EFTA01658773

From: To: Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, November 12, 2020 Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 11:29:01 +0000 c Importan e: Normal From: Bulletin Intelligence Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 6:28:18 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) To: FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, November 12, 2020 Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. iFBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 6:30 AM EST TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • In Senate Judiciary Hearing, McCabe Defends FBI's Investigation Of Trump Campaign. OPERATION LEGEND • New Mexico To Receive $500K Crime-Fighting Grant. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Woman Who Joined Islamic State Is Sentenced To More Than Six Years In Prison. • Final Missouri Defendant In Terror Funding Case Sentenced To Four Years In Prison. • Senate To Review Airport Security Bill November 18. • Austrian Chancellor's Cabinet Agrees On New Anti-Terror Measures. • Attack Targets French And Other Western Diplomats In Saudi Arabia. • Islamic State Increases Attacks In Mozambique. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Facebook Takes Down Pages Tied To Steve Bannon For Spreading Misinformation. • Texas Lt. Gov. Offering $1M For Evidence Of Voter Fraud. • Current, Former DO) Officials Stunned By AG Barr's Memo About Voter Fraud. • Internet Rife With Misinformation, Searches For Evidence Of Voter Fraud. • State Officials, Election Experts Say Election Was Run Smoothly. • Postal Worker Admits He Fabricated Claims Of Voter Irregularities. EFTA01658773 • Social Media Companies Took More Aggressive Approach To Public Discourse During Election. • House Democrats Direct Trump Administration To Preserve Investigation-Related Records. • ODNI Says It Will Transition To President-Elect After Ascertainment. • Chinese-Canadians Advocate For Hotline To Report Intimidation By Beijing. • NGA Official Among Federal Employees Making Career Transitions. • Vatican Report Reveals Cardinal Was Targeted By KGB As Asset. • Russia Says Now Deceased Spy Stole From White House, NATO For 32 Years. • Former Marine Imprisoned In Russian Prison Camp Interviewed By ABC. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • FBI Arrests New York Man Who Allegedly Threatened Schumer, FBI. • Federal Prosecutors Fear Whitmer Kidnap Plotters Could Target Informants. • White Supremacist Group Distributes Recruitment Flyers In Texas. • Man Arrested For Pointing Laser At Police Helicopter. • Air Force Charges Major General With Sexual Assault. • Three Virginia MS-13 Gang Members Charged With Violent Crimes. • FBI Searches Colorado Home In Probe Of Missing Teen. • Former California Police Officer Agrees To Plead Guilty To Illegal Gun Purchases. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On Ohio Shooting Death. • US Charges Mississippi Man With Making Threats Online. • Nebraska Man Sentenced For Sending Threats To Ex-Wife, Her Mother In Cuba. • Investigation Of Conspiracy To Rob Drug Dealers Leads To Guilty Plea For Ohio Man. • FBI Searching For Suspect In Colorado Bank Robberies. • Michigan Man Facing Murder Charge. • Authorities Uncover Illegal Marijuana Growing Operation In California. • Arizona Navajo Nation Police Involved In Fatal Shooting. • Tennessee Air National Guard Member Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of Minor. • FBI Investigating 2019 Murder In New York State. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On 2017 Disappearance Of New York Woman. • Colorado Police Arrest Utah Woman For Kidnapping Baby. • Serial Bank Robber Arrested In Utah. • Kansas Man Pleads Guilty To Robbing Bank. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • FBI Arrests Cincinnati Councilman On Bribery Charges. • More Charges Expected Against Chicago Political Operative In Bribery Probe. • FBI Searches Home Of Corpus Christi, Texas Schools Official. • Former Honda Employee Sentenced For Embezzlement. • US Charges Five In Alleged Texas Bank Fraud Scheme. • Texas Man Sentenced For Defrauding Investors. • Former Georgia Tax Official Sentenced For Blackmail, Bribery. • Former Louisiana Financial Adviser Sentenced For Role In Fraud Scheme. • Texas AG Faces Calls For Resignation Amid New Allegations. CYBER DIVISION • FBI, Spokane Police Probing Gonzaga University "Zoom-Bombing." • Dark Web Illegal Markets Exploiting Pandemic To Sell Goods, Identities, Fake Drugs. • TikTok's Parent Seeks More Time To Work Out Divestiture. • Bipartisan Congressional Allies Push To Reinstall White House Cyber Czar. LABORATORY EFTA01658774 • FBI, Kansas City, Missouri Police Identify Suspect In 31-Year-Old Cold Case Murder. OTHER FBI NEWS • Biden's Justice Department Expected To Ramp Up White-Collar Probes. • Plaintiffs In Epstein Case Miss Deadlines For Keeping Testimony Secret. • Sen. Whitehouse Criticizes FBI For Lack Of Transparency In Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Probe. • Ailing New York Mobster Wins Compassionate Release From Prison. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Media Analyses Cast Trump Legal Fight As Unlikely To Succeed. • Fauci Discusses Challenge Of Working Within Trump Administration. • Adams Urges Mask Use, Continued Caution In South Dakota Visit. • White House Political Director Tests Positive For COVID. • Moderna's Vaccine Trial Ready To Analyze Shot's Effectiveness. • FDA Grants Emergency Approval To Eli Lilly Antibody Treatment. • COVID Cases Rise In Every State As New Daily Infections Hit New Record. • Cuomo Orders 10PM Closure Of Restaurants, Bars, And Gyms Statewide. • DeWine Warns Of New Restrictions If Ohio COVID Cases Continue To Rise. • Latest CDC Guidelines Say Masks Protect Wearers From Infection. • CDC Recommends Precautions For Thanksgiving Gatherings. • Study Of Marine Recruits Finds Symptom, Fever Screening Missed Most COVID Cases. • Veterans Receive Thousands Of Cards Amid Pandemic Isolation. • Hopes For Stimulus Deal This Year Are Diminishing. • Expiration Of Emergency Federal Jobless Aid Looms. • Media Analyses: Supreme Court Appears Likely To Uphold ACA Without Individual Mandate. • Tech Firms Involved In Suit Against Google Seek To Extend Protective Order Deadline. • Eta Expected To Make Landfall In Western Florida On Thursday. • Trump Installing "Loyalists" As Senior Defense Officials. • Fighting Among Republicans Come To Light Over CIA's Haspel. • Official Who Questions Harm Of Global Warming To Run Climate Program. • New Yorker Fires Toobin. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Developers Say Russian Vaccine Is 92% Effective. • Brazil's Health Agency Authorizes Resumption Of Vaccine Clinical Trials. • India Working To Develop COVID Vaccines For Developing World. • EC Proposes "European Health Union." • UK Becomes Fifth Country To Record More Than 50K COVID Deaths. • NYTimes Analysis: Egyptian President's Military Priority Brought To Light By Coronavirus. • Iran's Uranium Stockpile Now 12 Times Nuclear Deal Maximum. • Saudi King Calls For "Decisive Stance" Against Iran. • Senate-Passed Legislation Will Allow Cashe To Receive Medal Of Honor. • Axios Analysis: Pentagon Signals Intention To Withdraw Forces From Afghanistan. • US Embassy In Pakistan Apologizes For Anti-Trump Retweet. • O'Brien Warns China Of New Sanctions Over Hong Kong. • Pompeo To Announce Process For US To Declare Groups Anti-Semitic. • CIA, German Intelligence Used Swiss Company As Platform For Espionage Operation. • US Defense Bill Includes Sanctions Tied To Russia-Germany Natural Gas Pipeline. • Turkish Government: US Statement On Religious Freedom "Extremely Inappropriate." EFTA01658775 • Armenian Parliament Fails To Hold Scheduled Debate On PM's Resignation Over Nagorno-Karabakh Deal. • UN Officials Warn Of Coming Famine In Yemen. • Sudan Anticipates As Many As 200K Refugees From Ethiopia Conflict. • Vizcarra's Removal Could Halt Peru's Anti-Corruption Drive. • Suu Kyi's Party Dominates In Burmese Elections. • Longtime Bahrain PM Dies. • Top Envoy Signals EU Is Looking Forward To Working With A Biden Administration. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS In Senate Judiciary Hearing, McCabe Defends FBI's Investigation Of Trump Campaign. The New York Times (11/10, Goldman, 18.61M) reports during a "contentious" hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Republicans "rehashed unproven allegations of corruption and bias at the F.B.I." and "attack[ed] the bureau's former acting director Andrew G. McCabe." The hearing "was a recounting of perceived injustices that the president and his supporters have amplified over the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's ties to Russia." McCabe "repeatedly rejected Republican claims that the F.B.I.'s actions were politically motivated." He said in his opening statement, "Let me be very clear: We didn't open a case because we liked one candidate or didn't like the other one. ... We didn't open a case because we intended to stage a coup or overthrow the government." The Times adds that McCabe "acknowledged serious F.B.I. mistakes in the [Carter) Page wiretap applications, one of which he signed. He said he would not have approved it knowing what he has learned since." The Washington Post (11/10, Zapotosky, 14.2M) says McCabe "reiterated...that the bureau had reason to believe in early 2017 that President Trump himself was a threat to national security, forcefully defending the bureau's investigation of the commander-in-chief and his presidential campaign as Republicans...sought to highlight mistakes he and others made." McCabe said, "It became pretty clear to us that he did not want us to continue investigating what the Russians had done. ... We had many reasons at that point to believe that the president might himself pose a danger to national security and that he might have engaged in obstruction of justice, if the firing of the director and those other things were geared toward eliminating or stopping our investigation of Russian activity." USA Today (11/10, Johnson, 10.31M) reports, "McCabe said investigators had reason to think that Trump 'posed a danger to national security." Investigators had become "'alarmed' at Trump's multiple interactions with then-Director James Comey, urging the FBI to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with a Russian ambassador." Then, when "Trump later fired Comey, citing his management of the Russia investigation, authorities feared the president was actively seeking to obstruct the inquiry." The AP (11/10, Tucker, Jalonick) reports, "President Donald Trump may have lost his bid for reelection, but that hasn't stopped Senate Republicans from pressing forward with their politically charged probe of the FBI's Russia investigation." Republicans have not lost the "determination to continue congressional investigations that have been cheered on by Trump, who tweeted an attack on McCabe just minutes after the hearing began." For Congressional Republicans, "the Russia probe and similar political inquiries in line with Trump's interests give them continued lines of attack if they keep control of the Senate with Democrat Joe Biden in the White House." The Hill (11/10, Williams, 2.98M) reports that Trump allies "have long said EFTA01658776 that the Russia investigation was politically motivated and was used a chance to spy on the Trump campaign and his presidency." However, an "inspector general found that there was not political bias in launching the probe, but was critical of the FBI seeking surveillance of Page." The Washington Times (11/10, Mordock, 492K) reports that Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R- TN) said, "You all had a culture of corruption and cover up. This is a sad state of affairs and I'm pleased you are no longer part of the FBI." Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said, "General Flynn has been prosecuted for lying to the FBI. You lied to the FBI and you aren't being prosecuted." McCabe responded, "I was fired as the result of a deeply flawed and unfair IG investigation." Fox News (11/10, Blitzer, 27.59M) reports that some lawmakers brought up "information that Hillary Clinton may have approved a plan to use allegations of Trump connections with Russia to distract from the investigation of her use of a private email system while in office as secretary of state." Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) "said it is not the business of the FBI to investigate campaign activities, just as the FBI did not look into President Trump's request to have Ukraine investigate Joe Biden." McCabe "defended the FBI employees by stating that he believes the information in the FISA package `reflects how they thought about the interview at the time; but that `they didn't think about it critically enough." Additional reporting and commentary is provided by the Washington Post (11/10, 14.2M), the New York Times (11/10, Goldman, 18.61M), the New York Post (11/10, Bowden, 4.57M), the Daily Caller (11/10, Ross, 716K), the Washington Times (11/10, Mordock, 492K), Courthouse News (11/10, Jones, 2K), and Fox News (1 and 2). OPERATION LEGEND New Mexico To Receive $500K Crime-Fighting Grant. The Albuquerque (NM) Journal (11/11, 196K) reports, "The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded $500,000 to New Mexico to fight and prevent violent crime in Bernalillo County, U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson announced last week. `This funding helps to ensure that our efforts are sustainable over the long term; Anderson said in a statement." The grant "is designed to assist continuing efforts of Operation Legend. Operation Legend, a coordinated initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work with state and local law enforcement agencies, according to a news release. This most recent grant is part of more than $458 million in funding to support state, local and tribal law enforcement efforts in jurisdictions across the country." COUNTER-TERRORISM Woman Who Joined Islamic State Is Sentenced To More Than Six Years In Prison. Voice of America (11/10, Seldin, 48K) reports, "The lone woman brought back to the United States and charged with supporting the Islamic State terror group will spend the next six and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release." A federal judge "handed down the sentence Monday for 35-year-old Samantha ElHassani, more than five years after she took her children to join her husband and his brother in Syria. Ell-lassani, originally from Elkhart, Indiana, was eventually captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and was repatriated along with her four children in July 2018. She pleaded guilty to terrorism financing charges last year. `Today's sentence serves as a strong reminder that the FBI will never relent in ensuring those who abandon their country to support a violent terrorist organization, such as Ms. ElHassan' did, will be held accountable; FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said in a statement." Final Missouri Defendant In Terror Funding Case Sentenced To Four Years In Prison. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/10, Patrick, 685K) reports, "A St. Louis County woman was sentenced Tuesday to four years in federal prison for helping supply money and equipment to a EFTA01658777 man who fought and died in Syria for the Islamic State." Sedina Hodzic "also will be deported back to Bosnia when she is released from prison." Hodzic "was one of five defendants from the St. Louis area and elsewhere indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in 2015. All have pleaded guilty and admitted helping Ramiz Hodzic, Sedina Hodzic's husband, send money, military uniforms, rifle scopes and other equipment to Abdullah Ramo Pazara and others overseas." Pazara, "who originally is from Bosnia like his co-defendants, lived in St. Louis County, became a U.S. citizen and then left in 2013 for Syria, where he rose to become an ISIS commander." KSDK-TV St. Louis (11/11, Cole, 493K) reports, "According to court documents, from May 2013 to Feb. 5, 2015, Sedina Hodzic and her husband Ramiz Zijad Hodzic conspired with others to support the activities of Abdullah Ramo Pazara and others, including a conspiracy to commit outside the United States an act that would constitute the offense of murder or maiming if committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Ramiz and Sedina Hodzic intended to and did provide support and resources to Pazara, according to court documents." KSDK-TV adds, "The support consisted of money, which was used by her co- conspirators to purchase supplies such as military uniforms, rifle scopes, combat boots, tactical gear, clothing, firearms accessories, range finders and other supplies useful to fighters engaged in combat in Syria and elsewhere." Senate To Review Airport Security Bill November 18. Bloomberg Government (11/10, Courtney) reports that on November 18, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will take up measure 5.3730, which would "allow private Registered Traveler program companies to assume authority from TSA to screen airport passengers' identities." CLEAR is currently the sole participant in the TSA's Registered Traveler screening program. TSA Administrator David Pekoske wrote in a May letter to the Senate Commerce Committee that CLEAR's expanded role under the measure from allowing line-skipping to an airport vetting service was "a bridge too far." Austrian Chancellor's Cabinet Agrees On New Anti-Terror Measures. The AP (11/11) reports, "Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's Cabinet on Wednesday agreed on a wide range of anti-terrorism measures meant to plug perceived security flaws identified after a deadly attack" last week. New measures include keeping "individuals convicted of terror offenses behind bars for life, [the] electronic surveillance of people convicted of terror-related offenses upon release and criminalizing religiously motivated political extremism." The measures "will be brought before parliament in December for a vote." They "take a two- pronged approach, targeting both terror suspects and also the ideology that drives them." The New York Times (11/11, Eddy, 18.61M) reports that Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced new proposals that "would allow courts to extend the sentences of convicted terrorists and...establish a new criminal offense for people who `create the breeding ground' for terrorism" the week after "an Islamic State sympathizer killed four people in Vienna." The package comes "a day after [Kurz] held talks with President Emmanuel Macron of France and other European Union leaders to coordinate efforts across the bloc to crack down on Islamist terrorism," and is expected to be "put before Parliament for approval before the end of the year." Attack Targets French And Other Western Diplomats In Saudi Arabia. The New York Times (11/11, M4heut, 18.61M) reports that on Wednesday, "an explosion wounded at least three people...in an attack on a ceremony organized by the French consulate to commemorate the end of World War I in a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia." An IED "struck the ceremony, attended by representatives of France, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, the French embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a statement." According to the Times, "The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions between France EFTA01658778 and a number of Muslim countries, after the republication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo." The Washington Post (11/11, McAuley, Fahim, 14.2M) says while "details of the incident remain unclear, it follows a knife attack on a security guard at the French Consulate in Jiddah late last month after France doubled down on defending caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, a stance that triggered protests and boycotts across the Muslim world." Islamic State Increases Attacks In Mozambique. The New York Times (11/11, Walsh, 18.61M) reports that Islamic State militants "armed with machetes" attacked 24 de Marco, a village in northern Mozambique, and "beheaded as many as 20 boys and men" in early November. The "atrocity...was just one episode in a brutal conflict unfolding" in the region as the insurgents have stepped up territory seizures, including the capture of the port of Mocimboa de Praia in August, and "brutal attacks on civilians that often involve beheadings." The success of the campaign "is also a sign of a worrisome trend" as the group's "influence wanes in the Middle East" and surges "in pockets of Africa" beyond Mozambique's borders. