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Subject:	[EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Date:	Wed, 25 Nov 2020 11:26:43 +0000
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Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. FBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 6:30 AM EST ## Holiday Message In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, we will not publish on Thursday, November 26, 2020 and Friday, November 27, 2020. Service will resume on Monday, November 30, 2020. We wish our readers a safe and happy holiday. ## TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS - Trump Argues GSA Does Not Decide Who Will Be President Even As The White House Begins Transition Process. ## PROTESTS - Biden Addresses How He Would Respond To Civil Unrest. - Seattle City Council Cuts Police Department Budget Almost 17%. - New Jersey Governor Signs Bills Requiring Police To Wear Body Cameras. - DC Man Pleads Guilty To Illegally Making Firebomb During Floyd Protest. - San Francisco DA Charges Officer With Homicide Over On-Duty Shooting. ## COUNTER-TERRORISM - Libyan Militant Convicted For Benghazi Attack Seeking New Trial. - WTimes Analysis: Guantanamo To Become Problem Of Next Administration. - Scotland’s Highest Court Hearing Posthumous Appeal Of Lockerbie Bombing Conviction. - London Woman Who Joined ISIS Seeks To Return To UK. ## COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE - White House Grants Biden Access To Intelligence Briefing Following GSA Ascertainment. - Democrats Press Facebook, Twitter About Misinformation Ahead Of Georgia Runoff. - Election Officials, Experts Warn Of Consequences Of Claims Of Widespread Voter Fraud. - Sources Say Trump Plans To Pardon Flynn. - DNI Ratcliffe Urged SEC To Make US Cryptocurrency More Competitive Against China. EFTA00148727 - CIA Incubator Aims To Bring Tech To Public. - Wyden Says Picking Morell For CIA Chief Would Inflame Progressive Base. - With Staff Returning To Office Amid Pandemic, Tensions At NSA High. - Netanyahu Tells Convicted US Spy Israel Is "Waiting" For Him. - Australia's Spy Agency Watchdog Says COVID-19 App Data Was Collected. ## CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS - Suspect In Whitmer Kidnap Plot Denied Release. - FBI Arrests Man Suspected In Minnesota Killing. - Oklahoma Man Sentenced In Murder-For-Hire Plot. - Ohio Man Sentenced In Family Plot To Kill, Rob Drug Dealers. - Pennsylvania Man Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison In Sex Trafficking Case. - Virginia Woman Pleads Guilty To Pointing Laser At Police Airplane. - New York Man Sentenced To Two Years Probation For Threats Against Congressman. - Continuing Coverage: North Carolina Man Sentenced To More Than Two Years For Violating FHA. - Alleged Member Of Pill Mill Operation Pleads Not Guilty. - FBI Renews Call For Help In Double Murder Investigation In Ohio. - Attorney: Witness Saw Ending Of Altercation Involving DEA Agents, Man Who Died. - Ohio Man Charged With Felony Trafficking, Weapon Possession. - DC Woman Pleads Guilty To Disclosing Identity Of Grand Jury Witness. - Nebraska Man Sentenced To 47 Years In Prison For Sex Trafficking. - Kansas Man Charged With Hate Crime For Alleged Racially Motivated Threat. - FBI, Indiana Police Arrest Two In Serial Bank Robbery Investigation. - Disappearance Of New Jersey Woman In 1996 Remains Unsolved. - Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Attempted Sex Trafficking Of Minor. - Florida Man Arrested For Allegedly Trying To Entice A Minor For Sex. EMPLOYMENT - FBI Seeks To Hire New Victim Specialists. ## FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS - Former Cincinnati Council Member Is Sentenced For Corruption. - Agencies Investigating Lender Misconduct In PPP. - DOJ: Two Texas Men Tried To Sell $317M In Nonexistent N95 Masks To Foreign Government. - Cincinnati Councilman Is A No-Show For Pre-Trial Hearing On Removal. - Former SCANA CEO Reaches Guilty Plea On Fraud Charges. - Owner Of Kentucky Rehab Facility Charged With Medicare Fraud. - Federal Judge Allows California Rapper Facing Fraud Charges To Access Studio, Use Social Media. - Maryland Brothers Charged In Romance Scam. - Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty To Three Federal Felonies Over Marketing And Distribution Of OxyContin. ## CYBER DIVISION - Iowa Police Probing Second Simpson College Zoom Bomb. - Canadian Police Officer Says Supervisor Suggested Arresting Huawei CFO On Plane. - FCC Affirms Decision To Designate ZTE As National Security Threat. - Biden’s Top Cabinet Picks Expected To Bring Cybersecurity Experience To Administration. - CISA Warns Of Spike In Cyber Scams During Holiday Season. - Survey: Cybersecurity Tops List Of Expected Budget Increases For Banks. ## LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES EFTA00148728 - Oregon Officials Must Set Up Recovery-Focused System After Drug Possession Decriminalized. - Pro-Gun Rally In Virginia Shut Out After Gun Control Advocates Get Permits First. - Maryland Public Defender Says Court Hearings Becoming "Superspreader" Events. ## INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Alleged Cartel Leader Arrested In Connection With Shooting Attack That Left Nine Dead. - UK High Court Rules American In Fatal Car Crash Had Diplomatic Immunity. ## OTHER FBI NEWS - FBI Warns Of Fake Versions Of Bureau’s Website. ## OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS - Biden Says Fauci Has Been "Very Helpful" During Discussions With His Transition Team. - Federal Government Expects To Ship 6.4M Doses Of Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine To States Around Mid-December. - White House Coronavirus Task Force Calls For "Significant Behavior Change" As Cases Surge. - Health Officials Implore Americans To Stay Home For Thanksgiving. - Growing Number Of Republican Senators Testing Positive For COVID. - Trump Celebrates Another Market Record With Dow Closing Above 30,000. - Biden Presents National Security Team In Delaware Appearance. - GAO Reports US Has Paid Up To $870K Per Acre On Land For Border Wall. - In Texts, US Census Manager Told Counters To Provide Fake Answers For Residents. - US Agrees To Pause Deportation Of Women Alleging Abuse By Gynecologist. - Women Detained For Speaking Spanish Settle CBP Lawsuit. - More Wealthy Americans Seeking A Second Passport. - House, Senate Appropriators Seal Deal On Funding Levels, Avoiding December Shutdown. - Fox News, Parents Of DNC Staffer Settle Lawsuit. - Progressive Democrats Said To Be Critical Of Durbin As Senate Judiciary Ranking Member. ## INTERNATIONAL NEWS - US, EU Stockpile Coronavirus Vaccines While Russia, China Move To Share State-Backed Vaccines. - England To Use Tests To Reduce Quarantine Time Ahead Of Holiday Travel. - Macron Lays Out Gradual Easing Of Lockdown Measures. - Merkel Proposes Stricter Virus Measures. - Asian Countries See COVID Numbers Rising Amid "Pandemic Fatigue." - Hong Kong’s Lam Facing Pandemic, Political Tests In First Policy Address. - Columbian First Lady Tests Positive For Coronavirus. - US Airlines Adding Flights To Mexican, Caribbean Resort Locations. - Bloomberg Analysis: Algerian President’s Absence Puts Residents In Limbo Again. - WPost: Poor Nations Need Debt Relief From China To Help Battle COVID-Related Financial Strains. - Multiple New Findings Suggest The 614G Mutation In SARS-CoV-2 Made The Virus More Transmissible Between People. - Pompeo: Administration’s Iran Policy Saved American Lives. - Violence In Daraa Undercuts Assad’s Claim Of Control. - US, EU, Others Pledge Billions For Afghanistan. - Khamenei Says Past Talks With US Were A Failure. - Pakistan, India Give UN Dossiers On Each Other. - Pompeo Expects More Normalization Announcements Before End Of Administration. - Tice’s Mother, Former Ambassador Credit Trump For Efforts To Bring Home US Hostages, Other - Biden Will Feel Pressure To Strengthen Ties With Taiwan. EFTA00148729 - Pope Francis Says "The Poor Uighurs" Are "Persecuted." - Trump’s Departure Rekindles European Differences Over Defense Relationships With US. - Guaido Hopes To Keep Bipartisan US Support During Biden Transition. - Russian Ship Threatened US Ship In Sea Of Japan. - Clooney Accuses Orbán's "Propaganda Machine" Of Lying About Him. - Police Push To Clear Paris Migrant Camp Sparks Outrage. - Scotland Will Make Period Products Freely Available To All Who Need Them. - Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Says 600 Civilians Were Killed In Massacre In Tigray Region. ## THE BIG PICTURE - Headlines From Today's Front Pages. ## WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE - Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS ## Trump Argues GSA Does Not Decide Who Will Be President Even As The White House Begins Transition Process. President Trump on Tuesday tweeted, "What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history? We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & `Dominion.'” He added, “Remember, the GSA has been terrific, and Emily Murphy has done a great job, but the GSA does not determine who the next President of the United States will be.” Typical of the tone of the coverage, the AP (11/24, Miller) reports Trump “insisted…that he is not giving up his fight to overturn the election results, but across the federal government, preparations were beginning in earnest to support President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration.” Similarly, the Washington Times (11/24, Boyer, 492K) reports that even as Democrats “and some Republicans pointed to the General Services Administration’s decision late Monday to cooperate on the transition with Mr. Biden as more proof that the election is over,” the President “vowed to ‘never concede’ and his legal team pressed ahead with legal challenges of the results in several states.” On ABC’s Good Morning AmericaVi (11/24, 3.2M), Jonathan Karl said Trump “made it clear even as he was conceding that…Biden is the President-elect, sort of, he certainly didn’t concede he lost the race.” Karl added, “I don’t expect we’ll ever see that concession.” According to Karl, Trump “is going to leave on January 20th. I expect at some point we will hear a speech from him but….it may well be a speech announcing he intends to run for President again. Most of the people that I spoke to close to him suggest that he will make it clear he is not done.” Karl added on ABC World News TonightVi (11/24, story 5, 1:10, Muir, 6.4M), “I’m told the President is spending a lot of time in the private dining room right next to the oval office. He’s talking to friends and supporters at all hours of day and into the evening. I’m told he is coming around to the reality that Joe Biden will be the next President. But as one of those who has spoken to the President regularly over these past three weeks put it to me, quote, ‘This is a man who can’t say he is sorry and who can’t say he lost, he needs the world to believe it was stolen from him.’ So I’m told to expect the lawsuits will continue right until the bitter end, and the President is telling his friends and supporters that he is not going to leave the world of politics no matter what happens. In fact, one person…I spoke to today said that the President told him flatly he intends to run for President again.” Aides told the Wall Street Journal (11/24, Ballhaus, Lucey, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) that despite his public promise to continue to fight the election, the President has begun to consider his next steps after leaving office. On CBS This Morning Vi (11/24, 2.47M) CBS EFTA00148730 News senior political analyst and ‘60 minutes’ correspondent John Dickerson said, “It just shows that on the way out of the office the President is behaving much as he did in the office.” Meanwhile, a New York Times (11/24, Yourish, Buchanan, 18.61M) analysis headlined “Since Election Day, A Lot Of Tweeting And Not Much Else For Trump” says that over the past three weeks, “Trump’s most visible presence has been on Twitter. Since Nov. 3, he has posted some 550 tweets – about three-quarters of which attempted to undermine the integrity of the 2020 election results.” The Times adds that the President “attacked the legitimacy of the election more than 400 times since Election Day, though his claims of fraud have been widely debunked.” A New York Times (11/24, A1, Burns, 18.61M) analysis titled “Trump Stress-Tested The Election System, And The Cracks Showed” says that even as he failed to produce “a questionable outcome or any evidence of fraud,” Trump “managed to freeze the passage of power for most of a month.” The Times adds that while the US “appears to have avoided a ruinous breakdown of its electoral system,” next time, Americans “might not be so lucky.” According to the Times, Trump has “exposed deep cracks in the edifice of American democracy and opened the way for future disruption and perhaps disaster.” A front-page Washington Post (11/24, A1, Olorunnipa, 14.2M) analysis headlined “Trump’s Assault On The Election Could Leave A Lasting Mark On American Democracy” reaches a similar conclusion. As Biden’s Tally Exceeds 80M Votes, Trump Campaign’s Legal Options Narrow As Nevada And Pennsylvania Certify Election Results. Ben Tracy said on the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 7, 1:05, Brennan, 3.87M) that the Trump campaign “keeps fighting, despite no real path to victory. The recounts it has demanded in Georgia and Wisconsin are now under way, but even if by some miracle the results in those states are overturned, it is still not enough for…Trump to win the election.” USA Today (11/24, Behrmann, 10.31M) reports Biden “surpassed 80 million votes, the most votes a candidate has received in U.S. history,” and Trump “broke Obama’s 2008 record by surpassing 73 million votes this election.” However, USA Today adds Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) “acknowledged Tuesday that…Biden carried Arizona, nearly three weeks after the Associated Press called the state for Biden and nearly two weeks after several other major news outlets did.” In addition, the AP (11/24, Ritter) reports that the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously “made...Biden’s win in the state official on Tuesday, approving the state’s final canvass of the Nov. 3 election.” The AP says the ruling, which “drew extra scrutiny amid legal efforts by the state GOP and Trump campaign to prevent sending vote-by-mail ballots to all 1.82 million active registered voters and then to stop the counting of the 1.4 million votes that were cast,” sends results to Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) “that will deliver six electoral votes from the western U.S. battleground state to Biden.” The Las Vegas Review-Journal (11/24, Newberg, 345K) says that while “a few legal challenges are still pending, the court’s formal acceptance of the results...essentially closes the book on the 2020 election.” Meanwhile, the AP (11/24, Scolforo) reports Biden “was certified Tuesday as winner of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, culminating three weeks of vote counting and a string of failed legal challenges by…Trump.” The AP adds that the results “show Biden and Harris with 3.46 million votes, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence with 3.38 million, and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen with 79,000.” Reuters (11/24, Heavey) says the certification “cement[s] Biden’s victory in the key political battleground state.” The New York Times (11/24, Corasaniti, 18.61M) reports Minnesota “also certified Mr. Biden’s victories in those states on Tuesday, and North Carolina certified its vote for...Trump,” but “the certification in Pennsylvania, a state Mr. Biden won by more than 80,000 votes, resonated as it officially marked the state as having moved from red to blue, and was yet one more rebuke to the many efforts of the Trump campaign and its Republican allies to overturn the election results in a state Mr. Biden won by more than 80,000 votes.” EFTA00148731 Politico (11/24, Montellaro, 4.29M) similarly reports the Pennsylvania certification “finalized the results in a critical battleground that had been a target of Trump’s efforts to change or block results showing Biden winning.” Politico adds Trump had “invited Michigan state legislative leaders to the White House, as he pushed the prospect of GOP legislators in Biden states appointing their own pro-Trump electors. But that legally dubious plan has quickly faded as states including Georgia, Michigan and now Nevada and Pennsylvania follow their election results and the normal processes laid out in their election laws.” However, the Washington Post (11/24, Wagner, Sonmez, 14.2M) reports the President "continued to fight [the] results in court." According to the Washington Times (11/24, Boyer, 492K), "Trump’s waning chances of overturning the election [have hinged] primarily on Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes." The Inquirer (PA) (11/24, Lai, Roebuck, 347K) reports that Trump’s campaign “continues to press its case, dismissing certification