'll see an authorization very soon after" Asked about skeptics of the vaccine, Giroir said, "Corners we've cut are only to take financial risks. Instead of doing things sequentially, the government has invested billions of dollars into manufacturing and into other steps. So instead of doing is sequentially, we did them in parallel. Remember, these vaccines have each been tested [in] well over 30,000 people. The effectiveness is over 90%, probably 94% to 95% and almost completely effective in preventing severe disease." NIH Director Collins said on MSNBC's MTP DailyVi (12/7, 1.15M), "The FDA's process is considered to be the gold standard by almost everybody in the world. They look at every single patient record in this very large-scale Phase Three trial. So, that's 30,000 people, half of whom EFTA00148147 got the vaccine, half of whom got a placebo. So, they want to make sure everything has been considered as far as safety and efficacy." Pfizer, Moderna Will Not Attend White House Vaccine Summit Where Trump Will Sign "America First" Executive Order. STAT (12/7, Facher, 24K) reports both Pfizer and Moderna "rejected invitations from President Trump to appear at a White House 'Vaccine Summit' on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the event's planning." STAT adds that their absence "will be conspicuous" at an "event that drug industry figures and one Trump administration official largely viewed as a public relations stunt when STAT first reported the event last week." Bloomberg (12/7, Jacobs, 4.73M) reports the summit is "intended to increase confidence in the new vaccines among the American public, according to a senior administration official." Bloomberg adds the President "will open the three-hour, indoor summit with remarks, followed by discussions of how the vaccines were developed and how they'll be regulated, distributed and administered," and he plans to sign an order for HHS "to give priority to people in the U.S. before helping other countries." In an online exclusive, senior Administration officials told Fox News (12/7, Singman, 27.59M) that the President "will reemphasize to the American people that the 'priority has been an America First approach." An official "said that the executive order is 'clear and is directing that we prioritize access to the American people before working with partners and allies to provide access to the vaccine," and "added that the order will identify 'who will be working with the international aspect of this, the framework, guides and tools, for when we have an excess supply to meet those demands." Official Denies Report That Administration Did Not Lock In Millions Of Pfizer Vaccine Doses. The AP (12/7, Miller, Lemire) reports the Administration "opted last summer not to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine contenders, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until manufacturer Pfizer fulfills other international contracts." The AP adds the disclosure that the Administration "committed to buy an initial 100 million doses, with an option to purchase as many as five times more" but "opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses for delivery in the second quarter of 2021," which was "confirmed Monday by people familiar with the matter, came a day before President Donald Trump aimed to take credit for the speedy development of forthcoming coronavirus vaccines at a White House summit Tuesday." The New York Times (12/7, LaFraniere, Thomas, Weiland, 18.61M) reports the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine is "a two-dose treatment, meaning that 100 million doses is enough to vaccinate only 50 million Americans." In addition, the Washington Post (12/7, Al, McGinley, Abutaleb, Johnson, 14.2M) reports Pfizer "told the Trump administration it cannot provide substantial additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine until late June or July because other countries have rushed to buy up most of its supply, according to multiple individuals familiar with the situation." While The Hill (12/7, Weixel, 2.98M) reports an Administration official "said nobody turned down additional Pfizer doses" and said the US "has contracts with five other companies for a combined guarantee of 3 billion doses, as well as the option for more," in the lead ABC World News TonightVi (12/7, lead story, 4:35, Muir, 7.46M) story, Jonathan Karl reported ABC has "confirmed that Pfizer offered to sell the US government additional doses of its C0VID-19 vaccine late this summer, but the Trump Administration turned them down." Karl added that in contrast to the US, the EU "bought 200 million doses from Pfizer with an option to buy more." Karl also reported the White House "did not invite anybody from the Biden health team" to the summit. The CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, story 6, 0:45, O'Donnell, 