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Facebook Takes Down Pages Tied To Steve Bannon For Spreading Misinformation. The Washington Examiner (11/10, Brest, 448K) reports, "Facebook took down a handful of pages tied to Steve Bannon because they were spreading misinformation about the election." The pages taken down "had accrued more than 2.4 million followers and pushed the 'Stop the steal' motto, which promotes unverified claims of mass voter fraud." A Facebook spokesperson said, "We've removed several clusters of activity for using inauthentic behavior tactics to artificially boost how many people saw their content." Bannon also was suspended from Twitter recently "after he said he'd like to see Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray beheaded during an episode of the podcast War Room: Pandemic." The Hill (11/10, Klar, 2.98M) also reports. Texas Lt. Gov. Offering $1M For Evidence Of Voter Fraud. The Hill (11/11, Williams, 2.98M) reports that Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is "offering up to $1 million from his campaign for anyone to come forward with evidence from anywhere in the country." Patrick wants to "incentivize, encourage and reward people to come forward and report voter fraud," he said. He added in a statement, "I support President Trump's efforts to identify voter fraud in the presidential election and his commitment to making sure that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is disqualified." Current, Former DO) Officials Stunned By AG Barr's Memo About Voter Fraud. The Washington Post (11/10, Barrett, Zapotosky, 14.2M) reports that current and former DOJ officials "said Tuesday they were stunned and frustrated" by AG Barr's "move to loosen internal restrictions on how and when federal prosecutors investigate certain election-fraud cases before the results are certified." When Barr first proposed the move, "Criminal Division officials - including political leadership - had pushed back vigorously and thought they had dissuaded the attorney general from taking such a step." Richard Pilger, DOJ's head of the department's election crimes branch, "told colleagues he was stepping down from that job to a lesser position at the department, citing the new guidance, as others privately seethed." DOJ officials have "said they were unaware of any such cases amid the myriad allegations raised by the Trump campaign and the president's supporters." Opinion: Barr's Approach To Investigating Voter Fraud A "Terrible Idea." David Iglesias, former US Attorney for the District of New Mexico, writes in the Washington Post EFTA01658779 (11/11, 14.2M) that AG Barr's letter opening the door "for federal prosecutors to launch criminal probes of election fraud" is a "terrible idea." The author says voter fraud "is a serious violation," but his office "had not prosecuted any voter fraud cases in over 10 years; that prosecution involved only two individuals." After Iglesias worked with DOJ's Public Integrity Section's Election Crimes, he "did not have a single case" he could "prove beyond a reasonable doubt." Under DOJ policy, "federal prosecutors...wait until the election had been concluded and certified to file voter fraud cases," because, "even assuming voter fraud exists, its minuscule numbers would not affect the outcome of the election." Internet Rife With Misinformation, Searches For Evidence Of Voter Fraud. USA Today (11/11, Nerbovig, 10.31M) reports, "Armchair internet sleuths, amplified by Donald Trump Jr. and the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, are trying to prove dead people voted in the 2020 election" by posting lists of voters who are at least 100 years old. Of the 14,000 registered voters whose names were posted on Pastebin, "some haven't been recorded as having cast a ballot, and at least one woman is alive." Michigan Secretary of State spokesperson Tracy Wimmer said, "Lists of unknown origin circulating on various social media channels do not constitute credible evidence." The Bipartisan Policy Center's director of the Elections Project, Matthew Weil, said, "The fact that there are internet sleuths looking into this, I don't understand what data they're going to use to begin with, but I know states go to a lot of effort to make sure their elections have integrity." NBC News (11/11, Zadrozny, 6.14M) reports that for Trump supporters searching for it, "proof of the president's claims that the 2020 election was `stolen' is everywhere." For instance, in one video, a Colorado man "claiming to be a poll worker, dressed in a yellow vest, rips up Trump ballots (it was a TikTok prank)." Other evidence "of a so-called Democratic plot could be found in the numbers." Meanwhile, "no evidence of significant, widespread or even small-time voter fraud has been found." Still, the "years of groundwork laid by Trump and his supporters have blossomed into a flood of misleading - and importantly, fractured — claims of a rigged election." University of Washington postdoctoral fellow Joe Bak-Coleman said, "Instead of evidence, we're assaulted with a plethora of claims seeking to undermine faith in the election, ranging from confusing to clearly fabricated. ... Individually, none of these claims could stand up to a moment's scrutiny, but collectively they're deafening, urging the average citizen to give up and accept the ambiguity." State Officials, Election Experts Say Election Was Run Smoothly. NBC News (11/11, 6.14M) reports, "The 2020 election unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities, according to state officials and election experts." The increase "in advance voting — 107 million people voting early in person and by mail - helped take pressure off Election Day operations." Ben Hovland, who serves on the Election Assistance Commission, said, "The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remarkable considering all the challenges." University of Iowa computer scientist Doug Jones said, "The practical consequence of Trump's call to vigilance to prevent fraud was increased scrutiny from both sides, and this increased scrutiny seems to have worked. ... Election officials have been more careful, and election procedures have been followed more scrupulously than usual." Postal Worker Admits He Fabricated Claims Of Voter Irregularities. The Washington Post (11/10, Boburg, Bogage, 14.2M) reports, "A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted" to USPS investigators "that he fabricated the allegations." The man's claim "that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a letter to DOJ "calling for a federal investigation." AG Barr "subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into EFTA01658780 credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy." However, the man told USPS investigators "that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims." Social Media Companies Took More Aggressive Approach To Public Discourse During Election. The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Glazer, Schechner, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter took a more aggressive stance toward policing political discourse during the 2020 election season. Now, it is unclear whether they will continue with that approach, and whether they should. Twitter's fact-checking labels are a sharp turn from the platform's approach to discourse four years ago. Facebook, like Twitter, has labeled President Trump's tweets, and has dismantled groups spreading misinformation because it "saw worrying calls for violence from some members." House Democrats Direct Trump Administration To Preserve Investigation-Related Records. NBC News (11/10, Shabad, Smith, 6.14M) reports that as President-elect Joe Biden outlines "more details of his transition plan," Democrats in the House "sent letters Tuesday to the White House and federal agencies directing them to preserve documents related to congressional subpoenas and investigations." Committee chairs wrote, "You are obligated to ensure that any information previously requested by Congress - and any other information that is required by law to be preserved - is saved and appropriately archived in a manner that is easily retrievable." The request involves "official business that were sent using both official and personal accounts or devices, including communications through text messaging, phone-based message applications, or encryption software," according to a press release. Analyses: Intelligence Officials Battle Trump's Declassification Efforts. In his column for The Washington Post (11/11, 14.2M), David Ignatius writes that "President Trump's senior military and intelligence officials have been warning him strongly against declassifying information about Russia that his advisers say would compromise sensitive collection methods and anger key allies." According to a senior congressional source, CIA Director Gina Haspel "last month argued strongly...against disclosing the information," as has Cyber Command Commander and NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone. The source "said a bipartisan group" of senators, National Security Advisor O'Brien, Chief of Staff Meadows, Senate Majority Leader McConnell, and AG Barr have shown support for Haspel, "though some fear that Trump may yet oust her," as former Defense Secretary Esper's support for Nakasone "may have played a role in Trump's surprise decision" to fire him. CNN (11/11, Cohen, Gangel, Perez, 83.16M) reports that concerns over declassification "roared back this week in the wake of a flurry of personnel changes at the National Security Agency - and the Pentagon - as Trump installed political loyalists in key positions where they could help turn the tide in the behind-the-the scenes battle." CIA and NSA "career officials have strenuously objected to releasing certain information from the Russia interference assessment, arguing that it would seriously damage sources and methods," and citing "concerns about cherry-picking information to release and the politicization of their work." Furthermore, "current and former officials have maintained that if there were something revelatory in the documents that remain classified, it would have been included in either the unclassified House or Senate reports." Senate Republicans Prepare For More Post-Trump Investigations. CNN (11/10, Herb, 83.16M) reports that a "Republican-led Senate is poised to keep its investigative gaze on the FBI's handling of the 2016 election and Russia next year, and GOP senators are already discussing probes into the 2020 election, too." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) "said Monday that Senate Republicans should probe mail-in voting in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed would be ripe with fraud for months leading up Election Day." Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) EFTA01658781 "said Monday that he expects his investigation into the FBI's Russia probe, Crossfire Hurricane, would move with him." Johnson has also "said that he would also consider investigating claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election." ODNI Says It Will Transition To President-Elect After Ascertainment. NBC News (11/10, Dilanian, Memoli, 6.14M) reports, "The Trump administration's unwillingness to acknowledge that former Vice President Joe Biden won the election has led to an unusual restriction on the flow of national security information to the president-elect." In a statement, ODNI "said it will not interface with the Biden transition" until GSA "decides it's clear who won, a process known as `ascertainment:" The statement said, "ODNI follows the statutory direction provided in the Presidential Transition Act, which requires ascertainment of the candidate by the administrator of GSA prior to supporting a potential presidential transition," adding the agency "would not have contact with any transition team until notified by the GSA administrator." The State Department "is not facilitating calls between Biden and foreign leaders." Chinese-Canadians Advocate For Hotline To Report Intimidation By Beijing. The Globe and Mail (CAN) (11/11, 1.04M) reports, "Chinese-Canadian groups are urging the federal government to set up a dedicated national hotline where they can report intimidation or harassment by agents of the Chinese government." According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, "Beijing is routinely using undercover state security officials and 'trusted agents,' or proxies, to target members of Canada's Chinese community." The government wants to "silence critics of President Xi Jinping and often includes threats of retribution against families back in China, CSIS said." The Globe and Mail (CAN) (11/10, 1.04M) reports that CSIS "says Beijing routinely uses undercover state security officials and 'trusted agents,' or proxies, to target members of Canada's Chinese community in an effort to silence critics of President Xi Jinping, including threats of retribution against their families back in China." The agency "says these illegal activities in Canada are part of a global campaign of intimidation that constitutes a threat to this country's sovereignty and the safety of Canadians." A high-profile effort, called Operation Fox Hunt, is "directed by Beijing's Ministry of Public Security" and "has been under way since 2014." FBI Director Wray "said in July that Operation Fox Hunt's principal aim now is to suppress dissent among the Chinese diaspora. He called Fox Hunt nothing more than a sweeping bid by Mr. Xi to 'target Chinese nationals who he sees as threats and who live outside China, around the world.' NGA Official Among Federal Employees Making Career Transitions. With an "expected huge turnover in political appointees in January," Federal News Network (11/10, Miller, 220) highlights "some of the people on the move over the last few weeks across the federal community." The NGA's Chief Technology Officer, Mark Munsell, retired on November 9. Munsell "joined NGA's predecessor agency, the Defense Mapping Agency, in 1996, where he led the update of the agency's aeronautical production systems." Vatican Report Reveals Cardinal Was Targeted By KGB As Asset. NJ News (11/10, Sherman, 1.72M) reports, "long before he was made a cardinal, Theodore McCarrick was targeted by the Soviet Union as a possible intelligence asset, according to the long-awaited Vatican report released Tuesday." The report "offered unprecedented detail into the life and long-hidden allegations of sexual abuse by the now defrocked 90-year-old." However, investigators also "recounted one of the more bizarre episodes unrelated to the scandal that led to his downfall." McCarrick's rise in the church "attracted the attention of the KGB," which "led to an encounter with the Soviet Union's intelligence service." The report said the FBI "asked him to serve as a counterintelligence asset with respect to the activities of the KGB." EFTA01658782 Russia Says Now Deceased Spy Stole From White House, NATO For 32 Years. The New York Post (11/10, Moore, 4.57M) reports that the Kremlin is claiming Yuri Shevchenko "posed as an artist and stole secrets from the White House, FBI, CIA and NATO during a 32- year career that earned him the designation of 'Hero of Russia." The spy's life "as an undercover operative in Europe and the United States between 1969 and 2001, a period that included the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union." The Kremlin "announced his death at the age of 82 last Friday," and revealed details of his life. The spy "pilfered about 300 volumes of top- secret information from NATO," and was "assigned to control espionage operations in the West, involving presidential administrations, the CIA, FBI, State Department and NATO headquarters." Former Marine Imprisoned In Russian Prison Camp Interviewed By ABC. Former US Marine Paul Whelan spoke with ABC News (11/11, Reevell, 2.97M) "from prison, where he's serving a 16-year sentence on charges his family and U.S. officials say were fabricated in order to seize him as a political hostage." The interview is the "first time he's spoken extensively to a journalist since his arrest in Moscow in late December 2018." The former Marine "was detained and accused of espionage," and now "lives in a barracks at Correctional Colony-17, a crumbling former Gulag camp, originally built to hold prisoners during World War II." He said his cell mates know "that it's complete crap, and they laugh and say, 'Well, yeah, this is what the FSB does. It's obviously political." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS FBI Arrests New York Man Who Allegedly Threatened Schumer, FBI. The CBS Evening NewsVI (11/10, story 4, 0:25, O'Donnell, 4.41M) reported 54-year-old Brian Maiorana was arrested Tuesday "in Staten Island New York, after allegedly posting extremist threats on social media. ... Maiorana is accused of threatening to throw pipe bombs at people celebrating Joe Biden's victory and blowing up the FBI building. Maiorana is charged with sending interstate threats. Investigators found a semiautomatic gun and ammunition at his home, and now he is in custody." The New York Times (11/10, Feuer, 18.61M) reports that on Sunday, Maiorana "took to social media" in a post "citing the anti-government novel 'The Turner Diaries," in which he threatened to "'blow up' an FBI building and made an anti-Semitic reference to 'the Jew Senator from Jew York,' a veiled threat apparently directed at" Senate Minority Leader Schumer. The Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Maiorana "in an early morning raid Tuesday...at his house in Staten Island," and he was later charged "with making threatening interstate communications." The AP (11/10) reports, "Maiorana was ordered held without bail on Tuesday at a remote hearing in federal court in Brooklyn. Prosecutors told a judge the agents found a firearm in his Staten Island home that violated previous restrictions imposed on him as a registered sex offender. 'Americans have a constitutional right to voice their opinions, but this office will not tolerate violence or threats of violence used to intimidate others with whom they disagree,' said acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement." USA Today (11/11, Miller, 10.31M) reports that Maiorana "allegedly posted threats on social media before and after the election calling for violence, made anti-Semitic threats toward" Schumer "and called to 'blow up the FBI building for real.' 'Mr. Maiorana's online posts called for violence against our entire community — protestors, politicians, and law enforcement officers alike. His alleged threats are disturbing and far outside of acceptable norms, but they also violated federal law,' FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said in a statement." The Hill (11/10, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports, "Prosecutors said Maiorana had made threatening comments online since September, saying he would kill protesters, lawmakers and EFTA01658783 law enforcement officials, though they did not specify which social media platform he used. Among the posts was a call for people to 'hit the streets while these scumbags are celebrating and start blowing them away,' referring to those cheering Biden's victory, and suggestions that the election had been 'fraudulently stolen' from President Trump. In an earlier post, Maiorana hinted he would throw 'pipe bombs' and 'mobs,' a reference to protesters demonstrating against racial inequality." The Washington Post (11/11, Elfrink, 14.2M) reports, "On Tuesday, federal agents arrested Maiorana at his home in Staten Island on charges of making threatening interstate communications. Although he's a convicted sex offender and is banned from owning guns, federal agents say they found evidence that Maiorana had bought gun parts and a crossbow. Maiorana's arrest comes amid an upswing in violent rhetoric on the right as Trump contests the election results and makes unfounded claims of fraud. Over the weekend, a police chief in Arkansas resigned after social media posts in his name called for Democrats to be killed, and last week, Trump's former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon was banned from Twitter for calling for violence against federal officials." Federal Prosecutors Fear Whitmer Kidnap Plotters Could Target Informants. The Detroit News (11/10, Snell, 825K) reports, "Federal prosecutors asked a judge Tuesday to prevent men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from leaking the identities of informants and undercover agents who infiltrated the alleged conspiracy." Federal prosecutors "fear the premature identification of informants and undercover agents could lead to witness tampering or worse. On Tuesday, they asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens to issue a protective order shielding evidence from anyone outside of the defense team, court officials and potential witnesses. 