in court filings as just ‘a procedural step’ that could be undone with a favorable ruling before the Dec. 8 cutoff date to name electors. And the campaign touted a partisan state Senate hearing Wednesday in Gettysburg – one before a panel with only GOP members – at which it vowed Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani would present the evidence for allegations he has failed to offer in court.” However, the Inquirer adds “more than a dozen lawsuits from Trump and his GOP allies have now dwindled to three.” Paula Reid similarly reported on CBS This MorningVi (11/24, 2.47M) that the Trump campaign “has had dozens of legal losses,” and Peter Alexander stated on NBC’s TodayVi (11/24, 3.03M) that the President’s legal challenges have been “repeatedly getting rejected by the courts.” Reuters (11/24, Brice, Stempel) reports the Trump campaign is appealing US District Judge Matthew Brann’s recent ruling that he had “no authority to take away the right to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of citizens.” According to Bloomberg (11/24, Larson, 4.73M), Democrats mocked Trump’s campaign over the appeal and “noted the irony of the campaign seeking permission to file a third complaint to fix what it says were a number of errors when the suit itself demands that about 70,000 mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania be invalidated based on minor errors made by otherwise qualified voters.” The Hill (11/24, Chalfant, 2.98M) reports that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday “also rejected a request by the Trump campaign to throw out ballots in the state that contained small technical errors.” In addition, Bloomberg (11/24, Stohr, 4.73M) reports the US Supreme Court "granted a Democratic request for five extra days to respond to one of two lingering Republican appeals challenging a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that extended the deadline for mail ballots to be received." According to Bloomberg, "The cases, which involve about 10,000 ballots that arrived after Election Day, have lost much, if not all, of their practical significance in light of Joe Biden’s victory in the state by more than 80,000 votes." Meanwhile, the New York Times (11/24, Fausset, 18.61M) says that the second Georgia recount “requested by the Trump campaign will begin Tuesday and run through Dec. 2, a top state elections official said. That gives the president a third opportunity to hope for an outcome in the Southern state that is favorable to him, though a change in the results is extremely unlikely.” The AP (11/24, Bauer) also says Republicans “filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block certification of the presidential election results even as a recount...is ongoing.” According to the AP, the lawsuit “echoes many of the same arguments Trump is making in trying, unsuccessfully, to have tens of thousands of ballots discounted during the recount,” and it “seeks to give the power to name presidential electors to the Republican-controlled Legislature.” Trump Criticizes Fox News Over Insufficient Support. The Hill (11/24, 2.98M) reports the President on Tuesday “retweeted a video in which actor Randy Quaid recites one of the president’s tweets criticizing Fox News, and says that ‘Fox is dead to me.’” The Hill adds Trump “also responded to multiple tweets from Quaid on Tuesday, which took aim at the EFTA00148732 election, Republicans and `Big Pharma.'” The AP (11/24, Bauder) reports that since the election, Trump “has been actively encouraging his followers to abandon Fox and hasn’t actually conceded.” In an analysis, the Washington Post (11/24, Bump, 14.2M) says “the slow melting of Trump’s glacial insistence that he didn’t lose” has left pundits “who largely hew to the Trump line are left to figure out the path forward without guidance from the president. Some remain insistent that he’ll somehow triumph. Others – including, surprisingly, Fox News’s Laura Ingraham – are resigned to…Biden’s inauguration.” The Washington Post (11/24, Elfrink, 14.2M) reports Ingraham on Monday “urged viewers to prepare for Biden to become president.” In his Politico Magazine (11/24, 4.24M) column, senior media writer Jack Shafer says that while Trump has “encouraged the Fox hatred” in recent weeks, “predictions of Fox’s diminution – however stirring they might be to liberals – must clear several obstacles before they can be taken seriously.” He adds, “The mismatch between the Newsmax and OANN pair and Fox cannot be exaggerated. As data published in the Financial Times shows, the contest isn’t really two Davids and one Goliath as much as it is between two dust motes and the burning sun. Fox is expected to reap $2.9 billion in revenue this year compared with Newsmax’s teensy $26 million and OANN’s only slightly less pitiful $48 million.” Meanwhile, the New York Times (11/24, Wakabayashi, 18.61M) reports YouTube “suspended One America News Network, one of the right-wing channels aggressively pushing false claims about widespread election fraud, for violating its policies on misinformation,” but “the misinformation that got OAN in trouble on Tuesday had nothing to do with the election.” According to the Times, “YouTube removed a video that violated its policies against content claiming that there is a guaranteed cure for Covid-19.” Sidney Powell To Sue Georgia, Other States Over Use Of Dominion Voting Machines. The Washington Times (11/24, Boyer, 492K) reports former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on Tuesday “said she will file a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging widespread election fraud in Georgia’s voting machines and ‘foreign intrusion’ in the U.S. election.” Powell told Fox Business host Lou Dobbs that she “plans to file similar lawsuits in other states.” Rep. Pascrell Seeking To Get Giuliani, Other Trump Lawyers Disbarred. The Washington Post (11/24, Bellware, 14.2M) reports the President’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani has spent the last three weeks engaged in “a prodigiously unsuccessful legal fight on behalf of…Trump’s campaign to overturn the election results,” and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) is “pushing for lawyers such as Giuliani, who have enabled the president, to face swift and severe professional sanctions.” According to the Post, Pascrell “filed complaints on Friday in five states against Giuliani and 22 other lawyers working with the Trump campaign, calling for them to be stripped of their law licenses for filing ‘frivolous’ lawsuits and allegedly engaging in ‘conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.’” Facebook Employees Discuss Company’s Pre-Election Changes. Under the headline “Facebook Struggles To Balance Civility And Growth,” the New York Times (11/24, Roose, Isaac, Frenkel, 18.61M) reports on how Facebook acted ahead of the election to reduce misinformation, according to interviews with employees at the company. Foreign Observers Concerned By US Election Dispute. Under the headline “Foreign Observers Shocked By Chaos Over U.S. Election,” the Washington Post (11/23, Morello, 14.2M) says that as Trump “used a string of maneuvers to attack the election he lost as fraudulent and illegitimate, many observers are perplexed as they watch the country they have known and admired floundering in a constitutional crisis and growing mistrust of democratic institutions. For many, it is a struggle to maintain confidence that America’s principles and ideals will prevail.” ## PROTESTS Biden Addresses How He Would Respond To Civil Unrest. EFTA00148733 NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/24, story 5, 1:15, Holt, 5.9M) reported, “2020 is not only the year of COVID, it’s the year of Breonna Taylor, of George Floyd.” When asked how a Biden Administration would approach situations like this, Joe Biden said, “Not hype it up – look at the facts, make sure that it is determined what happened. Have the agency, the police agency, have to be investigated.” He added, “The only people that dislike bad cops more than the community are cops. The vast majority of them are straight, honest, and responsible. And the last thing they need is bad cops, cops who act out. And so, there has to be accountability. And we’re going to be working with police chiefs, with the community, with civil rights organizations, and convening conferences in the White House – in the White House – to determine how we move forward. It’s about bringing people together.” ## Seattle City Council Cuts Police Department Budget Almost 17%. The Hill (11/24, Jenkins, 2.98M) reports, “Seattle’s City Council has moved forward with a nearly 17 percent cut to the city’s police department budget following this year’s protests against police brutality and racial injustice.” The city council “voted Monday to adopt a 2021 spending plan that calls for $340 million for the Seattle Police Department, down from the $409 million budgeted for the agency this year, NBC News reported.” Under the budget, “vacancies within the department will remain unfilled, officers will see a reduction in overtime and the police department will no longer control 911 dispatching or parking enforcement.” Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) “lauded the proposals, saying in a statement, ‘I believe we are laying the groundwork to make systemic and lasting changes to policing.’” ## New Jersey Governor Signs Bills Requiring Police To Wear Body Cameras. The Hill (11/24, Polus, 2.98M) reports New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) “on Tuesday signed into law legislation requiring law enforcement officials to wear body cameras while on the clock.” The two bills,“S1163 and A4312, will require all uniformed state, county and municipal patrol law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and keep them turned on while responding to a call for service or when initiating an investigative encounter.” Murphy said,“We’ve made it clear that New Jersey will be second-to-none in enacting vital reforms to promote transparency and boost public confidence in law enforcement. … Body worn cameras are a wise all-around investment in public safety that not only redouble our commitment to transparency and accountability, but also ensure that members of law enforcement are equipped with an important tool to help them carry out their sworn duties.” ## DC Man Pleads Guilty To Illegally Making Firebomb During Floyd Protest. The Washington Post (11/24, Hsu, 14.2M) reports Washington, DC man Jerritt Pace “pleaded guilty Tuesday to filling a plastic laundry detergent bottle with gasoline and lighting it with a makeshift paper wick outside a police station during protests over George Floyd’s killing.” Pace “was arrested shortly after the makeshift incendiary device was lit and dropped about 6 a.m. May 29 on the sidewalk outside the 4th District police station at 6001 Georgia Ave. NW.” Prosecutors “initially accused Pace of trying to burn down the station and charged him with attempted arson and receiving and threatening the use of an explosive through interstate commerce,” but Pace “pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of illegally making a firearm.” ## San Francisco DA Charges Officer With Homicide Over On-Duty Shooting. The Washington Post (11/24, Villegas Vargas, 14.2M) reports former San Francisco Police Department officer Christopher Samayoa “was charged with manslaughter” by San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Monday, “three years after he fatally shot Kita O’Neil during an alleged carjacking incident.” Boudin “announced that his office had filed homicide charges against...Samayoa, a decision that appears to be the city’s first homicide prosecution against a law enforcement officer who has killed someone while on duty.” Boudin, “a liberal former public EFTA00148734 defender, was elected last year on a platform of criminal justice reform and promised a tougher stance on law enforcement accountability." ## COUNTER-TERRORISM ## Libyan Militant Convicted For Benghazi Attack Seeking New Trial. The AP (11/24, Tucker) reports lawyers for Ahmed Abu Khattala, a “Libyan militant convicted in the Benghazi attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans,” have requested a new trial, citing what they claim is “recently disclosed exculpatory evidence.” The motion, filed in federal court in Washington, “does not detail the newly disclosed evidence but says it concerns a key government witness who testified under the pseudonym Ali Majrisi at Khattala’s 2017 trial.” The motion “also says there is additional information that emerged during the trial of an alleged co-conspirator that has not yet been provided to the defense.” ## WTimes Analysis: Guantanamo To Become Problem Of Next Administration. The Washington Times (11/24, Glenn, 492K) reports that the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is “presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s problem,” after the Obama and Trump Administrations broke their vows to close it down and “load it” with criminals, respectively. According to the Times, “The prison’s very existence is a PR problem for the US around the world, and the legal stalemate over many of the remaining detainees shows no signs of easing.” However, “the inability of both Democratic and Republican presidents to solve the Guantanamo riddle reflects just how bad the alternatives are.” Guantanamo “represents an expensive headache as well: The cost of keeping Guantanamo open has been estimated at $13 million per prisoner per year.” ## Scotland’s Highest Court Hearing Posthumous Appeal Of Lockerbie Bombing Conviction. The New York Times (11/24, Kwai, 18.61M) reports Scotland’s highest court on Tuesday began hearing a posthumous appeal for Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, “a Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner that killed 270 people over the town of Lockerbie, the deadliest terrorist attack in Britain.” The is being pursued by the family of al-Megrahi, “the only person found guilty in the midair blast,” who “insisted on his innocence until his death in 2012.” The AP (11/24) reports that the family’s barrister, Claire Mitchell, “said prosecutors failed to prove al-Megrahi was responsible for placing a suitcase containing the bomb, along with items of clothing, on the plane.” She said the evidence provided by a shopkeeper was “so muddled that no evidence could be ... relied upon to bear the weight of any conviction.” She added, “no reasonable jury, properly directed, could have returned the verdict that it did, namely the conviction of Mr. Megrahi.” Reuters (11/24, Shirbon) reports that the family’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said, “Overturning of the verdict for the Megrahi family, and many of the families of British victims also supporting the appeal, would vindicate their belief that the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom stand accused of having lived a monumental lie for 31 years.” The Times (UK) (11/25, Mulholland, Subscription Publication, 50K) also reports. ## London Woman Who Joined ISIS Seeks To Return To UK. The New York Times (11/24, 18.61M) reports attorneys for Shamima Begum, “a London schoolgirl who traveled to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State, on Tuesday called on Britain’s Supreme Court to allow her to return to her home country to mount her defense, saying the court should not assume she posed a serious threat.” Begum “is seeking to return to Britain to challenge a decision last year by the government of Theresa May, the prime minister at the time, to revoke her citizenship on the grounds that she posed a threat to national security.” EFTA00148735 David Pannick, one of her attorneys "argued on the final day of a two-day hearing at Britain’s highest court that it had been difficult for Ms. Begum to communicate with her lawyers from the camp in Syria where she is being detained, and that she could only properly mount her defense in Britain." ## COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE ## White House Grants Biden Access To Intelligence Briefing Following GSA Ascertainment. Reuters (11/24, Holland) reports an Administration official on Tuesday revealed the White House will give Joe Biden “the president’s daily classified intelligence brief,” which “means Biden will have access to the latest intelligence reports about major national security threats around the globe.” An official at ODNI said, “Following the statutory direction of the Presidential Transition Act, ODNI will provide requested support to the transition team,” adding, “This afternoon the White House approved ODNI to move forward with providing the PDB (president’s daily brief) as part of the support to the transition.” Bloomberg (11/24, Korte, 4.73M) says access “to the top-secret briefing is the most high-profile part of the transition and seen as key to the orderly transfer of presidential responsibilities to a new leader,” adding that an intelligence official “said the Biden team would meet with current intelligence officials Monday to review further details of the transition.”