4.74M) provided similar coverage in a brief report. Giuliani Diagnosis Prompts Concern For Legislators With Whom He Interacted. EFTA00148148 The AP (12/7, Madhani, Lemire) reports that on Monday, President Trump said Rudy Giuliani is "doing very well," Giuliani is "hospitalized with the coronavirus as lawmakers in battleground states that Giuliani visited last week scrambled to make sure they did not contract the virus." The AP says Giuliani "had traveled extensively to battleground states to press Trump's quixotic effort to get legislators to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden and subvert the November vote." According to the AP, "On numerous occasions, Giuliani met with officials for hours at a time without wearing a mask, including hearings last week with state lawmakers in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan." While Reuters (12/7) reports the Trump campaign on Sunday "said in a statement...that Giuliani `tested negative twice immediately preceding his trip to Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia," USA Today (12/7, Cummings, 10.31M) reports his positive diagnosis "could mean dozens of people were exposed to coronavirus as...Trump's personal attorney spent much of last week crisscrossing the country as part of the campaign's effort to overturn the Nov. 3 election." The Washington Post (12/7, Peiser, 14.2M) reports that "for more than 10 hours last Monday," Giuliani, "convened in a Phoenix hotel ballroom with more than a dozen current and future Arizona Republican lawmakers to hear testimony from people who supposedly witnessed election fraud." According to the Post, "Giuliani and other attendees were shown maskless and not social distancing, and the Arizona Republican Party tweeted an image of Giuliani and lawmakers flouting guidelines to restrict transmission of the novel coronavirus." On Sunday, "legislative staff in Arizona's Capitol abruptly announced a week-long closure of the state Senate and House starting on Monday." Axios (12/7, Rummler, 521K) provides similar coverage. Johnson To Highlight Vaccine Skeptic, Mask Critic At Hearing. The New York Times (12/7, Edmondson, Fandos, 18.61M) reports Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson has "assembled a cast of witnesses" for a hearing on Tuesday who will "question much of the public health consensus about the virus. There is a prominent vaccine skeptic, an outspoken critic of masking and social distancing, and at least two doctors who have promoted the use of an anti-parasitic drug that government scientists have recommended against using to treat the coronavirus." The Times says that as Johnson has "embraced the role of the Senate's leading Covid contrarian," he has "set off something of a quiet mutiny on the panel, enraging Democrats who plan to essentially boycott the traditional cross-examination of witnesses and unsettling some Republicans who are planning to skip Tuesday's session lest their presence be seen as lending credence to the proceeding." IBM, Clear Rolling Out New Vaccine Apps. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, story 4, 1:50, Holt, 6.27M), Jo Ling Kent reported that with vaccines "on the horizon, new health apps are springing to life." According to Kent, "IBM and Clear, the tech company known for expediting security screenings at airports, are both creating new apps to take in real-time vaccination information. They could be used for admission to concerts and live sports." Kent added Ticketmaster "is exploring several options including a smartphone verification system for vaccination status and negative tests." Physicians Working To Boost COVID Vaccine Confidence Among African Americans. The Washington Post (12/7, Al, Fadulu, 14.2M) reports "Black people are nearly three times more likely than Whites to die of covid-19"; however, "fewer than half of Black Americans say they would get a coronavirus vaccine," compared with 63% of Latinos and 61% of white people, "according to a December report from the Pew Research Center." The Post adds, "Many Black people say they do not trust the medical establishment because of glaring inequities in modern- day care and historical examples of mistreatment." Such "deep-seated skepticism has led to a EFTA00148149 burst of confidence-building efforts across the country, some led by the nation's top Black doctors and scientists and funded by the U.S. government." US Sees Increase In Underage Migrants Testing Positive For Coronavirus. The Washington Post (12/7, Sacchetti, 14.2M) reports the number of unaccompanied migrant children who have been "testing positive for the coronavirus has jumped more than 35 percent in recent weeks as federal officials prepare for the possibility of a new immigration surge at the U.S.