'Such premature identification might reasonably be expected to lead to witness tampering, intimidation and/or retaliation,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote in a court filing. 'If not by the defendants themselves, by individuals or groups sympathetic to their perceived aims. In addition, pretrial dissemination of unadmitted evidence could taint the jury pool and create challenges to the selection of an unbiased venire (jury pool)." White Supremacist Group Distributes Recruitment Flyers In Texas. The Washington Post (11/10, Villegas Vargas, 14.2M) reports that "some residents in the San Antonio area woke up Sunday to find a smattering of anti-Black Lives Matter and white supremacist messages on their doorsteps" believed "to have been distributed by members of 14First the Foundation, a self-described 'pro white organization fighting for the white race." According to The Post, the group appears "to have a multi-state presence," and Hollywood Park police chief Shad Prichard "acknowledged the extreme nature of the messages is a reason for concern." Prichard said, "My opinion is that they are trying to recruit and make it a larger organization." Man Arrested For Pointing Laser At Police Helicopter. The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution (11/10, 895K) reports a 47-year-old man was arrested on charges of "obstruction and laser use against an aircraft" after confessing to pointing a laser pointer at a police helicopter in Gwinnett, Georgia. The man told investigators he pointed the laser at the helicopter "for fun." His case will be "referred to the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Attorney for possible prosecution, Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Collin Flynn said Tuesday." Flynn said, "Pointing a laser at an aircraft is extremely dangerous as it can hinder the pilot's ability to handle the aircraft and interfere with the equipment on board." Additional coverage included Raleigh (NC) News & Observer (11/12, 425K), Fox News (11/11, Hollan, 27.59M), and WSAV-TV Savannah, GA (11/10). Air Force Charges Major General With Sexual Assault. EFTA01658784 USA Today (11/10, Brook, 10.31M) reports that the Air Force has charged Maj. Gen. William Cooley with one count of sexual assault, "opening the possibility of the first court-martial for a general officer in its 73-year history." The charge relates to an August 2018 incident "in which Cooley allegedly made unwanted sexual advances by kissing and touching" a civilian. Cooley is to "face an Article 32 preliminary hearing" on January 27, "where a senior military judge will review the charge" and "could decide to send the case to a court-martial." USA Today says Cooley "is the latest among a series of senior officers across the services to be accused or sanctioned for sexual misconduct," with "at least 500 cases of serious misconduct" documented between 2013 and 2017. Three Virginia MS-13 Gang Members Charged With Violent Crimes. WUSA-TV Washington (11/10, Boykin, 98K) reports, "Information on MS-13 shows that the Justice Department is keeping close track of criminal activity by the gang in Virginia and has charged three associated members with crimes committed in the last few years. The three gang members charged with crimes are Andy Tovar, Roberto Cruz Moreno, 20, and Kevin Perez Sandoval, 22. All three are a part of the GCLS clique, according to the Justice Department." According to WUSA-TV, "The charges for the three members stem from a 2017 murder in Charlottesville and two 2019 attempted murders in Prince William County, according to the Justice Department. Toyer, Moreno and Sandova are all from the northern Virginia area. Two from Warrenton and another from White Post, according to documents from the Justice Department." FBI Searches Colorado Home In Probe Of Missing Teen. The Denver Post (11/10, Nicholson, 720K) reports, "Aurora police investigators and the FBI are searching a home Tuesday morning in connection to the disappearance of a then teenage girl who has been missing for four years." Lashaya Nae Stine "was last seen at 2:30 a.m. on July 15, 2016, in the area of East Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street in Aurora, according to police. At the time of her disappearance, the Aurora Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit was involved in the search. On Tuesday, police and the FBI searched a home in the 2200 block of Lansing Street, west of Peoria Street and north of East Montview Boulevard in north Aurora." KDVR-TV Denver (11/11, Ruble, 290K) reports, "Stine was last seen on surveillance video walking near Peoria Street and Montview Boulevard at 2:15 in the morning on July 15, 2016. She was 16 years old at the time. The home police are searching is located just a few blocks away at 2200 Lansing." KDVR-TV adds, "Wednesday is the second day of the search. According to Aurora police, investigators are still processing the house and looking for any evidence or clues that could help them." KCNC-TV Denver (11/10, 91K) reports, "The Aurora Police Department, Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and FBI are offering rewards totaling $15,000 for information that helps them find Lashaya." Former California Police Officer Agrees To Plead Guilty To Illegal Gun Purchases. The Los Angeles Times (11/10, Winton, 4.64M) reports, "A former Torrance police officer has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges that he acted as an illegal firearms dealer and used his police credentials to buy for others guns only cops can purchase, officials said Tuesday." Lindley Alan Hupp, 32, "was charged with being an unlicensed firearms dealer, as well as certifying he was the actual purchaser of a handgun, when, in fact, he was buying the gun for another person, federal prosecutors said. As part of a plea agreement, the Long Beach resident agreed to plead guilty to two felony offenses — engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and making a false statement in a federal firearm licensee's records during the purchase of a firearm." Hupp "sold at least 48 firearms during an 81/2 -year period while employed by the Torrance Police Department, according to court records." EFTA01658785 FBI Offers Reward For Information On Ohio Shooting Death. WEWS-TV Cleveland (11/10, Hlavaty) reports from Akron, Ohio, "The Cleveland Division of the FBI is seeking assistance from the public to help locate an 18-year-old fugitive accused in the shooting death Na'Kia Crawford while she sat inside her vehicle at an intersection in Akron in June." Adarus Macio Black, 18, "is wanted for his involvement in the death of Crawford, who was shot to death while inside her vehicle with her grandmother at the intersection of E. North and Howard Streets on June 14. 'Very brazen, very dangerous,' said Special Agent Vicki Anderson about Black. A warrant has been issued for Black's arrest. 'We know he has connections in Northeast Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and California,' said Anderson." WEWS-TV adds, "Police believe the murder was a case of mistaken identity and that Black fired multiple shots from a black Chevy Camaro into Crawford's car, hitting and killing her." WKYC-TV Cleveland (11/10, 223K) reports, "Black, who has a state warrant for his arrest in the June 14 shooting, is described as 158-170 pounds and between 5'6" to 5'9" tall. Authorities say he also has black sleeve tattoos on both arms along with a 'distinctive, two-line tattoo' across the top of his chest that reads: 'Death Before Dishonor' and 'Loyalty Trust Respect.' He also has scars on his stomach after being shot in 2019." WZTV-TV Nashville, TN (11/11, 150K) also reports. US Charges Mississippi Man With Making Threats Online. The AP (11/11) reports from Jackson, Mississippi, "An 18-year-old Mississippi man faces federal charges after posting multiple threats on the social media site Snapchat." Christian Blake Bunyard, of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, "was indicated Tuesday on two counts of making threats in interstate commerce and one count of making an interstate transmission of an extortionate communication, said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi. It was unknown if he is represented by an attorney who could speak on his behalf. According to the indictment, Bunyard used Snapchat in May and July to threaten a school shooting, to kill and rape African Americans in Oxford, Mississippi, and to rape another Snapchat user if she did not provide nude photos." The Meridian (MS) Star (11/10, 27K) reports, "The indictment charges that in May and July 2020, Bunyard utilized the social media platform Snapchat to threaten a school shooting. He is also accused of threatening violence against African Americans in Oxford. Bunyard also threatened to harm another Snapchat user if she did not provide nude photos, the indictment says. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department." Nebraska Man Sentenced For Sending Threats To Ex-Wife, Her Mother In Cuba. The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star (11/11, 399K) reports, "A 37-year-old Columbus man has been sentenced to a year and a day of imprisonment for sending threats to his ex-wife and her mother in Cuba." Darien Duran Castellon "pleaded guilty to transmitting threatening communications in interstate and foreign commerce. Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon sentenced him Tuesday in Omaha." The Journal Star adds, "In the criminal complaint filed last year, an FBI agent said the investigation began Dec. 4, in the Tampa, Florida, area, where a woman reported that her ex-husband had used Facebook to try to contract a friend to harm her mother in Cuba. She had shared a Facebook account with Duran Castellon and had recently logged in, where she saw messages he'd sent to a man in Cuba asking him to harm her mother so that she would return to Cuba to visit her in the hospital and could be hurt, too." Investigation Of Conspiracy To Rob Drug Dealers Leads To Guilty Plea For Ohio Man. The Zanesville (OH) Times Recorder (11/10, Holmes, 34K) reported that Ohio resident Michael Siegenthal, who was charged in connection with an FBI investigation of his "family's conspiracy EFTA01658786 to murder and rob" drug dealers, "pleaded guilty to several counts this week." This comes after Siegenthal's wife and her 30-year-old son also entered guilty pleas in connection with this case. FBI Searching For Suspect In Colorado Bank Robberies. The Denver Post (11/10, Nicholson, 720K) reports, "The FBI and local police are looking for a man who is suspected of robbing multiple banks in the Denver metro area. Cody Michael Giron is wanted for robbing three banks, and attempting to rob a fourth bank, since late October, according to the FBI." Giron "is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with a medium build. The robber wore a black hooded jacket, an orange Denver Broncos baseball cap, a black and white patterned face mask and a blue and orange Colorado hat, the FBI said in a news release. The robber presents a note to the teller and flees the bank. No weapons have been mentioned or seen." Michigan Man Facing Murder Charge. The Detroit News (11/11, 825K) reports Gary Lightfoot "faces murder and gun charges related to a May 5 shooting on Detroit's west side." Lightfoot "was arraigned Tuesday by Magistrate Malaika Ramsey-Heath at Detroit's 36th District Court. "Authorities say that he "drove up, got out of his vehicle, argued briefly with a 59-year-old man, Jeffrey Austin, then returned with a rifle and shot him." Authorities Uncover Illegal Marijuana Growing Operation In California. The Sacramento (CA) Bee (11/10, 567K) reported that court documents show a tip to the FBI "helped authorities uncover an illegal marijuana growing operation" in a home in Rocklin, California. Federal agents who "served a search warrant at the home...found more than 800 marijuana plants, marijuana ballasts and evidence linking the grow to certain residents of Sacramento." The KCRA-TV Sacramento, CA (11/10, 287K) website published a similar article. Arizona Navajo Nation Police Involved In Fatal Shooting. The Arizona Republic (11/11, 869K) reports that Arizona-based Navajo Nation police "say a man threw a rock at a unit and was believed to have threatened officers with a weapon before officers shot and killed him in Fort Defiance on Tuesday." The FBI is investigating the case. Tennessee Air National Guard Member Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of Minor. The Maryville (TN) Daily Times (11/10, Wombles, 62K) reports Tennessee Air National Guard member Timothy Robert Byrd "was arrested by Maryville Police officers at 6:08 p.m. Nov. 8 and charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor." He "was taken into custody after more than 100 child pornography images were allegedly downloaded to online accounts associated with him." The investigation began after Yahoo notified the FBI about a series of illegal photos were uploaded to an email account associated to Byrd. FBI Investigating 2019 Murder In New York State. Spectrum News Southern Tier (M) (11/10) reports that the FBI is investigating the murder of Shakeel Khan, who "was closing his restaurant, Halal Bites, in March on 2019 when he was shot and killed." The agency is offering $50,000 for information "leading to the conviction and arrest of Khan's murderer." FBI Offers Reward For Information On 2017 Disappearance Of New York Woman. The Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record (11/10, 147K) reports that the FBI and local police officers "are looking for information that will help solve the 2017 disappearance of Shaniece Harris of Rock Hill, and the FBI is now offering a reward in the case." She was last seen on May 29, 2017, and no one "has heard from her since then." EFTA01658787 Colorado Police Arrest Utah Woman For Kidnapping Baby. KCNC-TV Denver (11/10, 91K) reports Emily Marissa Luciano "was arrested at Denver International Airport last weekend after police in Utah say she kidnapped a 4-month-old child." Utah police "say the children's mother allowed them to stay with Luciano overnight, but expected them home the next morning." They add that Luciano "dropped off the two older children, ages 5 and 1, with an undisclosed third party" before flying to Denver with the baby. Serial Bank Robber Arrested In Utah. KSTU-TV Salt Lake City (11/11, 207K) reports suspected serial bank robber Conrad Andrew Trujillo has been arrested by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. He "was booked into the Salt Lake County jail without incident on a federal hold for bank robbery." Kansas Man Pleads Guilty To Robbing Bank. The Topeka (KS) Capital-Journal (11/10, Hrenchir, 129K) reports Clinton Adam Richards "pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court here to one count of bank robbery." The plea deal "was linked to an October 2019 robbery at U.S. Bank, 3600 S.W. Topeka Blvd., where the robber fled with cash and boarded a bus at a nearby bus stop." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS FBI Arrests Cincinnati Councilman On Bribery Charges. The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/10, Horn, 223K) reports that "FBI agents arrested Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor early Tuesday in what authorities describe as a brazen bribery scheme involving payoffs for help with city development projects." Tyran Marshall, "a friend of Pastor's" and "middleman," also faces charges for arranging payments through "a charitable nonprofit." FBI agents "posing as developers used electronic surveillance and at least two whistleblowers to unravel the pay-to-play scheme." US Attorney David DeVillers "said the investigation that resulted in the charges...are ongoing and are part of a broader campaign to uproot public corruption in Cincinnati and other Ohio communities." Cincinnati CityBeat (11/10, 59K) reports, "The FBI investigation into Pastor and Marshall took place from August 2018 to February 2019 (Pastor joined Cincinnati City Council at the start of 2018) and, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David M. DeVillers, during that time, Pastor accepted $55,000 in bribes - $45,000 of which were made in cash payments. 'The bribes were in turn for votes and influence over the city council on two developments,' DeVillers said during a press briefing today." CityBeat adds, "The city developments aren't named in the federal indictment, but DeVillers said the investigation involved an undercover FBI agent and two confidential witnesses - one of which was former Bengals player and now developer Chinedum Ndukwe. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ndukwe's potential development at the former Convention Place Mall downtown, across from Duke Energy Convention Center, is one of the two projects listed." WVXU-FM Cincinnati (11/10, 4K) reports that DeVillers "announced the indictment on Tuesday afternoon. 