Politico(11/24, Choi,Lippman,Cook,4.29M) reports Biden“confirmed to reporters later Tuesday afternoon that he’d been offered the briefings but said he hadn’t seen one yet.” Politico adds Biden“told NBC News’ Lester Holt,in an interview that aired Tuesday evening,that he might get his first briefing on Wednesday.” Fox News(11/24,Singman,27.59M) reports that Biden said of the PDB,“They’ve been very forthcoming,offering all access and so we’re going to be starting those on a regular basis。”

CBS News (11/24, 3.68M) reports that an ODNI official told them "that Mr. Biden’s review team will be on site on Monday to meet with staff. Transition support from the agency could include providing an overview of the agency and related operations, and the delivery of intelligence briefings." CNN (11/24, Collins, Cohen, 83.16M) reports that an ODNI official "attributed the change directly to the White House's move to formally grant Biden access to the PDB. CNN previously reported the decision was Trump's and the access to the PDB could have been granted before the GSA administrator made the transition official Monday." The Washington Examiner (11/24, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that as "a major-party candidate, Biden had been receiving periodic intelligence briefings, but he had not yet been given access to the PDB, a daily summary of the intelligence community’s high-level analysis on national security threats that has existed since 1946, which raised some national security concerns." The New York Post (11/24, Nelson, 4.57M) also reports that Biden will received the PDBs, as does Newsweek (11/24, Czachor, 1.53M) and CNBC (11/24, Wilkie, 3.62M), among others. FBI Can Now Begin Background Investigations. CBS News (11/24, Watson, 3.68M) reports that the FBI “says it can also now begin background investigations of potential appointees, upon receiving written requests from the office of the president-elect. The FBI works to thoroughly investigate candidates as swiftly as possible. The results of the background check are given to the requesting agency.” Biden: Outreach From Trump Administration Has Been "Sincere." More broadly, The Hill (11/24, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports Biden told NBC News on Tuesday that since the General Services Administration granted ascertainment on Monday, the Trump Administration’s “outreach has been sincere.” Reuters (11/24, Hunnicutt) reports Biden told reporters, "I’m pleased to have received the ascertainment from GSA to carry out a smooth and peaceful transition of power so our teams can prepare to meet the challenges at hand: to control the pandemic, to build back better, and EFTA00148736 to protect the safety and security of the American people.” In addition, The Hill (11/24, Samuels, 2.98M) reports Biden “said he would be open to meeting with President Trump as part of the transition, even as Trump has refused to publicly accept the results of the election.” Biden told reporters, “Of course I would, if he asked.” On ABC’s Good Morning AmericaVi (11/24, 3.2M), Rachel Scott reported White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows “issued a memo overnight saying they will comply with all actions needed, but warning not to speak to the Biden team without authorization.” The Hill (11/24, Wilson, 2.98M) also reports that Biden’s transition teams “scheduled about 20 meetings with the heads of federal agencies and departments,” according to a Biden transition official. The Washington Post (11/24, A1, Viser, 14.2M) reports on its front page that Biden aides began “to meet with agency officials in preparation for a head-snapping Trump-to-Biden shift throughout the vast federal bureaucracy” as “uncertainty remains over how much cooperation the Biden team will get from Trump’s political appointees – some of whom are embracing the false notion that the president could somehow still win reelection – as Biden hopes to rebuild a demoralized federal workforce and prepare it to implement his drastically different agenda.” On the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 5, 2:10, Brennan, 3.87M), Nikole Killion said that over the past day, Biden’s team has already been “in touch with all federal agencies and Dr. Anthony Fauci.” Biden: “We’re already working out meeting with the COVID team in the White House and how to not only distribute but get from a vaccine being distributed to a person able to get vaccinated.” On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/24, story 6, 1:00, Holt, 5.9M), Kristen Welker asserted, “I thought it was notable that [Biden said that] despite the delay in communicating with the Trump Administration, he feels confident he will be able to tackle the crisis. He’s going to have to show that on day one. And then his next big challenge, trying to unify this country.” Meanwhile, Reuters (11/24, Pamuk, Zargham) reports Secretary of State Pompeo in a Fox News interview on Tuesday “indicated that the State Department has begun the transition process.” Pompeo said the Administration “will do everything that’s required by law. We’ll make this work.” Politico (11/24, Feldscher, 4.29M) reports a Pentagon spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed Kash Patel, “a White House loyalist who was installed at the Pentagon two weeks ago amid a purge of senior civilian officials, has been put in charge of the Defense Department’s transition to the next administration.” ## Democrats Press Facebook, Twitter About Misinformation Ahead Of Georgia Runoff. The Hill (11/24, Klar, 2.98M) reports, “Democratic senators on Tuesday pressed Facebook and Twitter” over their responses to “misinformation ahead of the Georgia Senate runoff.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) requested “detailed information as to how the tech giants plan to fight misinformation, especially in Spanish, on their platforms.” The letter was also signed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Gary Peters (DMI). Facebook plans to extend the ad ban – which has “been criticized by Georgia Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock’s (D) campaign.” Facebook “also highlighted the company’s decision to build a Spanish version of its voting information center as well as the decision to add two new U.S. fact-checking partners who review content in Spanish on Facebook and instagram.” ## Election Officials, Experts Warn Of Consequences Of Claims Of Widespread Voter Fraud. USA Today (11/24, Vasilogambros, 10.31M) reports, “The disinformation scenario that local election officials feared months ago has come true,” as President Trump’s “false claims of voter fraud have been picked up by many state and local Republican officials across the country, and polls now show that more than two-thirds of GOP voters believe the 2020 election was neither free nor fair.” Those allegations “threaten the integrity of American democracy, many election officials and experts warn.” Myrna Pérez, “director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at EFTA00148737 the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School,” said, “there are...groups that are just going to get disgusted. There’s a potential for chilling the uninformed but eligible voter.” Loyola Law School Associate Dean for Research Justin Levitt said, “We have to have the possibility of losing a fair election for our democracy to work.” ## Sources Say Trump Plans To Pardon Flynn.