-Mexico border." The Post adds, "A total of 1,061 minors in U.S. immigration custody have tested positive since March, up from 781 cases in mid-November, according to federal records." However, the Post reports none of the minors "have been hospitalized, and most have recovered and have been released," according to an Office of Refugee Resettlement spokesman. Administration Officials Divided Over Wisdom Of California Lockdown. In the lead NBC Nightly NewsVi (12/7, lead story, 2:25, Holt, 6.35M) story, Miguel Almaguer reported that "with more businesses closed in California recording a record 34,000 infections in a single day, leading authorities are relaying mixed messages over the state's lockdown." NIAID Director Fauci: "When you have a challenge to the healthcare system, you have got to do something like that." Assistant HHS Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir: "I think we could be causing a lot more harm by causing overly restrictive recommendations." Giroir said on Fox News' America's Newsroom (12/7, 896K), "What really breaks my heart is that I don't know of any data that says you need to shut down outdoor dining or outdoor bars. We really wanted to limit the indoor crowded places. So, I think we need to do what's necessary to turn the pandemic but not more that's not evidence-based that is going to be counterproductive." Giroir added, "We do, if you are in a surge place, need to limit indoor dining and indoor bars. You don't have to close schools. You don't have to close universities. You don't have to close your major industries. You do need to wear a mask. That's critically important when you are in public and can't physically distance, very, very important." Surgeon General Adams said on Fox News' The Story (12/7), "We know that it is safe to keep schools open in general, when you take precautions. We know that outside is better than inside and that if you close down people's ability to congregate in an outdoor area, they are just going to run inside and the virus will spread. So, I think we need to be more intelligent, more strategic about some of these closures, and we are going to try to give states and health departments better advice. But to the people out there, I would say you still have to comply. You've still got to use common sense." While Politico (12/7, Yamamura, 4.29M) reports California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has "framed the state's stay-at-home order as necessary to ensure hospitals can handle an expected surge in hospitalizations in coming weeks," the AP (12/7, Gecker, Pedroncelli) reports that "outside California's big cities, especially in conservative areas, the backlash against tough new restrictions is growing, and some sheriffs say they won't enforce health orders." However, the New York Times (12/7, Fuller, Cowan, Tompkins, 18.61M) reports California "is averaging 21,000 new known cases a day, twice as many as the state was reporting at its worst point this summer and by far its highest levels of the pandemic." The Times says that for the state, "the overarching story throughout the pandemic has been of a state that by dint of its population has huge numbers of cases. On a per capita basis California has fewer cases than 40 other states, but its overall numbers are jarring: 1.3 million and counting." Bloomberg (12/7, 4.73M) says California "reported 24,735 new cases Monday, a day after shattering records with more than 30,000 daily infections." The Los Angeles Times (12/7, 4.64M) reports hospitals in the state are "contending with an unprecedented wave of more than 10,000 COVID-19 patients, and the state is on the brink of recording its 20,000th death from the illness." The San Francisco Chronicle (12/7, 2.67M) reports Newsom announced Monday that intensive care availability at hospitals across the state "has dropped to 14%," with 2,360 patients in intensive care. EFTA00148150 Meanwhile, Reuters (12/7, Dave) reports California on Monday 'announced an app to help people track their exposure to the coronavirus, becoming the biggest U.S. state to take advantage of new technology from smartphone software makers Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google." Reuters says the CA Notify App, which goes live on Thursday, "had been tested on state university campuses since September. The University of California San Diego will continue to oversee the system and staff a user support phone hotline." New York Orders Hospitals To Expand Capacity, May Slash Indoor Dining. The AP (12/7, Villeneuve) reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday ordered hospitals "to add 25% more beds to handle growing numbers of coronavirus patients, and...Cuomo warned he would curtail indoor dining if hospitalizations keep rising." The governor "said that the state isn't yet at a 'critical' level of COVID-19 hospitalizations, but that the continued growth is worrying." Cuomo also "said he'll shut down schools, nonessential