'This indictment is indicative of culture of corruption, a culture of extortion, a culture of pay-to-play,' DeVillers said." WVXU-FM adds, "An FBI squad arrested Pastor at his home early Tuesday morning. Pastor, a Republican, is a member of city council's Law and Public Safety Committee. The committee met at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Pastor was not in attendance because he had already been arrested. Federal officials announced charges against Pastor at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Cincinnati." WXIX-TV Cincinnati (11/10, Baker, Goffinet, Riva, 42K) reports, "The charges against Pastor involve the potential development of the former Convention Place Mall at 435 Elm St., across from Duke Energy Convention Center downtown, according to our media partner the Cincinnati Enquirer. The mall closed years ago and the structure is mostly empty, the Enquirer EFTA01658788 reports, but city officials have recently discussed options to develop what many consider prime downtown real estate in the heart of Cincinnati's business district. The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority currently owns the property." WXIX-TV adds, "This is the second time this year that a Cincinnati City Council member has been accused of corruption related to city development projects. Tamaya Dennard resigned from council after her arrest in February on fraud and bribery charges." Dennard pleaded guilty in September "to a charge of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month." The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/10, Balmert, 223K) reports, "Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark didn't realize - while chatting with hotel developer clients after a Reds game - that he was talking with undercover FBI agents working to uncover two bribery schemes. The first was against Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor, a Republican, who was arrested Tuesday. He is accused of accepting $55,000 in bribes in exchange for his vote on development projects. Pastor pleaded not guilty to charges Tuesday afternoon. The second was against Clark, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, and three others. They are accused of orchestrating a nearly $61 million bribery scheme to seize control of the Ohio House, pass a more than $1 billion bailout for nuclear plants and defend those subsidies against a ballot initiative. Those two apparently unconnected, widespread bribery investigations converged in Cincinnati." WCPO-TV Cincinnati (11/10, Swilley, 139K) reports, "A federal grand jury charged Pastor, 36, with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, with honest services wire fraud, bribery, attempted extortion by a government official and money laundering, officials said on Tuesday. Although the indictment doesn't identify which developers were involved in the case, DeVillers said former Cincinnati Bengal Chinedum Ndukwe is one of them. `My client was asked to assist in an FBI investigation involving political corruption in the city of Cincinnati. He voluntarily agreed to do so,' said Scott Croswell, Ndukwe's defense attorney. `He believes political corruption hurts everyone in the community and that it's something that should not be tolerated." Among news outlets also reporting are the Cleveland Plain Dealer (11/10, Tobias, 895K), the Cincinnati Enquirer (11/10, Weiser, 223K), the Cincinnati Business Courier (11/10, Subscription Publication, 840K), and the Cincinnati Enquirer (11/10, Coolidge, 223K). More Charges Expected Against Chicago Political Operative In Bribery Probe. The Chicago Tribune (11/10, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, "Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that new charges are expected to be brought against a longtime Democratic operative accused of conspiring to pay bribes to a relative of an Oak Lawn trustee to get lucrative red-light cameras installed there." Patrick Doherty, 64, "the former chief of staff to ex-Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski, was charged in February in a three-count indictment with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged Doherty conspired with Omar Maani, a co-owner of SafeSpeed LLC, as well as another sales agent for the company to pay $4,000 in bribes in exchange for the official support of an Oak Lawn trustee to add cameras at additional intersections." The Tribune adds, "During a brief status hearing Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Stetler said prosecutors expect to file `additional charges' against Doherty within the next several months." FBI Searches Home Of Corpus Christi, Texas Schools Official. The Corpus Christi MO Caller-Times (11/10, Camarillo, 153K) reports, "The FBI conducted searches Tuesday morning of a Corpus Christi ISD board member's home and a construction business." The FBI "said it was conducting an investigation at Fulton Construction on 2nd Second Street and a home in the 2800 block of Denver Avenue. Public records show the home belongs to CCISD board member John Longoria." KRIS-TV Corpus Christi, TX (11/10, 1K) reports, "FBI agents raided the home of a longtime Corpus Christi Independent School District trustee and a large local construction EFTA01658789 company Tuesday morning. The property at 2800 Denver Ave. is owned by CCISD board member John Longoria, according to Nueces County Appraisal District records. Longoria has been a trustee since 2006. The FBI also went to Fulton Construction Co. at 1102 Second St." Longoria "is a longtime CCISD trustee who also works as the manager of economic and business development for AEP. Previously, he was a Corpus Christi City Council member from 1995-2003. No reason was provided for why the FBI was at the scene. Two other Corpus Christi Police Department officers also were at the scene when the FBI agents were present." KIII-1V Corpus Christi, TX (11/11, Gibson) reports, "The FBI raids of the Fulton construction office and the home of Corpus Christi ISD school board member John Longoria's home were done under a federally sealed indictment. That means no information has been released about why the raids were conducted in the first place. This has left everyone with many questions and there's a good reason for that and it's all about how the legal system works in these cases. 'I don't want to opine at all on what anyone has or who is involved or who is even potentially indicted because none of those things are known to me or to you and with it being sealed I have no way of assuming what that information is; said Legal Analyst Matt Manning." KIII-TV Corpus Christi, TX (11/11, Churchwell) reports, "There are still a lot of unanswered questions in the wake of two FBI raids in Corpus Christi. Agents raided the headquarters of Fulton Construction in the downtown area and they also searched an upscale home just off Ocean Drive. At this point no one has been accused of any wrongdoing, but already Longoria is facing calls from the local head of the American Federation of Teachers to resign from the school board. 'We were saddened by it, but at the same time we weren't surprised,' said Dr. Nancy Vera who is the president of the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers." Former Honda Employee Sentenced For Embezzlement. The Bellefontaine (OH) Examiner (11/10, 23K) reports from Columbus, Ohio, "Charles Michael Stratton, 63, of Fairborn, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 42 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering. He was also ordered to pay more than $750,000 in restitution to his former employer, Honda, and $10,000 to Scioto Industrial Services. 'Stratton devised not just one, but multiple methods for defrauding Honda of more than three-quarters of a million dollars,' U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers said. 'The defendant skimmed from overages, arranged for double billing, and approved false invoices. Now, he will spend time in federal prison:" Stratton "served as the facilities manager for Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. in Marysville from 2008 until March 2015. Stratton executed a scheme to defraud Honda using Acrux and Surmount by creating multiple purchase orders for payments in amounts just under $100,000, a threshold in which additional oversight and approval is required." US Charges Five In Alleged Texas Bank Fraud Scheme. The San Antonio Express-News (11/11, Danner, 762K) reports, "Five people allegedly involved in a scheme that defrauded a San Antonio bank of millions of dollars have been indicted by a federal grand jury, the U.S. attorney's office said." According to the Express-News, "The indictment, filed last week, charged Ronald 'Wayne' Schroeder, 48, the former president of a Bank of San Antonio subsidiary, with three counts of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering." Schroeder "is accused of using the proceeds to buy automobiles, recreational vehicles, an airplane, a boat and a beach house." The Express-News adds, "Also named in the indictment are Jill Martin Alvarado, 58; her husband, Rigo Alvarado, 55; Phyllis Joe Martinez, 78, and her son Ryan Martinez, 56. All of them face a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Jill Alvarado and the Martinezes also were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering." Texas Man Sentenced For Defrauding Investors. EFTA01658790 KENS-TV San Antonio (11/11, Lynch, 72K) reports from San Antonio, Texas, "A San Antonio businessman has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars and ordered to pay up more than $9 million in restitution after he was convicted tricking investors into giving him money for company prospects that instead supplied an `extravagant lifestyle' of VIP Spurs seats and high- end sports vehicles." Federal prosecutors said Brian Alfaro, "who owns the San Antonio-based company Primera Energy, was found guilty of mail fraud by a federal jury earlier this year. A release states prosecutors presented evidence showing Alfaro lied to victims over the course of three years about where their supposed investment money was going; one of those victims, the release states, had their retirement money wiped out by the scheme. Others had to rethink strategies of financing college for their children." McClatchy (11/10, Koop, 19K) reports, "Alfaro's purchases included VIP season tickets for the San Antonio Spurs that cost $100,000; a Lamborghini, Mercedes Benz and Porsche; and a "high-end" Rolex watch, prosecutors say. `Today's 10-year prison sentence guarantees that Mr. Alfaro will not be driving his Lamborghini to his $100,000 VIP seats at the AT&T Center. Instead, he must work to pay back almost $10 million to the victims of his criminal scheme, while serving time in prison,' U.S. Attorney Gregg Sofer said in a news release. Alfaro was fined $9,922,42 in addition to the prison sentence. 'Alfaro convinced his victims to invest their hard earned money in profitable oil and gas ventures, but he stole their money and used it to finance an extravagant lifestyle,' FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs said." Former Georgia Tax Official Sentenced For Blackmail, Bribery. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/11, 895K) reports former DeKalb County tax official Gerald D. Harris was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison after "admitting that he accepted more than $35,000 in bribes to illegally register vehicles, as well as threatened to blackmail a person who attempted to bribe him." U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said of the sentence, "By accepting bribe payments, Harris sold his integrity for money - and, in doing so, betrayed the trust of the citizens of DeKalb County." Former Louisiana Financial Adviser Sentenced For Role In Fraud Scheme. The Shreveport (LA) Times (11/10, 128K) reports, "Gregory Alan Smith, 58, of Shreveport was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 72 months (6 years) in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook said. Smith was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,588,500, as well as a fine of $100,000." Smith, "formerly a financial investment advisor in Shreveport, persuaded multiple victims to invest approximately $3.5 million with his co-defendant, Kirbyjon H. Caldwell. According to evidence presented to the court, Smith began approaching existing clients, friends, and acquaintances in the spring of 2013 about an investment opportunity in historical Chinese bonds. Smith told these potential investors that they would be obtaining a partial ownership interest in the bonds and that they would receive exponential returns on their investments in a short period of time." WVLA-TV Baton Rouge, LA (11/11, Nadrich) reports, "Court documents reveal Smith received $1.08 million of the total $3.5 million and used it to pay down loans, purchase two luxury sport utility vehicles, place a down payment on a vacation property, and maintain his lifestyle. According to court documents, Smith persuaded multiple victims to invest the approximately $3.5 million with his co-defendant, Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, pastor of a Houston megachurch. In evidence presented to the court, Smith began approaching existing clients, friends, and acquaintances in the spring of 2013 about an investment opportunity in historical Chinese bonds. Smith told these potential investors that they would be obtaining a partial ownership interest in the bonds and that they would receive exponential returns on their investments in a short period of time." The FBI conducted the investigation. Texas AG Faces Calls For Resignation Amid New Allegations. EFTA01658791 The New York Times (11/11, Fernandez, 18.61M) reports that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is accused of intervening in an FBI case on behalf of "longtime friend" and real estate investor Nate Paul in "a newly released deposition in a court case." The Times says Paxton "has been the attack dog of Texas Republicans' aggressive conservative agenda, taking on high-profile legal battles that made him popular with the Trump Administration," but "the latest revelations...have put him in new political peril, and under new legal scrutiny" as "Republican allies have distanced themselves, and some have publicly questioned whether he should resign." CYBER DIVISION FBI, Spokane Police Probing Gonzaga University "Zoom-Bombing." KXLY-TV Spokane, WA (11/11, Sarles, 7K) reports from Spokane, Washington, "Spokane Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are now investigating the `Zoom-bombing' of a Gonzaga University Black Student Union (BSU) virtual call." On Sunday, "students of the BSU held a Zoom call to talk about the election, when several people joined the call with offensive screen names and began yelling racial and homophobic slurs and sharing pornography on their screens. A joint letter from Gonzaga's leadership says their IT department were able to capture data of the Zoom-bombing, identifying IP addresses from the people who hijacked the call - they found the sources of the IP addresses were both domestic and international. They also noted that other universities around the U.S. have also had similar Zoom-bombings." KXLY-TV adds, "According to the university, the Spokane Police Department's criminal investigation unit and the FBI are now involved in the investigation." Dark Web Illegal Markets Exploiting Pandemic To Sell Goods, Identities, Fake Drugs. Bloomberg (11/11, Mehrotra, 4.73M) reports that illegal markets on the dark web are profiteering off panic buying in response to the pandemic. An investigation by Bloomberg reveals that "in the first months of the pandemic, vendors mostly specialized in hard-to-find Covid commodities, including medical equipment and test kits." However, "by late summer, stolen digital identities were being sold specifically with the purpose of defrauding government programs meant to help small businesses and the unemployed." Now, "dark web profiteers have offered so-called vaccines for those unwilling to wait for final government approvals." All together, "almost $100 million worth of Covid-related goods have been listed for sale on the dark web, according to a forthcoming report by the CTI League, a coalition of cybersecurity researchers investigating the intersection of Covid-19 and the internet." TikTok's Parent Seeks More Time To Work Out Divestiture. The Wall Street Journal (11/11, McKinnon, Wells, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. are asking the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit for more time to work out a divestiture for the video sharing app. The Journal says the petition is the latest legal challenge by TikTok in an effort to undermine the Trump Administration's effort to force a divestiture. The AP (11/11, O'Brien) says ByteDance "has until Thursday to sell off its U.S. operations under an executive order that Trump signed in August." In September, President Trump "gave his tentative blessing to a ByteDance proposal meant to resolve U.S. national security concerns by placing TikTok under the oversight of American companies Oracle and Walmart, each of which would also have a financial stake in the company. But TikTok said this week it's received `no clarity' from the U.S. government about whether its proposals have been accepted." On its website, CNN (11/11, Fung, 83.16M) says Trump's executive order imposing the Nov. 12 deadline "doesn't specify any penalties or consequences if the deadline is breached," which has "created fresh questions about the government's intentions toward TikTok." EFTA01658792 Treasury Department Says It Wants "Resolution" Of National Security Concerns With ByteDance. Reuters (11/11, Shepardson) reports the Treasury Department "said on Wednesday it wants a resolution of national security risks it has raised over ByteDance's 2017 acquisition on Musical.ly, which it then merged into the TikTok video-sharing app." Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley said, "The Treasury Department remains focused on reaching a resolution of the national security risks arising from ByteDance's acquisition of Musical.ly. ... We have been clear with ByteDance regarding the steps necessary to achieve that resolution." Also reporting is The Hill (11/11, Klar, 2.98M). Bipartisan Congressional Allies Push To Reinstall White House Cyber Czar. The Hill (11/11, Miller, 2.98M) reports, "Pressure to reinstate a cyber czar within the White House is growing." Earlier this year, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission "submitted a recommendation to establish a national cyber director at the White House, which would have greater authority than the eliminated position and would be Senate-confirmed." Now, bipartisan allies are "lining up on Capitol Hill to push such a proposal while the incoming administration zeroes in on addressing cybersecurity challenges." Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said, "I think the coordination needs to be improved, and the way to do that is to have somebody at the center whose job it is to provide that coordination and direction." LABORATORY FBI, Kansas City, Missouri Police Identify Suspect In 31-Year-Old Cold Case Murder. KSHB-TV Kansas City, MO (11/10, 90K) reports from Kansas City, Missouri, "A Missouri family finally knows the answer to a 31-year mystery: Who murdered Fawn Cox?" The Kansas City Police Department "says Cox was 16 years old when she was killed in her home in July 1989, as the rest of her family slept. She was found dead in her second-floor bedroom. Monday, the department announced that it has identified the suspect in the violent murder of Cox." KSHB-TV adds, "Detectives worked with the FBI on an investigative analysis of the evidence, which revealed the killer's identity, according to a police department spokesman. Police say the suspect died in 2006, but because he was never charged, the department isn't releasing his name." OTHER FBI NEWS Biden's Justice Department Expected To Ramp Up White-Collar Probes. Bloomberg (11/11, Hurtado, Yasiejko, 4.73M) reports, "President-elect Joe Biden's Justice Department is likely to ramp up white-collar crime enforcement, putting Wall Street firms and corporate executives under greater scrutiny." Bloomberg adds, "Fines and prosecutions of white-collar crimes fell during the Donald Trump administration, but lawyers are anticipating a ramp up that would return the government to its past practice of scrutinizing corporate wrongdoing. Robert Anello, a defense lawyer in New York, said his white-collar practice like many others in Manhattan, ground to a halt during the Trump administration. High on the agenda for federal prosecutors are likely to be tax cheats and foreign-bribery cases, Anello and other lawyers said. In addition, there will be lots of potential charges to come out of the rush of government funding disbursed to offset effects of the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program, which grew to $525 billion and used thousands of banks, lawyers said." Plaintiffs In Epstein Case Miss Deadlines For Keeping Testimony Secret. McClatchy (11/11, Hall, Wieder, 19K) reports, "A deadline has passed without opposition from two parties whose depositions in the bitter lawsuit between disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's accused co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, and an Epstein accuser are set to be made public." EFTA01658793 According to McClatchy, "The two non-parties in the now-settled civil dispute between Maxwell and accuser had until Nov. 5 to oppose the way their names would be redacted as well as references that might identify them," but "in a filing late Tuesday in New York by lawyers to U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, they said no opposition came in against t e re ease of documents as proposed. A one-week eriod was to allow Maxwell lawyers to respond had there been opposition, ending Thursday. attorneys would then have had until Nov. 19 to respond. Instead, it appears the release of more documents is imminent." Sen. Whitehouse Criticizes FBI For Lack Of Transparency In Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Probe. National Review (11/10, Evans, 731K) reports, "Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) slammed the FBI for not investigating sexual assault allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday." National Review adds, "The hearing itself was organized by Committee head Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) to interview former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe regarding the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. However, Whitehouse criticized the Republicans on the committee for not looking into other allegations of wrongdoing involving the FBI and Justice Department. 'We have what appears to have been a tanked FBI investigation into the Kavanaugh hearings, and I've asked questions about that, to which I've had no answer whatsoever,' Whitehouse said. 