Axios(11/24, Swan,Basu,521K) reports that two anonymous sources are claiming President Trump“has told confidants he plans to pardon his former national security adviser Michael Flynn,” who“pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts.”Reuters(11/24) reports that Flynn has“since sought to withdraw the plea, arguing that prosecutors violated his rights and duped him into a plea agreement.”The New York Times(11/24,Haberman,Crowley,18.61M) reports that the President“has told aides that he plans to pardon”Flynn“and that it is one of a string of pardons he plans to issue before leaving office,a person familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday。”

The Hill (11/24, 2.98M) reports that a “prosecutor tapped by Attorney General William Barr to review the charges against Flynn has recommended that they be dropped, but an appeals court sided with U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan’s decision to not drop the charges and order an outside legal expert to evaluate the case. That appeals court also rejected Flynn’s request for Sullivan to recuse himself from the case over charges that he had acted improperly as well.” ## DNI Ratcliffe Urged SEC To Make US Cryptocurrency More Competitive Against China. The Washington Examiner (11/24, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that the IC “is raising concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s influence over digital currencies with” the SEC. DNI Ratcliffe “wrote a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton earlier this month, pointing to concerns the U.S. has about China’s sway over digital currency, as more than half the world’s cryptocurrency ‘mining’ operations are located in that country, and how the Chinese government is mulling its own state-controlled digital currency that would make it tough for U.S.-based companies and innovations to compete.” He “offered to have the senior economic intelligence officials brief Clayton on the matter.” Ratcliffe’s letter “signals a push by President Trump’s spy chief to convince the SEC to implement rules that make it easier for U.S.-owned cryptocurrency companies to compete against those based in and controlled by China.” ## CIA Incubator Aims To Bring Tech To Public. Washingtonian Magazine (DC) (11/24, Beaujon, 278K) reports that the CIA “wants to bring more of its inventions to the public” through its incubator, CIA Labs, which was launched in September. The incubator was “designed to cultivate tech projects – and make the CIA a little less insular.” It was “cooked up by Dawn Meyerriecks, the Agency’s deputy director for science and technology.” Meyerriecks previously worked at AOL and DOD, and “has a deep appreciation for how innovation and technology are increasingly bringing the public and private sectors together.” She said, “We do everything from mascara to space. … When we are asked to look at a national-security challenge, I can bring in, no kidding, experts from any discipline.” ## Wyden Says Picking Morell For CIA Chief Would Inflame Progressive Base. The Daily Beast (11/24, Banco, Trudo, Ackerman, Stein, 1.39M) reports that as President-elect Joe Biden considers former acting CIA Director Mike Morell to run the agency, many consider him to, “potentially, be the hardest to confirm.” Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) said, “No torture apologist can be confirmed as CIA director. … It’s a non-starter.” The Daily Beast reports Morell’s selection “would risk inflaming the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.” Morell “played a significant role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden – and was George W. Bush’s intelligence briefer on 9/11” – and “was an aggressive defender of the agency’s use of torture and drone strikes.” The selection would, however, “likely placate a large chunk of the national security EFTA00148738 establishment, which views his expertise as an asset and believes he would seamlessly step into the lead role at the agency.” ## With Staff Returning To Office Amid Pandemic, Tensions At NSA High. Yahoo! News (11/24, McLaughlin, 12.82M) reports that NSA employees “When we are asked to look at a national-security challenge, I can bring in, no kidding, experts from any discipline.” Tensions in the agency “bubbled over last week, leading to an all-hands meeting at the agency on Wednesday to address complaints, according to four sources familiar with the matter.” An unnamed former intelligence officer said, “This has been percolating for a while. … The general sentiment is that NSA has been mishandling things.” While many parts of the federal government “have allowed their employees to work from home indefinitely, those agencies working on classified issues have less flexibility, and the NSA deals with some of the most highly classified programs in government.” An NSA spokesperson said, “ODNI is monitoring the current uptick in COVID-19 positive rates in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area and throughout the country. … We have continued to adjust staff contact levels as previously noted — through staggered shifts, flexible schedules and social distancing practices.” ## Netanyahu Tells Convicted US Spy Israel Is "Waiting" For Him. The AP (11/24) reports, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday” told former US Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard: “We’re waiting for you.” The former analyst was “convicted of spying for Israel in the 1980s.” DOJ “announced last Friday that Pollard had completed his parole, clearing the way for him to move to Israel 35 years after he was arrested.” Netanyahu said, “You should have now a comfortable life where you can pursue, both of you can pursue your interests.” The Prime Minister added, “Your nightmare is over and you can come home to Israel.” ## Australia’s Spy Agency Watchdog Says COVID-19 App Data Was Collected. TechCrunch (11/24, Whittaker, 605K) reports Australian intelligence agencies have been “caught” collecting data from the country’s COVIDSafe contact tracing app, according to a report published by the government’s inspector general for the intelligence community. The agencies claim that the information was collected “in the course of the lawful collection of other data.” The watchdog, meanwhile, “said that there was ‘no evidence’ that any agency ‘decrypted, accessed or used any COVID app data.’” The inspector general “did not say when the incidental collection stopped, but noted that the agencies were ‘taking active steps to ensure compliance’ with the law, and that the data would be ‘deleted as soon as practicable,’ without setting a firm date.” However, some had feared “that a government spy agency could access COVID-19 contact-tracing data was the worst possible outcome.” ## CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS ## Suspect In Whitmer Kidnap Plot Denied Release. MLive (MI) (11/24, Agar, 925K) reports from Grand Rapids, Michigan, "A federal judge upheld the detention of a man accused in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer." Kaleb Franks, 26, "and four others last month were ordered held pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens. The judge had listened to testimony of an FBI special agent and reviewed video and secret recordings in determining that the defendants posed a danger to the community if released." Franks "was the only one to ask that the detention order be revoked. Franks contended that he did not pose a danger to the community." He "owns his own home" and "has worked in substance-abuse rehabilitation after kicking a heroin addiction. He also contended that he would be at serious risk if he contracted the coronavirus in jail because he EFTA00148739 has Type 1 diabetes.” US District Judge Robert Jonker “said the magistrate judge considered those factors,” and “denied Franks’ request.” ## FBI Arrests Man Suspected In Minnesota Killing. The St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press (11/24, Gottfried, 407K) reports, “FBI agents arrested a man in Chicago in connection with a fatal shooting in St. Paul, the police department announced Tuesday.” Leroy Spivey, 34, “was killed Nov. 14 near Rice Street and Sherburne Avenue. The FBI took Edward Lee Grayson, 33, into custody on Thursday and he’s awaiting extradition back to Minnesota, according to the St. Paul police department.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/22, Sawyer, 1.04M) reports, "The man was wanted for the shooting of 34-year-old Leroy Spivey, of Minneapolis, who was gunned down following an argument near Rice Street and Sherburne Avenue in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood. Spivey was transported to Regions Hospital, where he died. His death was the capital city’s 30th homicide of the year." ## Oklahoma Man Sentenced In Murder-For-Hire Plot. The Enid (OK) News & Eagle (11/24, 40K) reports, “An Alva man has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for his role in a murder-for-hire plot.” Vernon Wayne Brock, 71, “also has to pay a $30,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing said Monday. In addition, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced Brock to three years of supervised release. On April 17, 2019, Brock was indicted on a charge of using interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for-hire. On Nov. 6, 2019, he pleaded guilty to the one-count indictment.” The News & Eagle adds, “According to court documents and public record, an individual from Kansas, whom Brock was trying to hire to commit murder, contacted the FBI and cooperated in the investigation.” ## Ohio Man Sentenced In Family Plot To Kill, Rob Drug Dealers. The Zanesville (OH) Times Recorder (11/24, Holmes, 34K) reports from Zanesville, Ohio, “The first of three family members from Somerset charged in a conspiracy to murder and rob local drug dealers was sentenced this week.” Brett Bailey, 30, “will spend the next two to three years in prison after pleading guilty to one first-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. His mother, 49-year-old Tami Siegenthal, and her husband, 42-year-old Michael Siegenthal, were also charged and await sentencing.” The Times Recorder adds, “All three were indicted on the same original charges – two first-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit murder and four second-degree felony counts of conspiracy to aggravated robbery, four second-degree felony counts of conspiracy to aggravated burglary. Michael Siegenthal was also charged with an additional count of possession of drugs, methamphetamine, a fifth-degree felony.” ## Pennsylvania Man Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison In Sex Trafficking Case. The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News (11/24, Wise, 427K) reports that a Pennsylvania man “and four others will serve time in prison for sex trafficking more than 20 people, including children, federal prosecutors said.” According to US Attorney David Freed, the man “played a key role in a sex trafficking operation that began in Harrisburg in the fall of 2015 and was dismantled the summer of 2016.” He was “sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison on federal charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.” The FBI, with assistance from Harrisburg lasw enforcement, investigated the case – which “was conducted as part of Project Safe Childhood, which aims to put a stop to child sexual exploitation and abuse.” WPMT-TV Harrisburg, PA (11/24, Schweigert, 93K) also reports. ## Virginia Woman Pleads Guilty To Pointing Laser At Police Airplane. EFTA00148740 The Miami Herald (11/24, Fowler, 1.09M) reports that a Virginia woman “pleaded guilty Monday to pointing a laser at a police airplane during protests over Confederate monuments this summer, federal prosecutors said.” She “faces up to five years in prison.” The FBI website says, “Those who have experienced such attacks have described them as the equivalent of a camera flash going off in a pitch black car at night.” The woman “will be sentenced March 23, the news release states. But prosecutors said her sentence will likely be ‘less than the maximum penalties.’” ## New York Man Sentenced To Two Years Probation For Threats Against Congressman. The Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph (11/24, Perry, 135K) reports that a New York man “has been sentenced to two years probation for leaving a profanity-filled voicemail message at the Decatur office of U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and threatening to shoot the lawmaker, federal officials said.” The man, a retired Army veteran, was sentenced by a federal judge on Friday who “also ordered the Rochester man to undergo mental counseling, pay a $2,000 fine and to have no contact with Davis, his office or members of his family.” The man “pleaded guilty in July in U.S. District Court in Springfield to a charge of making a threat to a federal official. The offense carried a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.” ## Continuing Coverage: North Carolina Man Sentenced To More Than Two Years For Violating FHA. The Raleigh (NC) News & Observer (11/24, Fowler, 425K) reports that a North Carolina man “accused of terrorizing a Black family...will spend the next two-plus years behind bars.” He was “sentenced to 28 months in prison with three years of supervised release on Monday after he pleaded guilty to criminal interference with the Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced in a news release.” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina Robert R. Wells said, “The FBI hopes today’s prison sentence can provide them some sense of comfort. No one should ever be targeted or threatened because of the color of their skin, especially in their own homes.” ## FBI Renews Call For Help In Double Murder Investigation In Ohio. WOIO-TV Cleveland (11/24, Catlett, 68K) reports, “Vicki Anderson with the FBI’s Cleveland office is now renewing the call for help” in a “mysterious double murder investigation [that] has now been stalled for more than a year.” Anderson “says there’s still nothing new for agents to go off of.” She is quoted saying, “I wish there was something that we could give to the public, but there’s not.” She added, “We feel like somebody out there may have seen something that they don’t even really know that they saw, it didn’t look that out of place.” A reward of up to $100,000 is offered in the case. ## Alleged Member Of Pill Mill Operation Pleads Not Guilty. The Miami Patch (11/24, Razzano, 1.03M) reports Luigi Palma, who was recently extradited from Italy to the US, has pleaded not guilty to being part of a pill mill operation in the latter country. The case against Palma is the result of an investigation that “has resulted in about 140 convictions so far.” The investigation was conducted “by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, and the FBI High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.” The WATE-TV Knoxville, TN (11/24, Raucoules, 104K) and WBIR-TV Knoxville, TN (11/24, 216K) websites also cover this story. ## Attorney: Witness Saw Ending Of Altercation Involving DEA Agents, Man Who Died. The Springfield (MO) News-Leader (11/24, Pokin, 103K) reports a legal representative of the mother of Caleb Slay, who died after an altercation with DEA agents earlier this month, said a witness claims to have seem the ending of that altercation. Attorney Craig F. Lowther, who was hired by Slay’s mother, said the unnamed witness claims Slay was tased, then shot three times EFTA00148741 before an “agent handcuffed him and put his foot on his back.” The News-Leader also quotes James A. Pokryfke, a DEA spokesperson, who said in an email that a “firearm was recovered at the scene” of the Slay shooting, which occurred in Springfield, Missouri. The News-Leader adds that there is no body camera recording of the Slay shooting because of a “long-standing federal policy that officers and agents in the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the DEA and the US Marshals Service do not wear body cameras at any time.” ## Ohio Man Charged With Felony Trafficking, Weapon Possession. The Lorain (OH) Morning Journal (11/24, 47K) reports that an Ohio man “is facing felony trafficking and weapons charges following a month-long investigation.” He was arrested on November 23 “on an outstanding warrant for trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony, as well as a charge of having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony, according to a news release from Lorain police.” The Morning Journal says the “Lorain Police SWAT team, road patrol unit, K9 Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in serving the search warrant.” ## DC Woman Pleads Guilty To Disclosing Identity Of Grand Jury Witness. The Washington Patch (11/24, O'Connell, 1.03M) reports that a District of Columbia woman “pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to