businesses and all restaurant table service in regions that are on track to hit 90% of hospital capacity within three weeks, based on a seven-day average." CNBC (12/7, Feuer, 3.62M) reports on its website that Cuomo "said...the state could close indoor dining in New York City and slash capacity elsewhere across the state if current hospitalization trends continue." Reuters (12/7, Whitcomb, Caspani) also reports Cuomo "floated the possibility of a broad shut down of non-essential businesses across the state like one imposed in the spring if its hospitals become overwhelmed, though he said the current situation was not dire enough to warrant such a step." According to Politico (12/7, Eisenberg, 4.29M), "The new plan is based on hospitalization rates rather than infection rates and will take a regional approach to reducing Covid-19 cases. The aim is to avoid mass hospitalizations such as what the city saw this past spring, when it was the national epicenter of the pandemic, health care systems were overwhelmed and field hospitals popped up across the five boroughs." The New York Daily News (12/7, Goldiner, 2.52M) reports that during a news briefing with NIAID Director Fauci, Cuomo "warned that the state has no choice but to reimpose harsh restrictions as health systems are near capacity with COVID-19 rates relentlessly rising." However, the New York Times (12/7, Gold, 18.61M) reports restaurant owners "are warning that the industry, which employs thousands of low-income workers and is vital to the city's culture, risks even further collapse without some form of aid." New York City To Reopen Some Public Schools. The New York Times (12/7, Goodman, 18.61M) reports, "On Monday, New York City will reopen some of its public schools in the teeth of a worsening coronavirus outbreak." The decision "reflects changing public health thinking around the importance of keeping schools operating, particularly for young students, and the real-world experience of over two months of in-person classes in the city's school system, the nation's largest." However, "the whiplash many New York City students, parents and teachers felt - from a full shutdown before Thanksgiving to a partial reopening less than three weeks later - is not likely to abate as the fall turns to winter." On ABC World News TonightVi (12/7, story 5, 1:35, Muir, 7.46M), Rachel Scott reported "some" classrooms in the city are "open again under new guidelines, including random COVID testing every week." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (12/7, story 7, 1:50, O'Donnell, 4.74M), Janet Shamlian said the schools are reopening amid "a troubling trend. Remote learners struggling across the country." Shamlian added, "The educational slide experts say impacting minority, low income, and rural children profoundly. Widening gaps that existed before the pandemic." Pritzker Says Illinois Facing "Most Crucial Month Of This Entire Pandemic." The Chicago Tribune (12/7, Munks, 2.65M) reports Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said Monday that December could be "the most crucial month of this entire pandemic," as while the state has "recently seen a slight decrease in the hospitalization rate for COVID-19, patients it's still 14% higher than the spring peak during the initial surge of the pandemic." Pritzker warned, "It's EFTA00148151 likely too early for us to have yet seen the bulk of Thanksgiving-related hospitalizations. We're now in our 11th day since Thanksgiving and we are four days out from Hanukkah and 18 days from Christmas, 19 days from Kwanzaa, 24 from New Year's Eve." He added, "These next four weeks may be the most crucial month of this entire pandemic. We quite literally have very limited leeway in our hospital systems to manage another surge." DeWine To Extend Ohio Curfew. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (12/7, 895K) reports Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on Monday "said he will extend the overnight curfew, which will expire Thursday after three weeks," but "it remains to be seen whether more action will be taken to stem the spread of the coronavirus." However, the Plain Dealer adds Ohio Department of Health Medical Director Bruce Vanderhoff "appears to advocate more restrictions." Whitmer Extends Michigan's COVID Restrictions For Another 12 Days. The Detroit Free Press (12/7, Boucher, Shamus, 1.52M) reports Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Monday announced "restrictions on indoor dining and in-person classes will remain in effect for 12 more days followed by a 'cautious re-engagement." The Free Press adds the announcement "was met with fierce criticism from businesses and Republicans, but Whitmer and health officials said the move had to be made to save lives. The rules went into effect Nov. 18 and were due to expire at the end of the day Tuesday." According to the Free