'We're highly selective in what we choose to look into, and we've been extremely solicitous of the stonewalling and non-responsiveness of this Department of Justice." Ailing New York Mobster Wins Compassionate Release From Prison. The New York Daily News (11/11, Goldberg, 2.52M) reports, "Ailing Brooklyn mobster Gregory Scarpa Jr. caught a break Wednesday when a judge ended his 32-year prison stretch on racketeering murder charges by ordering his compassionate release." Scarpa, 69, "a former Colombo crime family boss turned prison snitch - he helped the government probes of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing - is currently at a federal Bureau of Prisons halfway house in Kansas City, Kan., records show. 'I do not minimize the evil acts Mr. Scarpa committed over the course of his criminal career; wrote Brooklyn Federal Judge Edward Korman in ordering Scarpa's release. `The reality, however, is that Mr. Scarpa is a seriously ill man who is unable to care for himself and has little prospect of recidivating." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS Media Analyses Cast Trump Legal Fight As Unlikely To Succeed. Coverage of efforts by President Trump and his campaign team in pursuing legal recourse in last week's election portrays the push as an uphill fight. On the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/11, story 5, 1:45, O'Donnell, 4.25M), Ben Tracy reported, "The President continues to falsely claim the election was rigged and that he won, today attacking on Twitter the Republican City Commissioner of Philadelphia who has said there is no evidence of election fraud. Al Schmidt says he and his election staff are now getting death threats and require police protection." Lester Holt said on NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/11, story 4, 2:00, 5.8M), "As the pandemic worsens, the White House remains focused on the election tonight, winning a hand recount in Georgia as it pushes other legal challenge that will likely have little bearing on the results." David Muir said on ABC World News TonightVi (11/11, story 4, 0:25, 6.94M) that "a number of judges [are] now dismissing President Trump's legal challenges to this election," and ABC's Jonathan Karl said, "Let me be blunt about this: None of this is going anywhere. For Donald Trump to win, they would either have to disqualify or change tens of thousands of votes and overturn the results in at least three different states." EFTA01658794 The AP (11/11, Dale, Richer) reports Trump "took aim at" Schmidt, tweeting Wednesday morning, "A guy named Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Commissioner and so-called Republican (RINO), is being used big time by the Fake News Media to explain how honest things were with respect to the Election in Philadelphia. He refuses to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty. We win!" The AP says "Trump loyalists have filed at least 15 legal challenges in Pennsylvania alone. ... There is action, too, in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Michigan." The Washington Post (11/11, Viebeck, Hamburger, Swaine, Brown, 14.2M) reports pressure has "mounted on state and local officials in battleground states to accept claims of ballot-counting irregularities and voter fraud in the election despite a lack of evidence, as Republicans sought new ways to block certification" of Joe Biden's election. However, the AP (11/11, Cassidy, Izaguirre, Smyth) says in a related story, "state officials and election experts" say the presidential election "unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities." The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Gershman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports courts have rarely considered blocking states from certifying election results based on the level of allegations brought by the Trump campaign so far. The Washington Post (11/11, Rucker, Dawsey, Parker, 14.2M) reports Trump also "declared Wednesday on Twitter, 'WE WILL WIN!' But, in fact, the president has no clear endgame to actually win the election - and, in an indication that he may be starting to come to terms with his loss, he is talking privately about a rematch in 2024. Trump aides, advisers and allies said there is no grand strategy to reverse the election results," which show Biden with a "majority of electoral college votes, as well as a 5 million-vote lead in the national popular vote. Asked about Trump's ultimate plan, one senior administration official chuckled and said, 'You're giving everybody way too much credit right now." The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Ballhaus, O'Brien, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that Trump's campaign is continuing a wide array of legal efforts in states where Biden is ahead or has been projected the winner, but the Journal says advisers are increasingly frank with the President that they see no path to victory. One official said the President understands he will not be able to win but wishes to continue the fight. The New York Times (11/11, Higgins, 18.61M), comparing the situation to contested elections in other countries, says "there is little indication that Mr. Trump can overcome the laws and institutions that ensure the verdict of American voters will carry the day. ... Still, the United States has never before had to force an incumbent to concede a fair defeat at the polls." NBC News (11/11, 6.14M) reports on its website, "There is a growing expectation among [Trump's] advisers that he will never concede that he lost re-election, even after votes are certified in battleground states over the coming weeks, according to multiple people familiar with the president's thinking." One "top aide" said, "Do not expect him to concede. ... He'll say something like, 'We can't trust the results, but I'm not contesting them." Another adviser "said that after the legal battles and recounts, the closest the president is likely to get to a concession is, 'he'll acknowledge the results and that we'll never know how accurate they are." White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on KOIN-TVVi Portland, OR (11/11, 11K), "All we are saying is, let's press pause, allow us to look, allow the courts to look at what happened, and then we can move forward, united as a country. But we believe asking for transparency should be a good thing." McEnany said on Fox News' Hannity (11/11, 535K), "Tomorrow, you will see some affidavits from Pennsylvania, some other disturbing practices where, in Democrat counties, you've got an advantage, you are able to fix your ballot, the same advantages not given to Republican counties." The New York Times (11/11, Hsu, Robertson, 18.61M) looks at "right-wing websites" like the Epoch Times and the Gateway Pundit that are "backing baseless accusations by President Trump and his allies of a stolen election, despite statements to the contrary from international observers and state officials across the country." Trump Projected To Win Alaska. The AP (11/11) has projected that Trump will win Alaska, "pushing his Electoral College tally to 217." With 75% of expected votes tallied, Trump EFTA01658795 has 56.9% of the total, while Biden has 39.1%. Arizona AG Says He Has Found No Evidence Of Widespread Fraud. Bloomberg (11/11, Beckwith, 4.73M) reports Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) said Wednesday that he has "found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. ... Brnovich told Fox Business News that it was 'highly unlikely' that Trump would catch up as remaining ballots are counted." The Arizona Republic (11/11, 869K) reports Brnovich "also addressed an ongoing lawsuit, filed on behalf of Trump's reelection team, that alleges poll workers 'incorrectly rejected' votes cast in person on Election Day." Brnovich said, "We are literally talking about less than 200 votes that are in question. Even if it was possible that those votes flip, those 200 votes, I do not think it will make a difference in Arizona, just because of the number." Fox News (11/11, Musto, 27.59M) reports on its website that Arizona Superior Court Judge Daniel Kiley "has denied a request by President Trump's reelection team to seal evidence in a lawsuit alleging poll workers in Maricopa County 'incorrectly rejected' Election Day votes." Georgia To Do Full Hand Tally Of Votes. The AP (11/11, Brumback) reports Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) has announced "an audit of presidential election results that he said would be done with a full hand tally of ballots because the margin is so tight." Raffensperger said at a news conference, "It will be a heavy lift, but we will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification. We have all worked hard to bring fair and accurate counts to assure that the will of the voters is reflected in the final count and that every voter will have confidence in the outcome, whether their candidate won or lost." The Wall Street Journal (11/11, McWhirter, Wise, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says Raffensperger said that state law requires him to certify the election results by November 20. Biden currently leads Trump by about 14,000 votes in the state. Steve Osunsami said on ABC World News TonightVi (11/11, story 5, 1:35, Muir, 6.94M) that Raffensperger "still says that the election here was fair, but he's been feeling the blowtorch from others in his party, and is now agreeing to give Trump supporters an audit of the vote for president. ... The President's people have been claiming without evidence that there was significant voter fraud." Reuters (11/11, Lambert) reports Raffensperger told CNN that he has "ordered a hand recount because of the closeness of the vote count, but he believed votes had so far been tallied accurately. Biden's current lead, with nearly all votes counted, is 0.3%." USA Today (11/11, McCord, 10.31M) reports, "While no claims of vote fraud or election mismanagement have been substantiated, Raffensperger's announcement came the day after Georgia's two U.S. senators demanded his resignation. Raffensperger is a Republican, as are Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who each landed in Jan. 5 runoffs after neither received a majority of votes last week." Both the New York Times (11/11, Fausset, Saul, 18.61M) and the Washington Post (11/11, Thebault, Gardner, 14.2M) profile Raffensperger, now a target of a party he says he has supported since he was a teenager. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/11, 895K) reports, "Georgia's recount process in recent decades has been carried out by reprocessing computer-counted votes. And with the vote margin in the presidential race favoring [Biden) by just over 14,000, most local election supervisors had been expecting a statewide computer recount. That would have involved feeding ballots into optical scanners and running the tabulators again, a much faster and less labor-intensive process. Most local election officials have never faced a hand recount on this scale." Michigan AG Says Trump Campaign Unfairly Attacking Black Voters. The Detroit Free Press (11/11, 1.52M) reports Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) "blasted the legal efforts" of Trump's team on Wednesday, "saying they include no evidence of misconduct, unfairly attack Black voters and workers in Detroit and will not change the outcome of the election." Nessel said on a call with reporters, "Really the themes that we see, that persist, are this: Black people are corrupt, Black people are incompetent, and Black people can't be trusted. That's the narrative that is continually espoused by the Trump campaign and their allies in these lawsuits." EFTA01658796 The Washington Post (11/11, Fahrenthold, Helderman, Hamburger, 14.2M) reports, "Inside Detroit's absentee-ballot-counting center, one Republican poll watcher complained that workers were wearing Black Lives Matter gear. She thought one of them - a 'man of intimidating size' — had followed her too closely. Another Republican poll watcher complained about the public address system. Workers were using it to make announcements," allegedly making it hard to concentrate. A third poll watcher "noticed that when absentee ballots came in from military personnel, many showed votes for Democrats. He found that odd." The Trump campaign "promised 'shocking' evidence of misconduct" in Michigan as part of its litigation, but instead "produced 238 pages of affidavits from Republican poll watchers across Michigan containing no evidence of significant fraud." Boockvar Says Around 10K Ballots Were Received In Pennsylvania After Election But Before Deadline. Politico (11/11, Montellaro, 4.29M) reports Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar (D) said Tuesday "that around 10,000 ballots were received between the close of polls on Election Day and the evening of Nov. 6 - a number far too small to undermine [Biden's) margin of victory in a critical battleground state." Those mail ballots "are at the center of a case in front of the Supreme Court" that Trump "and his allies have pushed for." Wisconsin Lawmakers Planning Subpoenas In Election Probe. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/11, 632K) reports, "Wisconsin lawmakers plan to issue their first subpoenas in decades as part of an investigation into the Nov. 3 election, even as the top Republican in the Assembly acknowledges the probe is unlikely to change the outcome." Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said, "I think it is unlikely we would find enough cases of fraud to overturn the election. I think it's unlikely, but I don't know that. That's why you have an investigation." Uncounted Votes Discovered In Puerto Rico. The New York Times (11/11, Robles, 18.61M) reports, "Nearly 200 boxes of uncounted votes have surfaced in Puerto Rico, a full week after voters went to the polls to choose their governor, legislators and mayors across the island, dealing another black eye to the mistrusted government." The discovery "could have sweeping effects in close races around the island, in particular the tight contest for mayor of San Juan, where the sudden influx of new votes could force a recount." "Tens Of Thousands" Voted But Made No Choice For President. USA Today (11/11, Salman, Wynn, Voyles Pulver, 10.31M) looks at some of the "tens of thousands" of voters who made choices in downballot races but did not vote for president. A USA Today analysis "of unofficial results in Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Michigan found up to 40,000 voters in each of these highly competitive states opted for none of the candidates listed on the presidential ballot by name." In 2016, 1.9% of voters made no selection for president, according to one study. Voter Fraud Decision Exacerbated Tensions Between Barr And DOJ Public Integrity Section. The New York Times (11/11, Benner, 18.61M) reports that Attorney General Barr's direction to leaders of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, "which oversees the Public Integrity Section, that he wanted to allow prosecutors to look into voter fraud allegations before the results of the presidential race had been certified" has increased tensions between Barr and prosecutors in the section, which were heightened during the period surrounding Trump's impeachment. Criminal Division chief Brian Rabbitt "pushed back," and "he and his staff considered the matter resolved when Election Day passed without Mr. Barr issuing any edict. But the attorney general concluded it was ultimately his call" in a move that "stunned" Rabbitt and Richard Pilger, who was in charge of overseeing voter fraud investigations. Pilger "stepped down from his post within hours for a nonsupervisory role at the department." NYTimes Analysis: Pence Faces "Toughest Challenge Yet." The New York Times (11/11, Karni, Schmidt, 18.61M) says Vice President Pence has since 2016 "walked the Trump tight rope more successfully than anyone else in the president's orbit, staying on his good side EFTA01658797 without having to echo his most incendiary rhetoric." But now, Pence's "relationship with President Trump is facing what may be the vice president's toughest challenge yet." Pence "must now balance his loyalty to an enraged president making baseless claims of voter fraud against his own political future and reputation. He also has to deal with how Mr. Trump's talk of running for president again in 2024 could leave him with no lane to run in." Fauci Discusses Challenge Of Working Within Trump Administration. The Washington Post (11/11, 14.2M) reports that on Wednesday, NIAID Director Fauci "acknowledged...that working with" the Trump Administration has been "very stressful." Fauci is quoted as saying, "When you have public figures like [former chief strategist Stephen] Bannon calling for your beheading, that's really kind of unusual. ... That's not the kind of thing you think about when you're going through medical school to become a physician." Politico (11/11, Forgey, 4.29M) reports that on Tuesday, White House coronavirus pandemic adviser Scott Atlas "publicly attacked" Fauci, "accusing the nation's top infectious disease expert of being a 'political animal' who adjusted his dire assessments of the pandemic after Election Day." However, Politico says Atlas "appeared to walk back his attack on Wednesday afternoon, tweeting that 'there will no longer be personal criticisms in the media, regardless of differences in policy solutions or differing interpretations of data. The common goal is saving lives." Adams Urges Mask Use, Continued Caution In South Dakota Visit. KSFY-TVVi Sioux Fails, SD (11/11, 1K) reported that Surgeon General Adams urged the use of facial coverings during a visit to South Dakota to set up a mass C0VID-19 testing event. Adams said, "You don't have a mask mandate here, but what I would say to the people of South Dakota is, you really shouldn't need a mandate to do the right thing for your community, for your family, and for your friends." Adams said on KCL0-TVVi (11/11, 2K), "Please, do it because you care about your neighbors. Don't do it because anyone else told you to do it. Do it because you understand the science and you know it'll keep our kids in school, keep our workplaces open, and get us back to normal quicker." On K0TA-TVVi Rapid City, SD (11/11, 3.04M), Adams said, "Unlike other respiratory viruses, we now know that again up to 50% of people can spread this virus without ever having symptoms, and one of the most effective tools we have to prevent asymptomatic spread of the virus is encouraging everyone to wear a face mask, encouraging everyone to practice social distancing. ... It is a critical moment as we see cases and hospitalizations and deaths start to rise." KCL0-TVVi (11/11, 2K) reported that Adams said, "Too many young people out there especially think that this virus is harmless. We're hearing terrible, terrible stories of even young people having symptoms for months, months after they contracted this virus." White House Political Director Tests Positive For COVID. The New York Times (11/11, Haberman, 18.61M) reports, "Another official who attended an election night event at the White House has tested positive for the coronavirus." White House Political Director Brian Jack tested positive over the weekend, according to a source. Moderna's Vaccine Trial Ready To Analyze Shot's Effectiveness. Bloomberg (11/11, Langreth, 4.73M) reports that the "same US explosion of Covid-19 cases that helped Pfizer Inc. get results for its vaccine trial earlier this week is helping speed along Moderna's trial." Moderna "said Wednesday its study has accumulated more than 53 infections, allowing a preliminary analysis of the shot's effectiveness to begin." The company "didn't predict how long it could take an independent monitoring committee to analyze the data, but said the company could get the data to the committee within days." As of now, Moderna is "still blinded to the data." EFTA01658798 CNN (11/11, Cohen, Mascarenhas, 83.16M) says on its website that Moderna "expects to have an announcement on the vaccine's efficacy by the end of the month, the company said in a statement Wednesday." Both Moderna and Pfizer "use messenger RNA for their vaccines," and NIAID Director Fauci "has said Pfizer's promising outcomes are good news for Moderna, too." Politico (11/11, Brennan, 4.29M) reports Fauci "told a Financial Times conference on Wednesday that the Moderna data would be coming in the 'next few days to a