disclosing the identity of a Superior Court grand jury witness to a D.C. Department of Corrections inmate,” according to the DOJ. The woman “was the sergeant-at-arms and a grand juror for a D.C. Superior Court grand jury in September 2019.” FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division’s Special Agent in Charge, James A. Dawson, “described Garris’ actions as a betrayal of the grand jury, the actions of which are both protected and kept secret by law.” Dawson said, “The confidence of the public in the Grand Jury process is central to our judicial system and the rule of law. … The FBI will continue to work to investigate all allegations of public corruption, which is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority.” ## Nebraska Man Sentenced To 47 Years In Prison For Sex Trafficking. The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star (11/24, Pilger, 399K) reports that a Nebraska man “has been sentenced to 47 years in federal prison for sex trafficking two teenage girls, taking them to Colorado and Iowa to have sex for money.” In July, the man was found guilty “of sex trafficking of a minor; production of child pornography; sex trafficking by means of force, threat, fraud or coercion; and interstate travel for prostitution.” During sentencing this week, Chief US District Judge John Gerrard also gave the man “10 years of supervised release.” The FBI eventually joined the investigation that started in 2019 “after a New York woman reported that her adult daughter had called her to say she was being trafficked out of a home near 11th and A streets.” ## Kansas Man Charged With Hate Crime For Alleged Racially Motivated Threat. WIBW-TV Topeka, KS (11/24, Motter, 86K) reports, “A Kansas man has been charged with a hate crime for alleged racially motivated threats.” According to US Attorney Stephen McAllister, DOJ “on Monday that a federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging” the man with “threatening an African American juvenile male due to his race and living in a home in Paola in violation of Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 3631.” He was “also charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon.” According to the US Attorney, “the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati will be prosecuting.” ## FBI, Indiana Police Arrest Two In Serial Bank Robbery Investigation. WTHR-TV Indianapolis (11/24, 465K) reports, “The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and IMPD arrested a man and a woman for a series of bank robberies.” The Indiana residents “are facing armed robbery charges.” The FBI “was investigating robberies at Chase banks in Marion County when the two were caught. The FBI said it has linked them to at least two robberies.” EFTA00148742 ## Disappearance Of New Jersey Woman In 1996 Remains Unsolved. The Bergen (NJ) Record (11/24, Kanzler) reports on the 1996 disappearance of a New Jersey woman whose case is still unsolved. The woman’s half-brother remembers their last phone call as “very weird.” He said “the conversation was almost like two different ones. She mentioned a trip to Las Vegas and how she was helping a government agency such as the FBI, CIA or Justice Department, with a case, later telling Merchant she wanted to watch ‘Roseanne’ and that she would call him back.” ## Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Attempted Sex Trafficking Of Minor. The Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph (11/24, Jordan, 44K) reports from Beckley, West Virginia, “A Virginia man has pleaded guilty in federal court to attempted sex trafficking of a minor, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.” US Attorney Mike Stuart “announced that Jamie Otis Southern, 50, of Tazewell County, pleaded guilty to attempted sex trafficking of a minor.” Southern “admitted that in June 2020 he contacted a woman on Craigslist who identified herself as a mother who would allow him to have sex with her children in exchange for money. During the conversation, Southern arranged to have the woman travel from Beckley to a hotel in Princeton with the 11- and 14-year-old girls the woman stated were her daughters, Stuart said. The FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation.” ## Florida Man Arrested For Allegedly Trying To Entice A Minor For Sex. The Florida Times-Union (11/24, Scanlan, 203K) reports, “A 46-year-old Clay County man is in custody after an undercover investigation into online attempts to solicit sex from a teen, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.” Aaron Michael Knowles “was charged with two counts of trying to entice a minor for unlawful sex and one more of using a communications device to facilitate a felony. He remains ineligible for bail in the Clay County jail, the Sheriff’s Office said. The Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children group began its investigation after receiving information that someone was trying to solicit sex from a teen. An undercover operation was begun with a detective posing as a 14-year-old who was solicited for sexual acts online, the Sheriff’s Office said. The Sheriff’s Office, its SWAT Team and the FBI executed a search warrant Tuesday at the home and seized numerous electronic devices as Knowles was arrested, officials said.” EMPLOYMENT ## FBI Seeks To Hire New Victim Specialists. KRQE-TV Albuquerque, NM (11/24, Tosterud, 35K) reports, "The FBI in Albuquerque is looking to help crime victims. They are also hoping you might be interested in joining the FBI as a career. KRQE News 13 spoke with a victim specialist who said the job is crucial within the FBI and is very rewarding. 'It’s not always the best outcome but being there just really makes you feel good that you can help that person or that family through that situation and just being able to know that that family isn’t alone and we’re there right by their side throughout the whole investigation,' said Carla Romero. Romero has been an FBI victim’s specialist for the last 10 years. She said the job requires to be on call every day of the year, at all hours. But she wouldn’t trade it for anything." ## FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS ## Former Cincinnati Council Member Is Sentenced For Corruption. The AP (11/24) reports from Cincinnati, "A former Cincinnati city council member has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge resulting from EFTA00148743 corruption investigations that have left two other council members facing charges.” US District Judge Susan Dlott “ruled Tuesday that Tamaya Dennard will begin serving her sentence next year. Dlott called the case ‘a real tragedy,’ saying Dennard, 41, had done a lot of good.” Dennard “pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud-related count alleging vote-selling. Dennard had asked for home incarceration, writing to the court that she resigned from council and took responsibility for her actions.” The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/24, Sparling, 223K) reports, “Dennard was elected to City Council in 2017. She was arrested in February of this year and later pleaded guilty to honest wire services fraud. Prosecutors said Dennard sold her votes on a development project, taking a $10,000 cashier’s check and $5,000 in cash from a lawyer connected to the project.” The Enquirer adds, “During Tuesday's sentencing, Dlott said Dennard's punishment needs to be a deterrent to other elected officials who are considering breaking the law. Such cases undermine the public's trust in elected officials, she said. Prosecutors had requested a sentence of two- to two-and-a-half years. Dlott said she deviated from that because of the good Dennard has done for the community.” WLWT-TV Cincinnati (11/24, 319K) reports, "In a lengthy letter to Judge Susan Dlott, she asked for leniency in the form of home incarceration instead of the other kind. In exchange for her guilty plea to wire fraud, the government dropped the bribery and attempted extortion charges." ## Agencies Investigating Lender Misconduct In PPP. Reuters (11/24, Qing, Delevingne) reports federal agencies are examining lenders “for potential misconduct when distributing $525 billion in pandemic aid to struggling small businesses, according to half a dozen people with knowledge of the matter, regulatory filings and statements.” The sources said “the scrutiny of banks’ roles in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is preliminary and it was not yet clear if it would lead to formal probes.” According to “two people with direct knowledge of the matter,” DOJ, “the bailout oversight body, known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee,” and the SBA’s internal watchdog “are among the agencies exploring whether lenders broke the program’s rules or other lending regulations.” California Paid Hundreds Of Millions In Unemployment Scam Using Inmates’ Names. The New York Times (11/24, Hubler, 18.61M) reports a task force led by California district attorneys from San Diego to Fresno Counties said Tuesday that “fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims filed under the names of jail and prison inmates, including more than 100 on death row, has bilked California out of hundreds of millions of dollars.” In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), the task force sought “significant resources” to combat “what appears to be the most significant fraud on taxpayer funds in California history.” According to the task force, in most cases, payments were made in the form of prepaid debit cards sent to address listed on the applications and the proceeds were deposited in inmate accounts in jails and prisons, but in come cases, payments were sent directly to the institutions. The AP (11/24, Beam) says the “scheme...resulted in payouts in the names of well-known convicted murderers like Scott Peterson and Cary Stayner,” as well as “Susan Eubanks, a San Diego woman convicted of shooting her four sons to death in 1997; Isauro Aguirre, who was sentenced to death for the 2013 murder of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez in Los Angeles; and Wesley Shermantine, part of the duo dubbed the ‘Speed Freak Killers’ for their meth-induced killing rampage in the 1980s and ‘90s.” The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Mai-Duc, Lazo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) provides similar coverage. ## DOJ: Two Texas Men Tried To Sell $317M In Nonexistent N95 Masks To Foreign Government. The Washington Post (11/24, Beachum, 14.2M) reports, “Two Houston men are facing federal charges for trying to sell 50 million nonexistent N95 face masks to a foreign government, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.” Paschal Ngozi Eleanya, 46, and Arael Doolittle, EFTA00148744 55, “allegedly attempted to bilk the foreign government, which the DOJ did not name, out of more than $317 million. In their scheme, they negotiated a sales price for the phantom masks that was five times the asking price set by manufacturer 3M, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the South District of Texas. The foreign government allegedly wired money to purchase the masks, but the federal government stopped the transaction before it could be completed, denying Eleanya and Doolittle of the $275 million they expected to pocket, according to federal prosecutors. The remaining money would have gone to their ‘broker’ and the foreign government’s own representatives, according to Reuters.” ## Cincinnati Councilman Is A No-Show For Pre-Trial Hearing On Removal. The Cincinnati Enquirer (11/24, Knight, 223K) reports, “Indicted councilman Jeff Pastor and his lawyers did not appear in Hamilton County Probate Court Tuesday for a hearing regarding his removal from office. ‘Some people are noticeably absent,’ Judge Ralph Winkler said. ‘The court considers it to be a disrespectful action.’” The Enquirer adds, “Pastor is accused of accepting $55,000 in bribes with an associate in connection with a development headed up by former Cincinnati Bengal Chinedum Ndukwe, who was secretly working with the FBI. Tuesday’s pretrial hearing was in response to a lawsuit filed by former Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Curt Hartman pursuing Pastor’s removal on behalf of taxpayers.” Ohio Attorney General David Yost “said that Pastor has agreed to a voluntary suspension, which may make most of the elements of Hartman’s lawsuit moot. However, Hartman explained that the suspension deal requires the approval of a federal judge, which has not yet happened.” ## Former SCANA CEO Reaches Guilty Plea On Fraud Charges. Columbia (SC) State (11/24, Monk, 390K) reports former SCANA CEO Kevin Marsh has “agreed to plead guilty to federal conspiracy fraud charges, go to prison for at least 18 months and forfeit $5 million in connection with SCANA’s $10 billion nuclear fiasco, according to papers filed in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina.” The former executive “helped lead a two-year cover-up, from 2016 to 2018, of the serious financial trouble that was jeopardizing the success of not only the ongoing Fairfield County nuclear project but also the troubled financial health of SCANA, according to records and evidence in the case.” The charges against Marsh are “the result of a three-year law enforcement investigation led by the FBI and months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between federal prosecutors and Marsh’s criminal defense attorneys.” The story notes that in the nuclear plant scandal’s aftermath, SCANA was “acquired by out-of-state energy giant, Dominion Energy.” The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier (11/24, Wilks, Brown, 290K) reports Dominion Energy has “repeatedly said it is cooperating with the investigation.” Carrying the Columbia State story are the Rock Hill (SC) Herald (11/24, 89K), the Hilton Head Island (SC) Packet (11/24, 114K), and the Myrtle Beach (SC) Online (11/24, 47K). ## Owner Of Kentucky Rehab Facility Charged With Medicare Fraud. The Harlan (KY) Daily Enterprise (11/24, Latek, 17K) reports, “A two-year investigation has led to federal health care fraud charges against the owner of rehabilitation facilities in eastern Kentucky.” Eugene Sisco III, 35, of Pikeville, “the owner of several rehabilitation facilities in Pike, Floyd and Harlan counties, as well as a urine drug testing lab in Pike County, is accused of illegally charging patients cash for services that were covered by Medicaid and for which he had been fraudulently billing Medicaid. According to a federal indictment, it is alleged that Sisco has received over $3,000,000 in cash paid to him by patients seeking treatment for addiction between 2016 and 2018. When questioned by employees at the facilities about having the patients pay cash, since the services were under Medicaid, the indictment states Sisco would lie and say services such as counseling or urine drug testing were not covered by Medicaid.” ## Federal Judge Allows California Rapper Facing Fraud Charges To Access Studio, Use Social Media. EFTA00148745 The San Jose Mercury News (11/24, Gartrell, 456K) reports from San Francisco, “A Bay Area rapper who rose to prominence during the Hyphy Movement has been allowed back in the studio while he remains on pretrial house arrest facing federal fraud charges, after a federal judge ruled in his favor.” Kafani, “whose real name is Amir Rashad, will be able to use access his music studio and use social media to promote his career, after his attorney argued he deserved to be able to earn money for his family. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero signed the order last September, court records show. Meanwhile, the case against Rashad has continued to stall. Federal prosecutors recently turned over a batch of ‘voluminous’ discovery to attorneys for Rashad and his co-defendants, and a scheduled pretrial hearing in December just got put off three months, into early 2021, according to court records. A trial date has not yet been set.” ## Maryland Brothers Charged In Romance Scam. The Daily Beast (11/24, Briquelet, 1.39M) reports, “Two brothers in Maryland are charged in a $5-million scheme that involved a network of fraudsters who romanced more than 200 victims – many of them ‘elderly and isolated’ – to siphon funds from their savings and retirement accounts.” David Annor, 27, and Lesley Annor, 22, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, “were arrested for money laundering last week. The feds say their co-conspirators courted the victims, ages 38 to 83, using a roster of phony identities with back stories fit for a soap opera. Eight victims in particular lost between $17,500 and $201,000 in the bogus love affairs, according to an FBI affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint.” ## Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty To Three Federal Felonies Over Marketing And Distribution Of OxyContin. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Randazzo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports on Tuesday, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to three felonies with respect to its marketing and distribution of OxyContin. The plea, the Journal says, means that Purdue is no longer facing action from the US government, given last week’s settlement with the Justice Department. The New York Times (11/24, Benner, 18.61M) reports Deputy Attorney General Rosen said, “The abuse and diversion of prescription opioids has contributed to a national tragedy of addiction and deaths.” Rosen added, “Today’s convictions underscore the department’s commitment to its multipronged strategy for defeating the opioid crisis.” The AP (11/24, Mulvihill) reports the plea means that Purdue Pharma is “formally admitting its role in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past two decades.” The company “admitted impeding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts to combat the addiction crisis,” and “also admitted paying doctors through a speakers program to induce them to write more prescriptions for its painkillers.” Reuters (11/24, Spector) reports the plea was made “during a court hearing conducted remotely on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in New Jersey.” USA Today (11/24, 10.31M) reports, “Steve Miller, chairperson for Purdue’s Board of Directors, admitted via video conference to a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, that the company had not run an effective program to avoid the illegal diversion of prescription drugs to the black market, had reported misleading information to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to boost its manufacturing quotas and had impeded that agency’s effort to fight the burgeoning epidemic. Miller also admitted on behalf of the company that it had, over the course of nine years, paid doctors through its speaker program to induce them to prescribe more of Purdue’s opioids.” The pleas “are part of a government settlement that was announced in October by the federal Department of Justice.” The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 8, 0:25, Brennan, 3.87M) provided similar coverage in a brief broadcast. EFTA00148746 ## CYBER DIVISION ## Iowa Police Probing Second Simpson College Zoom Bomb. The Des Moines (IA) Register (11/24, Shillcock, 404K) reports, “Simpson College and the Indianola Police Department are investigating what Simpson College President Marsha Keliher described as a second Zoom bombing.” The Register adds, “This most recent incident on the Zoom platform occurred Friday. Indianola Police Captain Brian Sher said an ‘inappropriate photo’ was sent to Simpson by an unknown individual over the electronic platform last week. He said their investigations of this incident and a similar Zoom bombing in early September are still ongoing Simpson College released a statement on Friday in which Keliher said campus security is working alongside IPD to investigate.” The FBI “released a warning in March outlining the threat of teleconference hijackings and steps organizations can take to prevent them.” ## Canadian Police Officer Says Supervisor Suggested Arresting Huawei CFO On Plane. Reuters (11/24, Berman) reports that Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Sergeant Janice Vander Graaf testified she “relayed a ‘strong suggestion’ from her superior to an arresting officer” that Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou “be apprehended on the aircraft she arrived on, according to court testimony on Tuesday.” The RMCP supervisor “said she believed it would be ‘overstepping authority’” even though “the RCMP was legally entitled to do so.” She “said she passed on the suggestion to RCMP Constable Gurvinder Dhaliwal the day before Meng’s arrest.” Meng, however, was “first detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and interrogated for nearly three hours during which border agents seized her electronic devices and secured passcodes.” ## FCC Affirms Decision To Designate ZTE As National Security Threat. Bloomberg (11/24, Shields, 4.73M) reports that the FCC “affirmed its decision to designate ZTE Corp. as a national security threat over concerns telecommunications gear made by the Chinese company could be used for spying.” The agency “remains determined to drive ZTE” and Huawei “from the U.S. market, where small rural carriers rely on their cheap network equipment.” On December 10, the FCC is meeting “to consider rules for listing prohibited gear, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a Nov. 18 blog post that identified Huawei as a threat.” Pai “called Tuesday’s rejection of ZTE’s request ‘another important step in our ongoing efforts to protect U.S. communications networks from security risks.’” Pai said Congress should “appropriate funds so that our communications networks are protected from vendors that threaten our national security.” Reuters (11/24, Shepardson) also reports. ## Biden’s Top Cabinet Picks Expected To Bring Cybersecurity Experience To Administration. The Washington Post (11/24, Marks, 14.2M) reports, “President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead” DHS will bring “cybersecurity experience to the job.” Alejandro Mayorkas “worked on numerous international cybersecurity agreements as deputy DHS secretary during the Obama administration,” and also “helped significantly increase the amount of cybersecurity intelligence that government shared with industry.” Biden’s pick for Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, as well as Jake Sullivan at NSA and Avril Haines as DNI, “tackled cybersecurity problems during the Obama years.” DHS will also play “a major role helping state and county election officials improve their cybersecurity defenses.” Another priority will be “convincing allies to sever their telecommunications systems from Huawei and other Chinese firms as they transition to next-generation 5G infrastructure.” ## CISA Warns Of Spike In Cyber Scams During Holiday Season. EFTA00148747 The Hill (11/24, Miller, 2.98M) reports that CISA “on Tuesday warned of a spike in cyber scams targeted at U.S. consumers during the holiday season.” The agency “published tips to help U.S. consumers avoid the scams, which historically increase during the holiday season” and is expected “to worsen this year with more online shopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Acting CISA Director Brandon Wales said, “Americans are adjusting their travel and shopping habits for a holiday season that’s sure to be unlike anything we have experienced. … Hackers, scammers and thieves will take advantage of these changes and the generosity of the public during the holidays to target online shoppers and those giving to charities.” The acting Director “pointed to several key tips to help U.S. shoppers combat cyber threats that include ensuring the devices used to make purchases have strong, multifactor authentications, checking privacy policies on websites purchases are being made from, not using public Wi-Fi to make purchases, and ensuring the website is legitimate.” ## Survey: Cybersecurity Tops List Of Expected Budget Increases For Banks. Bloomberg (11/24, Onaran, 4.73M) reports, “Big banks and other financial firms predict the cost of warding off cyber criminals will keep climbing in 2021.” A Deloitte survey found “64% of executives at financial firms around the globe [forecast] a rise” in cybersecurity budget. The survey also found cyber spending jumped 15% in 2020, “equating to almost $1 billion for each of the largest U.S. banks.” The pandemic forced “firms to bolster defenses as staff worked from home and as more customers embraced online products or services.” Deloitte’s head of financial services cyber risk, Mark Nicholson, said, “We’re still in the midst of a large transformation in financial services due to digitization, moving to the cloud, remote workplaces.” ## LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES ## Oregon Officials Must Set Up Recovery-Focused System After Drug Possession Decriminalized. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Morrison, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that after Oregon voted to end virtually all criminal drug possession penalties, state officials have little more than two months to implement a new recovery-focused system, which may be particularly difficult in the middle of a pandemic. ## Pro-Gun Rally In Virginia Shut Out After Gun Control Advocates Get Permits First. The Washington Post (11/24, Schneider, 14.2M) reports organizers of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, “who staged a massive pro-gun rally at the state Capitol in January, say they’ve been shut out of holding a repeat event next year, and instead plan to jam the city’s roadways with a caravan of vehicles from all over Virginia and beyond.” In an email on Tuesday, member Philip van Cleave said, “Games are being played to silence us.” When he “called the state Department of Government Services to arrange a Jan. 18 permit for a rally on Capitol Square, van Cleave said he was told the only time slots available were 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Everything else had been booked by groups advocating for gun control.” He said in an interview, “This was a thinly veiled effort to lock us out.” ## Maryland Public Defender Says Court Hearings Becoming "Superspreader" Events. The Washington Post (11/24, Duggan, 14.2M) reports, “After Maryland recently stopped scheduling jury trials amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus infections, the state’s chief public defender says lawyers, clients and others remain at risk of catching the virus because some courts are still holding in-person hearings that amount to ‘superspreader events.’” Paul DeWolfe, “who oversees public defenders in all Maryland jurisdictions, complained in a letter to the state’s chief judge last week about a failure to ‘scale back on judicial proceedings’ in EFTA00148748 Maryland’s district courts, where judges handle minor cases that DeWolfe said should be postponed or thrown out as a public health measure.” ## INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ## Alleged Cartel Leader Arrested In Connection With Shooting Attack That Left Nine Dead. The Guardian (UK) (11/24, Agren, 4.19M) reports security forces in Mexico have arrested Roberto González Montes in connection with the investigation of a 2019 shooting attack that left nine people dead in that country. Julian LeBarón, a relative of people who died in that attack, is alleging that Montes is a drug cartel leader. LeBarón also said the FBI has been involved with the investigation of that attack. The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 10, 0:30, Brennan, 3.87M) aired a report that said "an alleged drug cartel boss is in custody in Mexico, charged in connection with the killing of nine members of a Mormon family with dual US-Mexican citizenship." The New York Post (11/24, Brown, 4.57M), the Fox News (11/24, McKay, 27.59M) website, and the New York Daily News (11/24, Schladebeck, 2.52M) also cover this story. ## UK High Court Rules American In Fatal Car Crash Had Diplomatic Immunity. The Daily Mail (UK) (11/24, Robinson, 5.27M) reports that an American, Anne Sacoolas, who hit a British man, Harry Dunn, while driving “on the wrong side of the road...outside RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, on August 27 last year,” has been ruled to possess diplomatic immunity. The High Court “ruled in the Foreign Office’s favour that Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity when she arrived in the UK, although the family will now appeal.” The family had argued Sacoolas “was never entitled to immunity and foreign office officials were wrong to say she did.” They argued the UK foreign office “acted unlawfully and obstructed Northamptonshire Police’s investigation into their son’s death by keeping the force ‘in the dark’ as she was swept out of Britain on a private jet.” ## OTHER FBI NEWS ## FBI Warns Of Fake Versions Of Bureau’s Website.

ZDNet(11/24,Tung,299K) reports，“The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI)是 warning the public to avoid internet domains designed to look similar to its own main official website www.fbi.gov.”According to ZDNet，“The warning concerns dozens of websites that could be used to target people seeking information about the FBI's activities or news announcements.The FBI observed unattributed cyber actors registering numerous domains spoofing legitimate FBI websites， indicating the potential for future operational activity’ it said in the public service announcement(PSA) on Monday.The FBI is concerned that the spoofed FBI-related domains could be used as part of future attacks aimed at stealing credentials or spreading disinformation to the public，”and“it urged the public to‘critically evaluate the websites they visit，and the messages sent to their personal and business email accounts，to seek out reliable and verifiable FBI information。”

## OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS ## Biden Says Fauci Has Been "Very Helpful" During Discussions With His Transition Team. Bloomberg (11/24, Epstein, 4.73M) reports that on Tuesday, Joe Biden told reporters that his staff “had spoken to Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, one day after” EFTA00148749 the Trump Administration “agreed to participate in the presidential transition.” Biden stated, “I haven’t had a chance to speak to Dr. Fauci” but added that “he’s been very, very helpful.” The Hill (11/24, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports the communication between Fauci “and Biden’s staff comes amid a spike in coronavirus cases across the country, which has put immense stress on hospital systems and led to an array of states reimplementing coronavirus restrictions on business and gatherings that had been relaxed during the fall months.” In an interview with NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/24, story 2, 4:15, Holt, 5.9M), Biden said discussed the Trump Administration’s vaccine rollout plans. Biden said, “We’ll look at that. And we may alter that. We may keep the exact same outline. But that’s in train now. We haven’t gotten that briefing yet. Secondly, I think talking to – as you may know, I’ve talked to – I’ve had a Zoom with the leading governors in the country, five Republicans, five Democrats. We’ve talked extensively about the need to cooperate and get the vaccine into places where you can actually get vaccinated, and their ideas of who they think should go first. I think we should be focusing on obviously the docs, the nurses, those people who are the first responders. I think we should also be focusing on being able to open schools as rapidly as we can. I think it can be done safely. So there’s a lot to work out in the next two months as to exactly how it will be distributed.” The New York Times (11/24, Kaplan, Depasquale, 18.61M) reports Biden’s coronavirus task force had previously “had to prepare its battle plan without the keys to the government agencies leading the pandemic response,” but now Biden “can finally dispatch what are known as landing teams to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.” The New York Times (11/24, Wolfe, 18.61M) reports Biden’s landing teams for the FDA “will need to get up to speed on a planned vaccine rollout, as well as promising vaccine candidates and therapeutics on the horizon,” while his landing teams for the CDC will take over “a public education campaign, now in development, to persuade the public to trust – and to take – the vaccine once it becomes widely available.” According to the Times, “Transition officials are especially eager to start coordinating with officials at the National Institutes of Health and members of the Warp Speed project, which is responsible for vaccine distribution.” CNBC (11/24, Macias, 3.62M) reports Health and Human Services Secretary Azar on Tuesday told reporters that Biden’s transition team “has been briefed on America’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.” Azar said, “We are immediately getting them all of the pre-prepared transition briefing materials.” Azar continued, “We will ensure coordinated briefings with them to ensure they’re getting whatever information that they feel they need.” Azar said the “transition planning and execution will be professional, cooperative and collaborative.” The Washington Times (11/24, Howell, 492K) also reports Azar “said Rear Adm. Erica G. Schwartz of the Public Health Service spoke to the Biden team late Monday, after the General Services Administration kick-started the transition process.” Asked about the effect of starting the transition on the COVID-19 pandemic, House Majority Whip Clyburn said on CNN’s New DayVi (11/24, 846K), “I think that they’ll get the benefit of whatever the scientists have been