Press, "Michigan surpassed 400,000 confirmed coronavirus cases Monday, and the state's COVID-19 death toll is approaching 10,000." Nevada Hospitalizations Up 230% Over Past Month. The AP (12/7, Price) says the Nevada Hospital Association on Monday "reported hospitalized coronavirus patients increased more than 230% from Nov. 6 to Dec. 6," with 1,617 patients currently hospitalized statewide. The AP adds hospital officials "reported that the number of patients needing ventilators grew 250% from early November." Meanwhile, Fox News (12/7, Farber, 27.59M) reports on its website that Nevada "shattered the record for the highest number of newly confirmed cases" over the weekend, when it "recorded nearly 3,200 new cases of COVID" on Saturday, "the highest amount of newly confirmed cases recorded in the state in a single day, per official estimates." Staffing Shortages Especially Afflicting Rural Hospitals. The AP (12/7, Hollingsworth) highlights how a staffing shortage at Rush County Memorial Hospital in La Crosse, Kansas, "illustrates the depths of the COVID-19 crisis in rural America at a time when the virus is killing more than 2,000 people a day and inundating hospitals." The AP adds the pandemic is "sidelining nurses, doctors and medical staff nationwide, but the problem is particularly dire in rural communities like La Crosse because they don't have much of a bullpen — or many places to send patients with regional hospitals full." Florida State Police Raid Home Of Data Scientist Behind COVID Dashboard. The Tallahassee (FL) Democrat (12/7, Schweers, 180K) reports Florida state police "brandishing firearms Monday raided the Tallahassee home of Rebekah Jones, the former Department of Health data scientist who built the state's much-praised COVID-19 dashboard before being fired over what she said was refusing to 'manipulate data:" The Democrat adds Jones "said the agents knocked on her door around 8:30 a.m. that morning, took all her 'hardware and tech' after showing her a warrant based on a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health." The South Florida Sun Sentinel (12/7, Swisher, Goodman, Ariza, 545K) reports that since she was fired, Jones "has become an outspoken and vocal critic of the DeSantis administration's coronavirus response, regularly taking to social media and prime-time cable television." EFTA00148152 South Dakota's Noem Lauds Her Response To Coronavirus. In a Wall Street Journal (12/7, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) op-ed, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) argues that compared to other governors, her approach to the coronavirus is better because she is not imposing lockdowns or mask mandates. Liability Protections, State And Local Aid Stall COVID Relief Negotiations. The Wall Street Journal (12/7, Peterson, Duehren, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says a growing bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers has been working out the details of a $908 billion COVID relief bill announced last week. Over the weekend, they came to agreement on a number of points, but they remain stalled on providing liability protections to businesses, which has been a priority for Republicans, and Democrats' demands for funding for state and local governments. The AP (12/7) says it is "clear that [Senate Majority Leader] McConnell's Republican majority is demanding the liability protection in exchange for the Democrats' push for additional money for states and cities battling the COVID-19 crisis." But Reuters (12/7, Cornwell) reports McConnell, who favors a "targeted" measure, "said lawmakers agree on three points — extending unemployment benefits, helping small businesses and funding vaccines." Speaking on the senate floor, McConnell said lawmakers should "make law in the many places where we have common ground" and give up other demands. The New York Post (12/7, Nelson, 4.57M) reports McConnell "said he expects there to be a stop-gap one- week government funding bill that passes before Friday - pushing off for at least another week any potential COVID-19 relief His remarks appear to dash a Senate Republican colleague's prediction that McConnell would get behind a $908 billion bipartisan proposal that President Trump reportedly indicated he would sign." Roll Call (12/7, McPherson, Lerman, 154K) reports NEC Director Kudlow told a Washington Post Live event, "I believe it is likely [the President) will" sign a version of the bipartisan package, but, "It depends importantly on some of the policy details inside." Hawley Urges Trump To Veto Stimulus Bill Lacking Direct Payments. Politico (12/7, Everett, 4.29M) reports that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is "not happy that the leading coronavirus proposals lack another round of direct payments...and he's taking his case straight to" Trump. According to Po