week' and that he would 'be surprised if we didn't see a similar degree of efficacy' as the results from Pfizer." Vaccine Expected To Boost Economy, But Not Immediately. The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says that although a successful COVID vaccine could boost the global economy, it will be some time for the world to heal from a drop in businesses, jobs, and investments. Lockdown measures are expected to come back as the virus surges, and industries affected by the pandemic will continue to face months of low demand. Azar Says Pfizer Vaccine Would Be "One Of The Most Effective" In Public Health. HHS Secretary Azar said on Mornings On The Mall (11/11), "This Pfizer vaccine, which was tested in 44,000 people, one of the largest clinical trials in history for a vaccine, yielded what appeared to be over 90% efficacy. This would be, if this pans out, this would be one of the most effective vaccines in the world of public health. ... It's really a historic moment, and this was ten months, ten months after this virus hit our shores, thanks to President Trump's leadership and the Operation Warp Speed effort that I put together with the Defense Department." Surgeon General Adams said on WLUK-TVVI Green Bay, WI (11/11, 3K), "We're going to start by focusing on the vulnerable, people who are older and our frontline workers: our doctors, our nurses, our police officers, our firefighters. But we expect to be giving vaccinations to the general public by early next year." Trump Lashes Out Against "Medical Deep State" After Pfizer's Vaccine Announcement. The Washington Post (11/11, McGinley, Dawsey, Abutaleb, Johnson, 14.2M) reports President Trump "is lashing out at the Food and Drug Administration following a disclosure Monday that an experimental coronavirus vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is more than 90 percent effective, convinced the timing — six days after Election Day - proves the 'medical deep state' deliberately tried to sabotage his electoral prospects by delaying the results." Trump "demanded [Azar] 'get to the bottom' of what happened with Pfizer, according to a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity." According to the Post, "Trump's anger at the FDA raises fresh questions about whether" FDA Commissioner Hahn "will hang on to his job until Jan. 20 - when Trump leaves office - in an administration intent on purging officials deemed insufficiently loyal." FDA Grants Emergency Approval To Eli Lilly Antibody Treatment. On NBC Nightly NewsVI (11/11, story 3, 1:45, Holt, 5.8M), Tom Costello reported, "Receiving emergency FDA approval, Eli Lilly's new IV antibody treatment is similar to what President Trump received last month. Meant for patients in the first ten days of mild symptoms to keep them from getting worse and ending up in a hospital. The treatment is free, but must be delivered in a clinical setting, not over the counter." Eli Lilly "says shipping 88,000 doses now, another 800,000 in December, but that may not be enough with more than 100,000 new COVID cases each day from big cities to rural America." COVID Cases Rise In Every State As New Daily Infections Hit New Record. NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/11, lead story, 2:20, Holt, 5.8M) reported that the COVID pandemic "is overtaking us in levels frankly not seen since the start of this nightmare. The prediction that the nation would see another spike in hospitalizations and deaths is now evident inside ICUs and county morgues." NBC's Miguel Almaguer said, "After our nation added a staggering one million infections in the first 10 days of November alone, by Christmas, 20 million Americans could contract COVID. Medical centers, testing sites, and morgues are already at a breaking point." EFTA01658799 The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/11, lead story, 3:00, O'Donnell, 4.25M) reported, "Things are now so dire in places like Missouri and Wisconsin, at least one out of every three people tested is positive. More than 1,400 people have been killed by the virus in just the past 24 hours. That's the most to die in one day in months. The death toll is now growing so fast, one model says it will reach 400,000 by February." The Hill (11/11, Hellmann, 2.98M) reports the US "reported 136,000 new cases of COVID- 19 Tuesday, the largest single-day increase on record, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University." Almost 62,000 people "were hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide as of Tuesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project, a record-high number and a sobering indicator that increases in deaths are soon to come." Every single state is seeing a rise in COVID cases. The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Al, Evans, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports experts say hospitals across the US are facing more capacity issues amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections. The number of patients hospitalized on Tuesday passed the 60,000 recorded in April. The Washington Post (11/11, Fears, Achenbach, Martin, 14.2M) says the "number of patients hospitalized nationally with covid-19...is near the peak of the first wave in the spring, and has already surpassed the numbers driven by illnesses in the Sun Belt during the summer surge. The nation also set another record Wednesday for new daily coronavirus infections, as confirmed by testing, with 145,835, according to Washington Post data." Of the hospitalized patients, "nearly 3,000 are on ventilators - more than double the number of ventilated patients as of Oct. 1, according to The Post's coronavirus tracking data." The New York Times (11/11, Al, Stolberg, Weiland, LaFraniere, Jacobs, 18.61M) says the pandemic "caught the nation flat-footed in March, but epidemiologists have been warning for months of a fall and winter wave as people are driven indoors, schools resume in-person classes and Americans grow tired of months of precautions." However, "shortages of personal protective equipment are back, especially among rural hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices that lack access to the supply networks that serve larger hospital chains." Texas Becomes First State To Log More Than IN Confirmed COVID Cases. The AP (11/11, Crary) reports Texas has become "the first state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and California closed in on that mark as a surge of coronavirus infections engulfs the country from coast to coast." Texas "has recorded 1.01 million coronavirus cases and over 19,000 deaths since the outbreak began in early March, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. California, the most populous state, has logged more than 991,000 cases." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/11, story 3, 1:05, O'Donnell, 4.25M), Janet Shamlian reported that in El Paso, "almost one of every 10 people have been infected" with COVID. The New York Times (11/11, Goodman, 18.61M) reports that in El Paso, the University Medical Center "set up tents to care for patients in a parking lot. A downtown convention center became a field hospital. To free up even more space, the state began airlifting dozens of intensive care patients to other cities." The town "now has more people hospitalized with Covid- 19 than most states - 1,076 as of Tuesday — and is more than doubling its supply of mobile morgues, to 10 from four." According to the Times, "The situation reflects the broader difficulty of trying to battle a national crisis in the absence of a national strategy. In El Paso, an urban island in remote West Texas between borders with Mexico and New Mexico, that absence has been acutely felt." California Set To Surpass 1M COVID Cases By Thursday. The Los Angeles Times (11/11, Money, 4.64M) reports California, meanwhile, "is on the cusp of surpassing 1 million confirmed coronavirus infections — a milestone demonstrating both the toll the pandemic has taken so far and the dangers it continues to pose." As of Wednesday morning, California "had reported just over 991,000 total coronavirus cases, according to the Los Angeles Times' tracker." The state saw an average of 6,377 new cases per day over the last week, "including 8,307 on Tuesday alone. That rate, far higher than a month ago, puts California on pace to surpass the 1-million mark by Thursday." EFTA01658800 Minnesota COVID Cases Up 125% Over Two Weeks. Gabe Guteirrez of NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/11, story 2, 2:00, Holt, 5.8M) said, "In the last two weeks, Minnesota has seen new COVID cases spike by 125%. ... Abbott Northwestern Hospital granted us rare access to show the pandemic's deadly impact. This hospital has 30 COVID ICU beds and right now, about three fourths of them are full. As we head into the winter, the concern is not just space but staffing." COVID Surging Across East Coast. On the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/11, story 2, 1:00, O'Donnell, 4.25M), Meg Oliver said New York City's COVID positivity rate has risen to 2.5%, and "if the city hits 3%, all schools will go remote." Oliver added, "The surge is worse in New Jersey; the city of Newark the hardest hit. For the next three weeks, parts of the city will enforce a 9:00 PM curfew, and all indoor and outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people. An urgent warning from Children's Hospital in Philadelphia recommending schools and businesses go all remote next week as infection rates in children are now outpacing those of adults in many areas of the country." The New York Times (11/11, Armstrong, Tully, 18.61M) reports that in Newark "over the last four days, there have been 842 new reported infections, and 19 percent of people tested over three days last week were found to have the virus, city and county officials said." The uptick "mirrors a troubling statewide trend that has resulted in a spike in Covid-19 hospitalizations across New Jersey to levels not seen since June." Cuomo Orders 10PM Closure Of Restaurants, Bars, And Gyms Statewide. Bloomberg (11/11, 4.73M) reports that on Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that bars, restaurants, and gyms must close at 10 p.m. and "indoor gatherings" must not exceed 10 people. According to Bloomberg, "New York reported 4,820 additional virus cases, the most since April. The rate of positive tests has climbed to 2.9%. The state has 1,628 people hospitalized for Covid, twice as many as a month ago." DeWine Warns Of New Restrictions If Ohio COVID Cases Continue To Rise. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (11/11, Hancock, 895K) reports Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) - "arguing that coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths cannot continue at the current high levels - said he is reissuing the statewide mask order with new provisions." He "also said during a Wednesday evening broadcast that if cases and other trends continue to increase, the state will be forced to close restaurants, bars and fitness centers." DeWine's team "will look at the trends a week from Thursday and make a decision, he said." Ohio "is experiencing an exponential increase in the number of coronavirus cases: While it took over three months for the state to report 50,000 COVID-19 cases during the beginning of the pandemic, more recently the state added 50,000 cases over 13 days." The Hill (11/11, Coleman, 2.98M) reports DeWine also "warned on Wednesday that the state's hospitals could be overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases in 'just a few short weeks," painting "a stark picture in an address to residents, saying hospitals may not end up having enough staff to handle the coming winter." DeWine said, "Our health care workers are quite frankly exhausted. ... They've been running a marathon for nine months straight, and with this new wave and the onset of flu season, it's like they're starting the race all over again." Ohio Prison COVID Stats Exemplify How Poor Conditions Can Become Deadly. The Washington Post (11/11, Al, Standifer, Sellers, 14.2M) reports that within a week of the coronavirus being introduced into Ohio's Pickaway Correctional Institution, "23 inmates and 17 staff members were found to be infected. One inmate, Charles Viney Jr., a 66-year-old with a collapsed lung, died hours after testing positive. Within a month, more than three-quarters of Pickaway's roughly 2,000 inmates were confirmed positive. By the end of May, 35 were dead." Pickaway, the Post says, "exemplifies the broad challenges facing the nation's jail and prison systems in the grip of the pandemic. Conditions long considered degrading - including EFTA01658801 overcrowded, unsanitary housing and inadequate inmate health care - have, in many places, become deadly." Latest CDC Guidelines Say Masks Protect Wearers From Infection. USA Today (11/11, 10.31M) reports the CDC "recently released a statement that face masks do in fact offer protection to the wearer in addition to helping prevent the transmission of COVID- 19," as "new research shows that exposure from infectious droplets is lowered through the filtration of masks." The CDC "also encourages individuals to reduce the spread of the coronavirus by continuing to social distance and maintain proper hygiene like washing your hands." The Boston Globe (11/11, Finucane, 972K) reports the CDC added, "Multiple layers of cloth with higher thread counts have demonstrated superior performance compared to single layers of cloth with lower thread counts, in some cases filtering nearly 50% of fine particles less than 1 micron." The Philadelphia Inquirer (11/11, McCullough, 347K) says that with the announcement, the CDC "caught up with the mounting science that shows masks do indeed protect wearers," and, "equally significant, the agency endorsed a policy that has been highly politicized in the United States: 'universal masking." The CDC said, "Adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions." However, "the new advice is not likely to sway anti-maskers, who quickly took to social media to express disapproval." CDC Recommends Precautions For Thanksgiving Gatherings. The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/11, story 9, 2:10, O'Donnell, 4.25M) reported, "With coronavirus infections growing exponentially and concerns that family gatherings could spread the virus further, many Americans are asking is it safe to travel this Thanksgiving." Correspondent Kris Van Cleave said, "The Centers for Disease Control warns even small household gatherings are an important contributor to the rise of in COVID-19 cases. The agency recommends getting a flu shot, small gatherings outside, wearing a mask, and staying out of tight spaces, like the kitchen." On ABC World News TonightVi (11/11, story 2, 1:50, Muir, 6.94M), Stephanie Ramos said, "Experts say half of all Americans plan to travel for the holiday, going against those new CDC guidelines, which recommend celebrating Thanksgiving virtually or only with people in your own household and preferably outside. For indoor dinners, the CDC says keep the windows open, spread out as much as possible, and wear masks. The other major concern, college students bringing the virus home for the holiday. ... Health officials caution about relying too heavily on testing. The incubation period for COVID is up to 14 days, so, it is possible to test negative one day and become sick the next." Study Of Marine Recruits Finds Symptom, Fever Screening Missed Most COVID Cases. The AP (11/11, Marchione) reports that a "study of Marine recruits," published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that despite temperature checks, questions about COVID symptoms, "and strict quarantines before they started training, the recruits spread the virus to others even though hardly any of them had symptoms. None of the infections were caught through symptom screening." According to the AP, the study "has implications for colleges, prisons, meatpacking plants and other places that rely on this sort of screening to detect infections and prevent outbreaks." The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Toy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says the research suggests more widespread, regular surveillance testing is required for individuals with and without symptoms in order to get control of the virus. The New York Times (11/11, Carey, 18.61M) reports the study, and another about an outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt that was also printed in the New England Journal of Medicine "are distinct, in that they describe situations in which officials had the resources and EFTA01658802 the authority to enact comprehensive measures and, in the case of the Marine command in South Carolina, were thoroughly prepared from the outset." They "clarify much of what is known or suspected about Covid-19's effect on young adults, while also exposing the limits of quarantine measures." Veterans Receive Thousands Of Cards Amid Pandemic Isolation. USA Today (11/11, 10.31M) reports that this Veterans Day, the 146 veterans who live in the New York State Veterans Home "won't be allowed visitors or to gather together for a meal due to COVID-19 restrictions." The "aging veterans, including 18 World War II veterans, are isolated in their rooms to protect them from the virus." Recreational therapist Kristen Slate "organized a card drive," and said that residents received "at least 3,000" cards from well-wishers. Hopes For Stimulus Deal This Year Are Diminishing. The Los Angeles Times (11/11, 4.64M) reports hopes are fading that Congress will "move swiftly after the election to provide more coronavirus relief for Americans" as "Senate Republicans continue to resist large spending measures and pressure from President Trump to take action has waned." The Times says "as new COVID-19 cases surpass 130,000 nationwide each day, families and businesses are unlikely to receive another round of stimulus checks or enhanced unemployment benefits until next year, if at all." Although "there is still a chance for a stimulus bill this year, the impasse means a COVID-19 relief package will almost certainly be a top priority for the new administration in early 2021." Expiration Of Emergency Federal Jobless Aid Looms. The New York Times (11/11, Casselman, 18.61M) reports "two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum." The Times says "as many as 13 million people are receiving payments under the programs, which Congress created last spring to expand and extend the regular unemployment system during the coronavirus pandemic." The Times adds that "leaders of both major parties have expressed support for renewing the programs in some form, but Congress has been unable to reach a deal to do so." Veterans Have Seen High Rates Of Unemployment This Year Due To Pandemic. The Hill (11/11, 2.98M) reports the nation's veterans were "hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic this year just as other segments were. ... A disproportionate percentage of veterans work in industries hit hardest by the financial impact of the coronavirus at a high 15 percent, and more than one million veterans filed for unemployment this April, sending veteran jobless rates shooting up to 11.7 percent." As of October, the rate "has fallen to 5.5 percent," but "the number is still elevated from the typical 3 percent." Media Analyses: Supreme Court Appears Likely To Uphold ACA Without Individual Mandate. All three broadcast networks and most major national newspapers covered Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing on the Affordable Care Act, with analyses indicating that a majority of justices signaled that the healthcare law would not be found unconstitutional. Terry Moran reported on ABC World News TonightVi (11/10, story 5, 2:05, Muir, 7.13M), "The Trump Administration and several Republican-led states argued that the individual mandate at the heart of the ACA requiring that all Americans have health insurance should be struck down as unconstitutional and the whole law thrown out with it. But even some conservative Justices weren't buying it, saying they could strike down just the mandate, leaving the rest of the law in place." Justice Brett Kavanaugh: "It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the act in place, the provisions regarding pre-existing conditions and the rest." Moran: "Chief Justice John Roberts EFTA01658803 agreed, noting sharply that Republicans in Congress had the chance to repeal the whole act, but didn't." Roberts: "I think, frankly, that they wanted the court to do that, but that's not our job." Jan Crawford said on the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/10, story 5, 2:05, O'Donnell, 4.41M) that the case is "first challenge to the Affordable Care Act for this newly conservative Supreme Court. ... But based on their questions over two hours of arguments, a majority of the justices seemed unwilling to go along, indicating they will not set aside a law that reshaped the insurance marketplace and provides health are protections for more than 20 million people. ... New Justice Amy Coney Barrett gave few clues on how she sees the law. Her questions and comments were focused and highly technical." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/10, story 4, 1:55, Holt, 6.1M), Pete Williams reported that Justice Samuel Alito "said the mandate may no longer be essential to make the law work. He said it was originally viewed like part of an airplane, critical to keeping it in flight." Alito: "But now, the part has been taken out, and the plane has not crashed." The AP (11/10, Sherman) reports, "A more conservative Supreme Court appears unwilling to do what Republicans have long desired: kill off the Affordable Care Act, including its key protections for pre-existing health conditions and subsidized insurance premiums that affect tens of millions of Americans." Kavanaugh "seemed likely to vote to leave the bulk of the law intact, even if he were to find the law's now-toothless mandate that everyone obtain health insurance to be unconstitutional." Reuters (11/10, Hurley) says both Roberts and Kavanaugh "indicated skepticism during two hours of arguments in the case toward the stance by the Republican challengers that the entire law must fall if a single key provision...is deemed unconstitutional." The Wall Street Journal (11/10, Bravin, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Kavanaugh said precedent required upholding as much of a statute as possible. The Washington Post (11/10, Marimow, Goldstein, Cunningham, Firozi, Barnes, 14.2M) says Kavanaugh "was not coy. He said several times that the court's precedents - presumably including an opinion he wrote last term - created a strong presumption that a law should be saved if the constitutional infirmity can be easily excised." Justice Elena Kagan "said it was strange to bring a lawsuit after Congress had gotten rid of the penalty for noncompliance." USA Today (11/10, Wolf, 10.31M) also says the court "appeared likely Tuesday to uphold the Affordable Care Act for the third time in eight years," while the New York Times (11/10, Al, Liptak, 18.61M) reports "at least five Supreme Court justices," including Roberts and Kavanaugh, "indicated on Tuesday that they would reject attempts by Republicans and the Trump administration to kill the Affordable Care Act," while Justices Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas "seemed poised to vote to strike down the law." Politico (11/10, Luthi, 4.29M) says that "many legal observers believed this case, California v. Texas, to be the weakest of the Supreme Court challenges" to the ACA so far. But the law "appeared to be in greater danger" after Barrett "was quickly installed following the September death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg." CQ Roll Call (11/10, Ruger, 154K) says Barrett's vote "might not matter if Roberts and Kavanaugh were to side with carving out one provision and letting the rest of the law stand. Barrett focused many of her questions about whether the states and individuals had the right to bring the lawsuit." Bloomberg (11/10, Stohr, Wheeler, Robinson, 4.73M), the Los Angeles Times (11/10, Savage, Levey, 4.64M), the New York Daily News (11/10, Sommerfeldt, 2.52M), Axios (11/10, Baker, 521K), The Hill (11/10, Kruzel, 2.98M), and the Fox News (11/10, Olson, 27.59M) and CNBC (11/10, Higgins, 3.62M) websites are among the other outlets covering the hearing. Tech Firms Involved In Suit Against Google Seek To Extend Protective Order Deadline. Reuters (11/11) reports companies that have provided the government with information for its antitrust suit against Google "requested more time on Wednesday to propose a protective order for their confidential data." The companies, which include Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Comcast, EFTA01658804 Duck Duck Go, Sonos and T-Mobile "said it would not be able to make proposals for a protective order on Friday, as federal Judge Amit Mehta had ordered," and "requested an extension until Nov. 20." Eta Expected To Make Landfall In Western Florida On Thursday. NBC Nightly NewsVI (11/11, story 7, 0:10, Holt, 5.8M) reported, "Tropical Storm Eta is churning once again to Florida, with winds up to 70 mph. Landfall is expected north of Tampa tomorrow, with storm surge, rain, and wind." The CBS Evening NewsVI (11/11, story 8, 1:20, O'Donnell, 4.25M) reported, "The storm already dropped nearly two feet of rain in south Florida. ... Well, now Eta threatens Florida's other coast north of Tampa." Rob Marciano reported on ABC World News TonightVi (11/11, story 7, 0:30, Muir, 6.94M), "Western Florida has been getting hit with heavy rain, surging waves, and wind all day - even some tornado warnings. ... Tropical storm warnings are in place along with flood watches. It moves quickly out to sea tomorrow, but until then, going to be a dicey night ahead." The AP (11/11, Anderson, Frisaro) reports, "Eta weakened again to a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon just hours after regaining hurricane strength as Florida braced for a second hit from the storm along the Gulf of Mexico coast near the heavily populated Tampa Bay region." Eta's maximum sustained winds "decreased to around 70 mph (110 kph) off Florida's southwest coast as it moved northward. Additional weakening was expected as Eta approaches the coast." USA Today (11/11, Hauck, 10.31M), the New York Times (11/11, Morales, 18.61M), the Washington Post (11/11, Cappucci, 14.2M), the Wall Street Journal (11/11, Campo-Flores, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), and the Miami Herald (11/11, 1.09M) are among the newspapers covering the progress of the storm. Trump Installing "Loyalists" As Senior Defense Officials. The CBS Evening NewsVI (11/11, story 4, 1:00, O'Donnell, 4.25M) reported that on Wednesday, President Trump "installed more loyalists at the Pentagon in the wake of firings and resignations among top defense officials." Correspondent Ben Tracy said the President's latest appointments include Anthony Tata, "a retired general who has promoted conspiracy theories, and Kash Patel, a former aide to Republican congressman Devin Nunes." The New York Times (11/11, Sanger, Schmitt, 18.61M) reports Trump "made the appointments of four top Pentagon officials, including a new acting defense secretary, this week, leaving civilian and military officials to interpret whether this indicated a change in approach in the final two months of his presidency." In addition to Tata and Patel, Trump announced Ezra Cohen-Watnick as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and Michael Ellis as General Counsel of the National Security Agency. The New York Times (11/11, 18.61M) says the "purge of the senior civilians at the Pentagon and the ascension of a similar hard-line policy official to a top job at the National Security Agency have prompted concerns that the Trump administration may be planning new punishments for Iran and releasing classified documents about President Trump's interactions with Russia." NBC Nightly NewsVI (11/11, story 5, 1:45, Holt, 5.8M) reported that "current and former US military and intelligence officials [say] it is dangerous and could help America's adversaries." The New York Times (11/11, Savage, Schmitt, 18.61M) reports the appointment of Acting Defense Secretary Miller "capped a stunning rise for Mr. Miller, a former Green Beret officer who 11 months ago was a counterterrorism adviser at the National Security Council and who lacks significant experience managing a sprawling organization." While there, Miller attempted to negotiate with a Somali terrorist group, but Secretary of State Pompeo "deemed the idea half- baked and shut it down." According to the Times, the "awkward shuttering of the effort was an embarrassing outcome for the US government, in part because Qatar's emir had already apparently given his approval to explore Mr. Miller's proposal." It "could also portend the kind of EFTA01658805 last-ditch initiatives or operations, whether overt or covert, that Mr. Trump and his top aides might pursue during his last weeks in office." Fighting Among Republicans Come To Light Over CIA's Haspel. The New York Times (11/11, Barnes, 18.61M) reports, "Internal Republican divisions over the fate of Gina Haspel's tenure as CIA director have come tumbling into view as some Senate leaders showed support while President Trump's allies pushed for her ouster, in part over the agency's role in disseminating the whistle-blower complaint that prompted impeachment, according to current and former administration officials." Senate Majority Leader McConnell invited Haspel "for a conspicuous meeting in his office" on Tuesday, prompting Donald Trump Jr. adviser Arthur Schwartz to accuse Republicans of trying to manipulate the President. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) responded via Twitter, "saying intelligence should not be partisan and is 'about preserving impartial, nonpartisan information necessary to inform policy makers." Official Who Questions Harm Of Global Warming To Run Climate Program. The Washington Post (11/11, Freedman, Samenow, Dennis, 14.2M) reports, "David Legates, a meteorologist who claims that excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is good for plants and that global warming is harmless, has been tapped to run the federal agency that oversees a major scientific report on how climate change is affecting the United States." Legates, "a controversial figure who joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in September, will move to a new slot as head of the US Global Change Research Program as early as Thursday, according to two people familiar with the move who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly." New Yorker Fires Toobin. The AP (11/11, Italie) reports, "The New Yorker has fired longtime staff writer Jeffrey Toobin after he reportedly exposed himself during a Zoom conference last month. He had already been on suspension and is also on leave from CNN, where he is chief legal analyst. ... In a company memo, Conde Nast Chief People Officer Stan Duncan wrote that its 'investigation regarding Jeffrey Toobin is complete, and as a result, he is no longer affiliated with our company." USA Today (11/11, Puente, 10.31M), the New York Times (11/11, Robertson, 18.61M), the Washington Post (11/11, Barr, 14.2M), the Wall Street Journal (11/11, Alpert, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), and the Los Angeles Times (11/11, 4.64M) are among other outlets covering Toobin's dismissal. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Developers Say Russian Vaccine Is 92% Effective. NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/11, story 8, 1:30, Holt, 5.8M) reported, "In the race for a COVID vaccine, Russia claimed Tuesday that the trial of its vaccine shows it's highly effective," but questions remain about whether the information can be trusted or if the vaccine will make it outside the country. The AP (11/11, Litvinova) reports, "Developers of Sputnik V, Russia's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, announced Wednesday that early, interim data from a large trial suggests the shot appears to be 92% effective." The statement, "which did not include detailed information about the trial, comes just two days after a similar one from Pfizer Inc., but is based on far fewer virus cases. Some experts suggest the data may have been rushed out in an effort to keep up with the worldwide race for a successful coronavirus vaccine." Brazil's Health Agency Authorizes Resumption Of Vaccine Clinical Trials. EFTA01658806 The AP (11/11) reports Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency has "authorized the resumption of large-scale clinical trials on a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by a Chinese company just over a day after shutting the test down." The initial decision "led to a storm of complaints that the action was more political than scientific." Bolsonaro Says Brazilians Should Not Be "Sissies" About COVID. The Washington Post (11/11, Farzan, Berger, 14.2M) reports Brazilian President lair Bolsonaro said at a news conference on Wednesday that Brazil should stop being "a country of sissies." He said, "All of us are going to die one day. ... Everyone is going to die. There is no point in escaping from that, in escaping from reality. We have to stop being a country of sissies." India Working To Develop COVID Vaccines For Developing World. The Washington Post (11/11, Slater, 14.2M) reports, "In the quest for effective coronavirus vaccines, India is poised to play a critical role in supplying the developing world, which is starting the race with a distinct disadvantage." Before the pandemic, "India was a 'vaccine powerhouse' specializing in affordable exports to low- and middle-income countries, said Andrea Taylor, an assistant director at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center." Because of the cold temperature transportation requirements associated with Pfizer's vaccine, India is currently working to develop vaccines locally and has started "advanced clinical trials of three vaccine candidates." India's COVID Cases Down, But Experts Worry About New Wave. The New York Times (11/11, Gettleman, Schmall, Raj, Yasir, 18.61M) reports that in India, "reported infections, deaths and the share of people testing positive have all fallen significantly. By contrast, infections in Europe and the United States are surging." However, "doubts persist about the reasons for India's drop, and some researchers say the results stem at least in part from a change in testing." Experts "generally agree that the number of infections has far outstripped efforts to track them in India, like elsewhere, and that infections in the country could still get considerably worse." EC Proposes "European Health Union." The New York Times (11/11, Pronczuk, 18.61M) reports, "In a bid to coordinate a patchwork of Covid-19 measures across the European Union and centralize responses to the pandemic, the bloc's executive arm on Wednesday proposed a 'European Health Union." The European Commission's proposal, "which would need to be approved by the European Parliament and member countries, would create an EU-wide plan to prepare for future health crises, as well as coordinate Covid-19 testing across the bloc." EC Agrees To Buy Up To 300M Doses Of Vaccine From Pfizer And BioNTech. Politico Europe (11/11, 8K) reports that on Wednesday, BioNTech and Pfizer "confirmed...that they completed a deal for the European Commission to purchase up to 300 million doses of their front-runner coronavirus vaccine." According to Politico, the EC "agreed to purchase 200 million doses of the vaccine, with the option to purchase an additional 100 million." UK Becomes Fifth Country To Record More Than 50K COVID Deaths. The AP (11/11) reports the United Kingdom has become "the fifth country in the world to record more than 50,000 coronavirus-related deaths, a level that one of the nation's leading doctors says 'should never have been reached." The UK, "which has the highest virus-related death toll in Europe, joins the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico in reporting more than 50,000, according to a tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University." NYTimes Analysis: Egyptian President's Military Priority Brought To Light By Coronavirus. In an analysis, the New York Times (11/11, Walsh, 18.61M) says Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised he would make improving healthcare "at the heart" of his agenda, but EFTA01658807 so far has not done so. According to the Times, "the fragility of Egypt's underfunded public health system, exposed in the early days of the pandemic, highlights a core element of Mr. el- Sisi's harsh rule, where a tiered system of privilege perpetuates inequality and rewards a powerful military - often at the expense of an increasingly poor citizenry." Iran's Uranium Stockpile Now 12 Times Nuclear Deal Maximum. The Wall Street Journal (11/11, Norman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that according to a report from the United Nations Atomic Agency, Iran has continued to expand its low-enriched uranium stockpile to approximately 12 times the maximum amount authorized under the 2015 nuclear deal. The Journal says the report highlights challenges the next Administration will face in returning Iran to the agreed-upon levels after the country has shifted away under the US sanctions campaign. Saudi King Calls For "Decisive Stance" Against Iran. Reuters (11/11, Rashad) reports, "Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz urged the world on Thursday to take 'a decisive stance' to address efforts by Iran to develop nuclear and ballistic missile programs." Abdulaziz emphasized "the dangers of Iran's regional project, its interference in other countries, its fostering of terrorism, its fanning the flames of sectarianism" and called for "a drastic handling of its efforts" by the international community in his "first public remarks since he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September via videolink, where he also took aim at Iran." Senate-Passed Legislation Will Allow Cashe To Receive Medal Of Honor. The Washington Post (11/11, Lamothe, 14.2M) reports the Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday that will allow President Trump to award a Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, "who repeatedly entered a burning vehicle in Iraq to save six fellow soldiers and an interpreter from harm and died a few weeks later." The legislation removes the requirement that the Medal of Honor be awarded within five years of the member's acts of valor. Cashe will be the first African American "to receive the award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan." Axios Analysis: Pentagon Signals Intention To Withdraw Forces From Afghanistan. Axios (11/11, Swan, 521K) reports Acting Defense Secretary Miller "is bringing on a senior adviser in a sign the administration wants to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East," according to "three people familiar with the move. ... A senior administration official says a wave of firings at the Pentagon and the hiring of Ret. Army Col. Douglas Macgregor is in part a settling of [President] Trump's personal scores - but senior White House officials also have made clear 'they want them more publicly to talk about getting out of Afghanistan by the end of the year:" Trump, "who ran in 2016 on a promise to bring U.S. troops home, is frustrated with the slow pace of withdrawing troops," according to "another senior administration official." US Embassy In Pakistan Apologizes For Anti-Trump Retweet. The New York Times (11/11, Masood, 18.61M) reports that the US Embassy in Islamabad "apologized on Wednesday after saying that its official Twitter account had been used without permission to retweet an anti-Trump post from a Pakistani opposition politician and rival of Prime Minister Imran Khan," Ahsan Iqbal. On Tuesday, Iqbal "posted an image of a Washington Post headline, 'Trump's defeat is a blow to world's demagogues and dictators,' with the comment: 'We have one in Pakistan too. He will be shown way out soon,' referring to Mr. Khan." The US Embassy's retweet caused "an uproar on social media," and "several Pakistani officials said that an apology was not enough." EFTA01658808 O'Brien Warns China Of New Sanctions Over Hong Kong. Bloomberg (11/11, Harney, Wadhams, 4.73M) reports National Security Adviser O'Brien on Wednesday "said China's latest clampdown in Hong Kong shows that the one country, two systems arrangement for the territory amounts to a 'fig leaf' for dictatorship, and warned of new sanctions." The warning followed China's top legislative body passing "a resolution allowing for the disqualification of any Hong Kong lawmakers who were not deemed sufficiently loyal. Chief Executive Carrie Lam's government immediately banished four legislators." In a statement released Wednesday evening, O'Brien said the US would "continue to utilize all the powers granted" under various laws and "identify and sanction those responsible for extinguishing Hong Kong's freedom." Reuters (11/11, Pang, Tam) reports that after the resolution was adopted, Hong Kong's "pro-democracy opposition lawmakers said...they would resign in protest against the dismissal of four of their colleagues." The New York Times (11/11, Ramzy, May, Yu, 18.61M) says the ouster of the four lawmakers and the subsequent mass resignations "will reshape the city's political landscape." The Times says the lawmakers who resigned maintain that the legislature is "now so compromised by the government's power to stamp out opposition that they must work outside the system." The Washington Post (11/11, Mahtani, 14.2M) reports that "almost a dozen pro- democracy legislators have been arrested in recent months on various charges, an indication of the pressure on them after backing anti-government protests last year." The Post adds, "Chinese analysts expect tensions between the United States and China, including over Hong Kong, to persist under a Biden administration." Pompeo To Announce Process For US To Declare Groups Anti-Semitic. Politico (11/11, Toosi, 4.29M) reports Secretary of State Pompeo "has decided to establish a new process by which the United States can declare groups, including NGOs, to be anti- Semitic," but for now, he "won't be naming any names." According to Politico, "the decision is a compromise." Pompeo has, in recent weeks, "been weighing whether to label Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam as anti-Semitic because of their alleged actions toward the Israeli government." Had he named them, "the plan was to say the U.S. would not support the organizations and to urge other governments also not to support such groups, financially or otherwise." But the proposal "drew fierce internal pushback from some State Department staffers, as well as external condemnation from lawmakers and other critics." CIA, German Intelligence Used Swiss Company As Platform For Espionage Operation. The Washington Post (11/11, Miller, 14.2M) reports according to a report released Tuesday by members of the Swiss parliament, the CIA and German intelligence used a Swiss company to conduct a global espionage operation for decades, putting Switzerland's reputation for neutrality in jeopardy. Investigators found "that Swiss authorities were aware of, and at times complicit in, an elaborate espionage operation in which the CIA covertly owned and controlled a Swiss company, Crypto AG, that secretly sold rigged encryption systems to foreign governments." According to the report, the operation exploited "Switzerland's image abroad as a neutral state." US Defense Bill Includes Sanctions Tied To Russia-Germany Natural Gas Pipeline. Reuters (11/11) reports that "sanctions that could hinder one of Moscow's most important projects in Europe, the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, have been included in the annual U.S. defense policy bill." According to Reuters, the sanctions included in the National Defense Authorization Act "would penalize companies facilitating the construction of the pipeline, including ships helping operations to lay pipelines or moving rock formations on the sea bed." Reuters adds that the sanctions "also target companies providing insurance or secondary insurance for its construction and certification for the pipeline in Denmark." Reuters reports that EFTA01658809 the pipeline "would double [Russia's] existing pipeline capacity to take gas undersea to Europe via Germany," and "would bypass Ukraine, which depends on lucrative transit fees." Turkish Government: US Statement On Religious Freedom "Extremely Inappropriate." The AP (11/11) reports that the government of Turkey "took offense at a U.S. statement that said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would promote religious freedom during an upcoming visit to Istanbul." According to the AP, on Tuesday, the State Department "said in a statement...that Pompeo would travel to Istanbul to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Greek Orthodox Christians," and "plans to discuss religious issues in Turkey and to promote `our strong stance on religious freedom around the world." According to the AP, Turkey's Foreign Ministry "rebuked the statement as `extremely inappropriate,' insisting that the country protects the rights of citizens of various faiths to freely practice their religions." Armenian Parliament Fails To Hold Scheduled Debate On PM's Resignation Over Nagorno-Karabakh Deal. The AP (11/11, Demourian) reports that on Wednesday in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, "thousands of people protested...demanding the prime minister's resignation after he signed an agreement with Azerbaijan to halt weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that calls for territorial concessions in favor of Azerbaijan." According to the AP, "demonstrators chanted 'Nikol, go away' and `Nikol, the traitor,' referring to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian." The AP says the protests were "triggered by a Moscow-brokered truce Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to early Tuesday after more than six weeks of deadly clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994." Reuters (11/11, Hovhannisyan, Bagirova) reports that also on Wednesday, the Armenian parliament "failed to discuss the prime minister's resignation" as "demanded by thousands of protesters." Reuters says Pashinyan "has said he had no choice but to sign the agreement to prevent further territorial losses," and "said he was taking personal responsibility for the setbacks, but rejected calls to step down." According to Reuters, the Armenian parliament had "announced it would hold a special session on Wednesday evening to discuss the calls for his resignation, but it was not held as the parliament, dominated by Pashinyan's supporters, failed to have a quorum." UN Officials Warn Of Coming Famine In Yemen. Reuters (11/11, Nichols) reports UN officials "warned on Wednesday" that "millions of men, women and children in war-torn Yemen are facing famine - again" as they "appealed for more money to prevent it - again." UN food chief David Beasley told the UN Security Council, "We are on a countdown right now to a catastrophe. ... We have been here before ... We did almost the same dog-and-pony show. We sounded the alarm then." Sudan Anticipates As Many As 200K Refugees From Ethiopia Conflict. The AP (11/11, Anna, Magdy) reports, "Up to 200,000 refugees could pour into Sudan while fleeing the deadly conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, officials said Wednesday, while the first details are emerging of largely cut-off civilians under growing strain. Nearly 10,000 people have crossed the border, including some wounded in the fighting, and the flow is growing quickly." Vizcarra's Removal Could Halt Peru's Anti-Corruption Drive. The AP (11/11, Armario, Bricerio) reports, "When Peru's legislature booted President Martin Vizcarra from office this week, they may have done more than just oust a popular leader - they likely put the country's best chance at making a dent on endemic corruption on hold." Vizcarra "had emerged as the country's most vocal proponent in pushing through measures to end EFTA01658810 decades of dirty politics. ... Many Peruvians saw Vizcarra as the leader of a still nascent drive to hold the powerful accountable." Suu Kyi's Party Dominates In Burmese Elections. The New York Times (11/11, Beech, Nang, 18.61M) reports that the National League for Democracy, which is "led by Myanmar's civilian leader," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is "poised to stay in power after winning what is only the second truly contested election the country has held in decades, though one in which many voters from ethnic minority groups were prevented from casting their ballots." According to the Times, the NLD "captured at least 397 parliamentary seats out of 476, according to official results released on Wednesday," which is "even better than its landslide victory in 2015, when the party began a power-sharing arrangement with Myanmar's military, which had ruled the country for about 50 years." Longtime Bahrain PM Dies. Reuters (11/11, Yaakoubi, Barrington) reports that Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa of Bahrain, "the world's longest serving prime minister who repeatedly put down opposition unrest during a half century in power, has died, with the country's crown prince appointed in his place." According to Reuters, new premier Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa "has been viewed as the ruling family's leading proponent of social and economic reforms, although some changes were blocked in years past by family hardliners." Reuters adds that Bahrain "has long seen confrontation between the Sunni Muslim ruling family and an opposition with roots in the country's Shi'ite majority, with political stalemate entrenched by a security crackdown in recent years." The New York Times (11/11, Hubbard, 18.61M) reports that Prince Khalifa was a "traditionalist who ran the day-to-day affairs of Bahrain's government since the country gained independence from Britain in 1971." The Times adds: "That period saw steady economic development and a deepening alliance with the United States. The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain." Top Envoy Signals EU Is Looking Forward To Working With A Biden Administration. The AP (11/11, Casert) reports that on Wednesday, European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell indicated that the EU "looked forward to better relations with the United States under the leadership" of Joe Biden, and "expressed hope the presidential transition will not be 'bumpy." According to the AP, Borrell "warmly congratulated" Biden and "said the 27-nation bloc looked forward to better relations than under" President Trump. Borrell is quoted as saying, "It is not a secret...that in the past 4 years things have become complicated. ... You can rest assured that we are ready to engage fast with the new administration." THE BIG PICTURE Headlines From Today's Front Pages. Wall Street Journal: Georgia To Recount All Votes In Presidential Race By Hand What Is Trump's Legal Strategy? Try To Block Certification Of Biden Victory In States. Banks In Europe Face Potential $1.7 Trillion Covid-19 Cliff Masayoshi Son Again Pulled SoftBank From The Brink. This Time He Had Help. Goodbye Tie-Dye Sweatpants: Dressy Clothes Make A Comeback Record Covid-19 Hospitalizations Strain System Again New York Times: The Surging Coronavirus Finds a Federal Leadership Vacuum EFTA01658811 Biden's Policy Agenda Rests Heavily on Senate Outcome Millions Face Loss of Jobless Aid: Without It, I'm Dead in the Water' Trump's Post-Election Tactics Put Him in Unsavory Company Atop Pentagon, A Fresh Group Of Hard-Liners Global Firm Casts Big Oil's Messages as Grass-Roots Campaigns Washington Post: Efforts To Thwart Biden's Victory Start Taking Shape Under Pressure, Ga. Secretary Of State Stands Firm Trump Talks Of Another Run In 2024, Allies Say For Azerbaijan, Drones Prove Decisive In Contested Enclave Pandemic And Prison A Deadly Mix Rising Economic Risk: Commercial Real Estate Losses Financial Times: EU May Need To Extend Suspension Of Budget Rules, Commissioner Says SoftBank Racks Up $3.7BN In Losses At Tech Stock Trading Unit Pfizer Chief Sold $5.6m Of Shares As Investors Hailed Vaccine Washington Times: Democrats' Calls For 'Unity' In Transition Ring Hollow Security, Diplomatic Candidates Abound Republicans Hold 50 Seats In Senate, Eye Georgia Races Nigerians Inspired By Black Lives Matter Hospitalizations For Virus Hit Record High Story Lineup From Last Night's Network News: ABC: COVID Surge; CDC-Thanksgiving; Biden-Transition; Trump-Election Results; Georgia- Recount; Veterans Day-WWII Vets; Tropical Storm Eta; COVID-Cruise Ship; Salute to Veterans. CBS: COVID Surge; COVID-East Coast; COVID-El Paso; Trump-Pentagon; Trump-Election Results; Biden-Transition; Biden-Cabinet; Tropical Storm Eta; CDC-Thanksgiving; Ring Security Cameras; Remembering Mother of Ruby Bridges; Veterans Day-WWII Pilot Profile. NBC: COVID Surge; COVID-Minnestoa; COVID Treatment; Trump-Election Results; Trump- Pentagon; Biden-Cabinet; Tropical Storm Eta; Russia-Vaccine; Ring Security Cameras; Murder Hornets; Holiday Shipping; Veterans Day-Afghanistan Solider Profile. Network 7V At A Glance: COVID Surge - 13 minutes, 55 seconds Trump-Election Results - 4 minutes, 10 seconds Tropical Storm Eta - 2 minutes, 0 seconds Story Lineup From This Morning's Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: COVID Surge; Biden-Chief of Staff; Trump-Election Results; Tropical Storm Eta. CBS: COVID Surge; Trump-Election Results; Biden-Chief of Staff; Georgia-Recount; Veterans Day Observances. FOX: COVID-Texas; COVID-NYC; Biden-Chief of Staff. NPR: Biden-Chief of Staff; Georgia-Recount; COVID Surge. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE Today's Events In Washington. White House: EFTA01658812 • President Trump — Has lunch with the Vice President; meets with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury. • Vice President Pence — Joins THE PRESIDENT for lunch. US Senate: • Senate aims to end debate and vote on judicial nominee - Senate convenes and proceeds to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Aileen Mercedes Cannon to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, with agenda include vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination, and, if that passes, a final vote on the nomination Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 11:00 AM US House: • House meets in pro forma session - House of Representatives meets in pro forma session * Chamber on recess from 2 Oct - 16 Nov Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC; 10:00 AM • House Financial Services Committee virtual hearing on regulators and depository institutions - Virtual hearing on 'Oversight of Prudential Regulators: Ensuring the Safety, Soundness, Diversity, and Accountability of Depository Institutions during the Pandemic', held via Cisco Webex, with testimony from Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks; National Credit Union Administration Chairman Rodney Hood; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Jelena McWilliams; and Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles; 12:00 PM Cabinet Officers: • President Trump meets with Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin. Visitors: • No visitors scheduled. This Town: • Atlantic Council discussion with Azerbaijani president's foreign policy adviser - Atlantic Council hosts Azerbaijani president's foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev, who discusses establishing a true cease-fire and finding a negotiated solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue; 8:00 AM • Atlantic Council discussion on the French-American defense relationship — 'The French- American defense relationship and post-COVID-19 alliances' Atlantic Council Future Europe Initiative online discussion, marking the launch of the report 'Sovereign Solidarity: France, the US and post-COVID-19 alliances'. Includes remarks from French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne; report presentation by authors Future Europe Initiative Visiting Fellow Olivier-Remy Bel and Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Jeff Lightfoot; and discussion with French Ministry of the Armed Forces International Relations and Strategy Director General Alice Guitton, Harvard Kennedy School 'Transatlantic Relations 2021' Research Director Torrey Taussig, and former U.S. Naval Forces in Europe Commander Adm. (Ret.) James Foggo; 9:30 AM • Dem Rep. Eric Swalwell discusses treatments and cures for coronavirus in California's East Bay - 'All-Of-Nation Effort to Beat COVID-19: What's Happening in East Bay Communities?': Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center, and California Life Sciences Association hold press call with Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and USCC Vice President Frank Cullen; 11:00 AM • Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention continues - Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention continues, with speakers today including Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr; 11:00 AM EFTA01658813 • FDA hosts virtual presentation on face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic - Food and Drug Administration hosts 'FDA Grand Rounds: Facial Coverings During the COVID-19 Pandemic: How well do they flatten the curve?' virtual presentation, providing overview of the FDA's research to evaluate the ability of facial coverings to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and how the FDA is developing a comprehensive risk-assessment tool to predict the probability of infection with individuals wearing a non-surgical face mask or cloth face covering; given the characteristics of non-surgical face masks, the population, and the pathogen. Speakers include FDA Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories Acting Assistant Director Prasanna Hariharan and Mechanical Engineers Suvajyoti Guha and Matthew Myers; 12:00 PM • New America online discussion on 'An Open World' with Dem Rep. Andy Kim - New America hosts online book event on 'An Open World: Charting a New Grand Strategy to Meet 21st Century Challenges' with authors Dr Rebecca Lissner and Dr Mira Rapp-Hooper. Other speakers include Democratic Rep. Andy Kim; 3:00 PM • CSIS Asian Architecture Conference, session two - Asian Architecture Conference, session two, hosted online by the Center for Strategic and International Studies Southeast Asia Program and Scholl Chair in International Business to discuss the key issues on the agenda for leaders participating in November's East Asia Summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, with remarks from U.S. Senior Official for APEC Sandra Oudkirk, New Zealand Ambassador to the U.S. Amb. Rosemary Banks, MasterCard Global Public Policy Vice President Sahra English, The Asia Group Partner Amb. Kurt Tong, and National Center for APEC President Monica Whaley; 3:30 PM • McCain Institute virtual event on the U.S. elections - '2020 U.S. Elections: Results and Observations' Cain Institute for International Leadership Straight Talk Live virtual event, with Cindy McCain, political consultant Rick Davis, pollster Bill Mclnturff, and former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe; 4:00 PM • Progressive Caucus Center 'Meeting the Moment' summit day one - Progressive Caucus Center holds 'Meeting the Moment: Building a More Resilient Nation' event day one, with today's speakers include Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; fellow Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Mark Pocan, Dem Representatives-elect Kai Kahele, Marie Newman, Jamaal Bowman and-Teresa-Leger-Fernandez; PC-AF-and-C-P&Center-Executive-Director-Liz-Watson; Children's Defense Fund President and CEO Rev. Dr Starsky Wilson; Voto Latino President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar; MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting, Community Change Action President Lorella Pareli; Kentucky state Rep. Attica Scott; Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym; Austin, TX, City Councilmember Greg Casar; and Communications Workers of America's Shane Larson • National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards - 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools virtual awards ceremony, formally recognizing public and private schools. Includes presentation of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership, with the Department of Education, National Association of Elementary School Principals, Association for Middle Level Education, and National Association of Secondary School Principals honoring the principals of several schools as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program Copyright 2020 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. 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