telling these various committees. As you know, we now know that they were getting information that they were not sharing with people. For instance, the White House has been sending information out to the states, for them to do certain things, keeping it secret, while maintaining a public posture saying something else.” ## Federal Government Expects To Ship 6.4M Doses Of Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine To States Around Mid-December. The New York Times (11/24, Robbins, 18.61M) reports that close to “mid-December, 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will be shipped out across the United States in an initial push after it receives an expected emergency authorization, officials leading Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s push to fast-track a vaccine, said on a call with reporters on Tuesday.” These first doses will be allocated based on the population of each designated area. HHS EFTA00148750 Secretary Azar said, "We wanted to keep this simple." Politico (11/24, Brennan, 4.29M) reports Azar said that once the FDA authorizes a vaccine, an advisory committee will meet and make recommendations on who should be given priority access, but governors will have the “final say.” USA Today (11/24, Weise, 10.31M) reports that the expected availability of a COVID-19 vaccine in the next few weeks is “all the more reason for Americans not to let their COVID guard down over Thanksgiving,” according to Azar who stated, “I know that the possibility of not being able to see family and friends over the holiday is heartbreaking for all of us. … There is such a bright day ahead with what this team is delivering on vaccines and therapeutics. We want to make sure that everybody is here for next year’s Thanksgiving.” In an interview with USA Today (11/24, Weise, 10.31M), FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn discussed the vaccine approval process and the agency’s efforts to encourage Americans to take an eventual vaccine against COVID-19. When asked “what standards must companies meet to get Emergency Use Authorization,” Hahn said, “The standard that’s used for an EUA is that it must be effective in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 and that the risk/benefit ratio is in favor of authorization.” Meanwhile, the Washington Post (11/24, Sun, 14.2M) reports Operation Warp Speed Chief Operating Officer Gen. Gustave Perna “told reporters that state officials were informed on Friday night of the allocation, which is based on each state’s overall population.” This first batch of vaccines “would cover only a portion of the nation’s 20 million health care workers, let alone the U.S. population of 330 million,” however, Perna “said ‘a steady drumbeat’ of additional doses will be delivered as manufacturing capacity ramps up in each successive week.” The Post adds that the “6.4 million doses also includes vaccines that would go to five federal agencies – the Bureau of Prisons, the Defense and State departments, Indian Health Service, and the Veterans Health Administration – that receive allocations directly from the federal government.” Fox News (11/24, 27.59M) reports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield in an appearance on “The Daily Briefing” on Tuesday “said the much-anticipated rollout of a coronavirus vaccine in the United States could be expected by December.” Redfield said, “I do think we’ll have about 40 million doses of vaccine before the end of the...year.” Redfield added, “That’s enough to vaccinate 20 million people. But then it will continue through January and February and hopefully, by March we’ll start to see vaccine available for the general public.” However, The Hill (11/24, Hellmann, 2.98M) reports that on Monday, members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) “said...patients need to be warned about the potential side effects of getting a COVID-19 vaccine so they are not discouraged from getting a second dose.” Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, “a physician representing the American Medical Association,” told the committee, “As a practicing physician, I have got to be sure my patients will come back for the second dose. We really have got to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park.” Although “no serious safety concerns have been reported from Pfizer or Moderna’s clinical trials, patients reported side effects that are common with vaccinations, including pain at the injection site, muscle aches, low-grade fever, fatigue or headaches.” Lawmakers Urge VA To Release COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan. The Hill (11/24, Mitchell, 2.98M) reports, “Lawmakers want the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to release its plan to deal with the coronavirus outbreak among its patients and a strategy to distribute a vaccine when one is available.” The VA “must be ready to act to protect the health of veterans, VA staff, and their families. VA must have a comprehensive plan in place to ensure the safe, equitable, and smooth distribution of a forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine,’ seven Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Democrats wrote in a Monday letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.” The senators “ask Wilkie whether the Department ofHealth and Human Services has indicated how many initial vaccine doses it will allocate for VA, as well as how the VA will then distribute EFTA00148751 its initial doses among staff and veterans.” The FDA “has not yet approved a vaccine to protect against COVID-19, though three experimental vaccines have shown promise.” Ford Orders 12 Ultra-Cold Freezers To Prepare For Employee Vaccinations. Reuters (11/24, Klayman) reports Ford “said on Tuesday it has ordered a dozen ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, a move aimed at ensuring the U.S. automaker’s workers have access to vaccines when they are rolled out nationally.” According to Reuters, “Ford’s purchase mirrors efforts by U.S. states and cities to buy equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 C (36-46 F).” However, Reuters adds General Motors “said it had not purchased freezers at this time,” while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles “said it is studying the most effective approach to distributing vaccines to employees when they become available.” New Yorkers Hesitant To Take Coronavirus Vaccine, Survey Says. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Vielkind, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that a Siena College Research Institute survey last week reveals 24% of New York state residents would probably not or definitely not get a coronavirus vaccine once one is approved by the FDA. In her Washington Post (11/24, 14.2M) column, Karen Attiah says that “the coming clash over the coronavirus vaccine” will “be fought along racial lines,” because “for many Black Americans, generations of systemic medical racism and predatory experimentation on Black bodies have generated deep distrust of a system that was never built to serve them.” She says, “Getting to the answer we all need right now – getting to yes – begins by understanding the weight of what is being asked.” ## White House Coronavirus Task Force Calls For “Significant Behavior Change” As Cases Surge. The Hill (11/24, Hellmann, 2.98M) reports the White House coronavirus task force this week “issued a dire warning to states of ‘aggressive, rapid, and expanding’ spread of cases that requires a ‘significant behavior change’ from all Americans ahead of the holidays.” The Hill says the report to states warns of “community spread of COVID-19 in more than 2,000 counties,” and “calls for forceful efforts to ‘flatten the curve to sustain the health system for both COVID and non-COVID emergencies.’” USA Today (11/24, Flores, 10.31M) reports NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci “told Yahoo News the onset of colder weather and the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve could conspire to drive the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths even higher.” Dr. Fauci said, “Two to three thousand deaths a day times a couple of months, and you’re approaching a really stunning number of deaths.” On the lead ABC World News TonightVi (11/24, lead story, 3:45, Muir, 6.4M) broadcast, David Muir said that with Thanksgiving just two days away, the US is recording “an alarming surge in new cases.” Muir added, “Authorities this evening now reporting 170,000 new cases in just the past 24 hours. More than 259,000 lives lost now, more than 1,080 more lives in just the last day. Tonight, we mark 14 straight days of record hospitalizations. More than 85,000 patients in hospitals across this country.” On the lead CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, lead story, 4:00, Brennan, 3.87M) story, Jonathan Vigliotti said, “Around the country, the numbers are staggering.” While the Wall Street Journal (11/24, Fuller, Hobbs, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the coronavirus is hitting rural America the hardest right now, where many people have not been quarantining themselves, and “more than a dozen medical care providers and public health officials in the nation’s heartland” told Reuters (11/24, Brown) that “many hospitals are severely lacking in beds, equipment and – most critically – clinical staff, including specialists and nurses,” the Washington Post (11/24, Wilson, 14.2M) reports California and other Western states are “again overwhelmed by a swelling pandemic.” However, the spike “has been like no other in how quickly the number of cases has climbed, hospitals have filled, and the improvised EFTA00148752 relationships that have kept businesses afloat have been re-created in crisis.” The Post adds, “From Washington state, south into California and east to New Mexico, the coronavirus is carving a fresh path through already battered communities and economies, forcing a new round of government-imposed shutdown orders, curfews and mask mandates.” The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that California on Saturday broke its record and on Monday recorded 13,695 confirmed cases, while the AP (11/24, Melley, Weber) reports Los Angeles County supervisors “voted Tuesday against allowing restaurants to remain open for dining during a surge in coronavirus cases that has the nation’s most populous county on the brink of a stay-home order just days ahead of Thanksgiving.” The AP adds, “In a 3-2 vote, the board rejected a motion to let restaurants continue to serve meals outdoors at reduced capacity, despite a plea from owners that a closure was unwarranted and would crush their businesses.” Furthermore, LA County “crossed a threshold for issuing a new stay-home order Monday, but the Department of Public Health has not yet acted.”

Bloomberg(11/24,4.73M) reports Texas“recorded 13,998 new cases on Tuesday，setting a daily record，figures from the Department of State Health Services show.Almost 10% of the new infections came from El Paso County，一of the hardest-hit in the state.”In addition，the Wall Street Journal(11/24，Toy，Subscription Publication，7.57M) reports the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is expecting the death rate from the coronavirus could rise as more Americans are infected。

CDC May Shorten Length Of Self-Quarantine Period After Potential Exposure To The Coronavirus. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, McKay, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon shorten the recommended length of time for self-quarantine following potential exposure to the coronavirus, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 response incident manager Henry Walke. Reuters (11/24, Nadeem, O'Donnell) reports health officials “currently recommend a 14-day quarantine in order to curb transmission of the virus but an official said Tuesday that there is evidence that the period could be shortened if patients are tested for the virus during their quarantine.” The Washington Post (11/24, Farzan, 14.2M) reports the CDC hopes “compliance will improve if the guidelines seem less daunting.” ABC World News Tonight Vi (11/24, story 2, 0:40, Muir, 6.4M) and the CBS Evening News Vi (11/24, story 2, 0:10, Brennan, 3.87M) provided similar coverage in brief broadcasts. ## Health Officials Implore Americans To Stay Home For Thanksgiving. Reuters (11/24, Heavey, Caspani) reports US health officials “and politicians pleaded with Americans on Tuesday to stay at home over the Thanksgiving holiday and abide by constraints placed on social and economic life as record coronavirus caseloads pushed hospitals to their limits.” On Fox News (11/24, 27.59M), US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said, “We need to be very cognizant of the severity of the moment. A quarter of all of our coronavirus cases this year have occurred in the last month. Forty states seeing cases go up. And those cases are trending into hospitalizations and deaths.” But, Adams added, “There is also hope.” Adams continued, “We are literally going to start vaccinating vulnerable people within the next couple of weeks. We have Regeneron. We have new remedies out there. But we just need you, the American people, to hold on just a little bit longer and it’s not too late to have a safe holiday celebration.” He also said, “I want people to continue to follow my three ws, wearing a mask, washing your hands and watching your distance.” While the New York Times (11/24, Katz, Quealy, Sanger-Katz, 18.61M) reports that “despite busy airports this past weekend, most people plan to follow their advice, according to a huge survey asking Americans about their holiday plans,” Margaret Brennan reported on the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 3, 2:00, Brennan, 3.87M), “Tens of millions of Americans are ignoring advice from health officials to stay home and not travel this Thanksgiving week.” Kris Van Cleave added, “Over four million have passed through TSA checkpoints, the most since March. AAA says up to 12 times that could decide to hit the road despite the CDC’s warning to EFTA00148753 stay home.” On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/24, story 3, 1:40, Holt, 5.9M), Miguel Almaguer said “over 50 million” are “expected to travel for the holiday.” In addition, the Washington Post (11/24, A1, Fisher, St. Martin, Rozsa, 14.2M) says in a nearly 2,500-word front-page article that White House coronavirus task force member Scott Atlas has “rejected the CDC’s admonitions, saying on Fox News Channel that ‘this kind of isolation is one of the unspoken tragedies of the elderly who are now being told, ‘Don’t see your family at Thanksgiving.’ For many people, this is their final Thanksgiving, believe it or not.” However, the Washington Times (11/24, Chasmar, 492K) reports Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) “declared Monday that Americans have no ‘constitutional right’ to go maskless during the coronavirus pandemic.” He added, “We’re talking about a quarter of a million people dying already – more than the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the Vietnam War added together.” He continued. “Which part don’t you understand? You wear the mask. There’s no constitutional right to walk around without a mask. We did it in 1918, I don’t know why we can’t do it now.” The Detroit Free Press (11/24, Terranella, 1.52M) reports Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “released a video Tuesday, urging Michiganders to protect their families and not gather for Thanksgiving.” The Hill (11/24, Castronuovo, 2.98M) reports Whitmer’s address “comes after she and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced additional COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings on Nov. 15, which took effect on Nov. 18.” In addition, the New York Times (11/24, Stack, 18.61M) reports New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Monday announced a $15,000 fine for a recent ultra-Orthodox Jewish wedding that drew thousands of attendees in “the latest incident in a long battle between city and state officials and members of the ultra-Orthodox community, who prize autonomy, chafe at government restrictions and have frequently flouted guidelines like mask-wearing and social distancing,” although the Wall Street Journal (11/24, Calder, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the New York Police Department and the New York City Sheriff’s Office will not enforce Thanksgiving restrictions. Meanwhile, the Washington Times (11/24, Chasmar, 492K) reports Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) "is stopping restaurants and bars from serving alcohol during what would normally be the biggest drinking night of the year, he said Monday." According to the Times, Wolf "announced that all sales for on-site consumption at bars, restaurants, wineries, breweries, private clubs and private catered events are prohibited after 5 p.m. on Wednesday." Macy Planning Socially Distant Thanksgiving Parade. The New York Times (11/24, Jacobs, 18.61M) reports that Macy’s “had to rip up its usual script and plan a new parade with the coronavirus in mind,” and the event now “seems poised to power through a pandemic.” The updated plan means that the parade route will “be one block long,” include zero high school bands, and minimize balloon handlers to 130. The changes reduce the number of official parade staff to 960, which represents 12 percent of its annual workforce. Americans Embracing Extravagant Christmas Displays Amid Pandemic. A frontpage Wall Street Journal (11/24, A1, Chaker, Carlton, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article headlined “A Homebound Nation Goes All Out With Lavish Christmas Decorations” discusses how Americans are looking ahead to Christmas by embracing holiday yard decorations to compensate for restrictions on social gatherings during the coronavirus. ## Growing Number Of Republican Senators Testing Positive For COVID. A Washington Post (11/24, Bump, 14.2M) analysis says Senate Republicans are facing growing infection rates after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced his infection last week. The current data shows an eight percent infection rate impacting 15 percent of the Senate Republican Caucus. The Post provides a timeline of infections since March 2020. ## Trump Celebrates Another Market Record With Dow Closing Above 30,000. The Washington Times (11/24, Boyer, 492K) reports President Trump “took credit for the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a record 30,000 points on Tuesday, calling it ‘a sacred number’ EFTA00148754 reached through his administration’s policies, including the development of vaccines for COVID-19.” Trump said, “We’ve never broken 30,000.” He added, “And that’s despite everything that’s taken place with the pandemic. I’m very thrilled with what’s happened on the vaccine front. Nothing like that has ever happened medically, and I think people are acknowledging that, and it’s having a big effect.” The President continued, “I just want to congratulate all the people within the administration that work so hard.” Trump added, “Most importantly, I want to congratulate the people of our country, because there are no people like you.” Politico (11/24, Niedzwiadek, 4.29M) says the President “emerged to take a victory lap” during an appearance that “lasted just over a minute, and reporters were given hardly any notice, showing the hastiness of the remarks.” On ABC World News TonightVi (11/24, story 4, 0:40, Muir, 6.4M), David Muir said Trump “came before the cameras to celebrate the Dow after repeatedly saying the market would crash if Joe Biden was elected.” However, the Washington Post (11/24, Denham, Shaban, 14.2M) says the stocks “rose sharply” as investors “interpreted the launch of the White House transition and President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for treasury secretary as positive steps in stabilizing the nation’s economy.” On the CBS Evening NewsVi (11/24, story 6, 0:55, Brennan, 3.87M), Ben Tracy also said the stock market “is soaring on news that an official transition to...Biden is under way and that he’s expected to nominate former Fed chief Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, proving President Trump’s pre-election predictions wrong.” The AP (11/24, Veiga, Troise) similarly says investors “were encouraged by the latest progress on developing coronavirus vaccines and news that the transition of power in the U.S. to...Biden will finally begin,” and were “encouraged to see that Biden had selected Janet Yellen, a widely respected former Federal Reserve chair, as treasury secretary.” A New York Times (11/24, Nelson, Phillips, 18.61M) article headlined “Wall St. Climbs To Record As Biden Transition Begins” and a Wall Street Journal (11/24, Torry, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article titled “Investors Look Past Current Woes” report similarly, as does a front-page New York Times (11/24, A1, Phillips, 18.61M) article headlined “Markets Throw A Welcome Party Of Sorts For Biden.” The New York Times (11/24, Phillips, 18.61M) says investors “celebrated both the prospect of an end to election-year political uncertainty as well as progress on Covid-19 vaccines. And as Inauguration Day approaches, Mr. Trump’s grip on the collective psyche of investors appears to be receding, too.” According to the Times, “Investors of all political persuasions say they are ready to turn the page on what was a profitable but extraordinarily politicized and stressful period for the financial markets, where they had to contend with an unpredictable force whose pronouncements frequently moved stock prices.” The Times adds investors mostly “supported Trump administration policies; it was the president’s unpredictable tweeting they found hard to stomach.” In an analysis, Reuters (11/24, Bentley) describes the Dow’s performance as “a psychological boost” for the stock market “at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has damaged the economy and left millions unemployed.” A nearly 2,000-word front-page Wall Street Journal (11/24, Banerji, Otani, Wursthorn, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) analysis titled “Behind Dow 30000: A Self-Perpetuating Upward Spiral” looks at how the record was achieved, as does another front-page Wall Street Journal (11/24, A1, Otani, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (11/24, Hirtenstein, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that in addition to the Dow record, the S&P closed up 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%. The Journal credits the rise to positive economic news, including the Journal’s report that Joe Biden will select Janet Yellen to be Treasury Secretary. A Wall Street Journal (11/24, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) editorial cites the Dow Jones topping 30,000 on Tuesday as evidence of the US economy’s resilience despite the pandemic. Musk’s Net Worth Passes Gates. ABC World News Tonight Vi (11/24, story 11, 0:20, Muir, 6.4M) reported, “Tesla’s CEO briefly edg[ed] out Bill Gates” on Tuesday “to become the EFTA00148755 world’s second richest person behind Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.” Elon Musk “and Gates are now essentially tied, worth about $128 billion each. Musk owns more than 50 percent of SpaceX, which just brought four astronauts to the International Space Station last week.” Consumer Confidence Down More Than Expected In November. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Guilford, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that the Conference Board said Tuesday its index of consumer confidence declined to 96.1 in November from a revised 101.4 in October. The AP (11/24, Crutsinger) reports consumer confidence fell “as rising coronavirus cases pushed American optimism down to the lowest level since August.” The Conference Board said the reading is down from 101.4 in October, and it “reflected a big drop in consumer expectations for income, business and labor market conditions.” Reuters (11/24, Mutikani) reports “consumer confidence fell more than expected in November...reinforcing expectations for a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the fourth quarter.” ## Biden Presents National Security Team In Delaware Appearance. The AP (11/24, Jaffe) reports, “Declaring ‘America is back,’ President-elect Joe Biden introduced his national security team on Tuesday, his first substantive offering of how he’ll shift from Trump-era ‘America First’ policies by relying on experts from the Democratic establishment to be some of his most important advisers.” Biden, speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, said, “Together, these public servants will restore America globally, its global leadership and its moral leadership.” All are “Washington veterans with ties to former President Barack Obama’s administration.” The AP adds that Biden’s choices for “his national security team” indicate “his shift away from the Trump administration’s ‘America First’ policies and a return to U.S. engagement on the global stage.” In an interview with Biden on the lead NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/24, lead story, 5:05, Holt, 5.9M) story, he said, “The team meets this moment, this team behind me.” Asked what his message is, Biden said, “America’s back. We’re at the head of the table once again. I’ve spoken with over 20 world leaders. And they all are literally really pleased and somewhat excited America’s going to reassert its role in the world and be a coalition builder.” On ABC World News TonightVi (11/24, story 3, 3:35, Muir, 6.4M), Rachel Scott said Biden has “a clear message – the era of ‘America First’ is over, and we’re ready to work with our allies again,” while the New York Times (11/24, Karni, Astor, 18.61M) says Biden argued that together his cabinet “would reinstate the United States as a global leader countering terrorism, extremism, the climate crisis and nuclear proliferation.” On NBC’s TodayVi (11/24, 3.03M). Geoff Bennett reported Biden made “six new cabinet selections that mark a return to a more traditional approach to governing,” as well as “a diverse group, including several firsts to major posts.” Reuters (11/24, Hunnicutt) reports Biden “stressed his plans for a foreign policy based on the United States taking a global leadership role and strengthening its alliances in the Asia-Pacific region after four turbulent years under President Donald Trump.” Biden “said his selection for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, would rebuild morale and trust in the U.S. State Department.” Biden also “stressed the diplomatic experience of his team.” Reuters adds, “In addition to Blinken, Biden’s team includes Jake Sullivan as national security adviser and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.” Reuters (11/24, Hunnicutt) says Biden “focused on building his incoming administration and offered a message of healing on Tuesday as his transition team began contacting federal agencies to prepare for a handover of power in January from President Donald Trump.” On CBS This MorningVi (11/24, 2.47M), Nicole Killian said Biden "will also name Avril Haines, the first woman to hold the role of director of national intelligence, and in a move demonstrating climate change will be a top priority for the Biden administration, the President-elect is also bringing back former Secretary of State John Kerry as a special climate envoy and elevating the post to the national security council. Former federal reserve chair Janet Yellen is a EFTA00148756 leading contender for treasury secretary. If confirmed, she will become the first woman holding the role succeeding 77 men who have come before her.” The New York Times (11/24, A1, Karni, Sanger, 18.61M) reports on its front page that "it was in...Haines’s paean to the intelligence community – which Mr. Trump often regarded as a group of ‘deep state’ renegades who wrongly tied him to Russia – that the contrast with the outgoing administration became clear. ‘To our intelligence professionals, the work you do – oftentimes under the most austere conditions imaginable – is just indispensable,’ said Ms. Haines, who would be the first woman to serve as director of national intelligence, overseeing 16 separate agencies." The New York Times (11/24, Rappeport, Swanson, Tankersley, Smialek, 18.61M) says that Yellen will have “a critical role overseeing [Biden’s] economic and national security agenda at an agency that has increasingly become a center of power,” as does a more than 2,400-word frontpage Wall Street Journal (11/24, A1, Hilsenrath, Timiraos, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article headlined “Politics Isn’t Janet Yellen’s Forte, But It’s What She’s In For Now” and a Wall Street Journal (11/24, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) analysis titled “Yellen Will Confront A Cooling Economic Recovery, Uncertain Stimulus Prospects.” Meanwhile, Reuters (11/24, Hunnicutt, Pamuk) reports Biden “also signaled that two former, more liberal, rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, were not under consideration for Cabinet appointments, saying he needed their votes in the closely divided Senate.” The Hill (11/24, Axelrod, 2.98M) similarly reports Biden “indicated he may be reluctant to pluck lawmakers from the House or the Senate to fill top administration roles, saying he needs leaders in Congress to help move his ‘progressive’ agenda.” The Hill adds Biden “said ‘nothing is off the table’ as far as personnel is concerned, but he hinted in a Congress with a narrow Democratic majority in the House and a contested hold of the Senate, he may decide to keep allies on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.” The Washington Post (11/24, 14.2M) editorializes that Biden’s proposed national security advisers will “please those who hope, as we do, that he will quickly replace…Trump’s chauvinist and self-defeating ‘America First’ policies,” and the nominations should “encourage anyone who values experience, expertise, integrity and fundamental competence in U.S. government leaders.” While Trump “leaves behind deep doubts about U.S. capacity, trustworthiness and resolve,” the Post says that the federal government will soon “have national security principals who are capable, conscientious, [and] well-versed in the issues they will face.” In a Washington Post (11/24, 14.2M) analysis, Ishaan Tharoor argues Biden’s announced cabinet selections offer a “return to competent governance and an end to the whirlwind of ax-grinding appointees and palace dramas that consumed U.S. agencies under President Trump.” He examines the potential impact of some officials, such as Antony Blinken, who “is a genuine Atlanticist with precisely the sort of pedigreed background that right-wing populists caricature as ‘globalist.’ According to Politico (11/24, Otterbein, Barron-Lopez, 4.29M), “Progressives don’t love Joe Biden’s first round of Cabinet picks. But they can live with them.” In his Washington Post (11/24, 14.2M) column, Max Boot argues Biden’s proposed national security advisers are a “diverse slate of highly competent appointees with decades of relevant experience,” and he lauds the announced selections because they will replace an era of “backstabbing, extremism and incompetence” with one of “professionalism, moderation and collegiality.” Yet, Boot warns that prestigious backgrounds do not insulate governments from poor decision-making, and suggests that observers “keep expectations in check” as the proposed team addresses a variety of challenges across the planet. Biden Outlines Priorities For First 100 Days. In an interview with NBC Nightly News Vi (11/24, story 4, 3:55, Holt, 5.9M), Biden discussed his priorities for his first 100 days in office. Biden said, "I made a commitment in the first 100 days, I will send a immigration bill to the United States Senate with a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people in America. I will also be moving to do away with some of the, I think, very damaging EFTA00148757 executive orders that have significantly impacted on making the climate worse and making us less healthy, from methane to a whole range of things the President has done as, in my view, has eviscerated the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency. There’s also things that I want to do that relate to the ability to make sure we get immediate assistance to state and local governments to keep them from basically going under.” Biden Urges Senate To Move Quickly On Cabinet Hearings. Politico (11/24, Niedzwiadek, 4.29M) reports Biden “pushed the Senate on Tuesday to begin confirmation hearings for his Cabinet selections in the coming weeks, a process that could put at least some leaders of the incoming administration in position to assume their roles on Inauguration Day.” He said, “I hope these outstanding nominees received a prompt hearing, and that we can work across the aisle in good faith to move forward for the country.” Biden added, “Let’s begin that work to heal and unite, to heal and unite America as well as the world.” However, the AP (11/24, Mascaro, Daly) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell remains “notably silent” and Reuters (11/24, Zengerle) reports other Senate Republicans “fired warning shots to… Biden that they may be prepared to stand in the way of his Cabinet appointments, despite the long-held tradition of a new president having the right to choose who will run government agencies.” Rachel Scott said on ABC’s Good Morning America Vi (11/24, 3.2M) that “some” of Biden’s nominations “could face a tough confirmation battle in the Senate, but if confirmed, they would make history.” Politico (11/24, Niedzwiadek, 4.29M) says Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “suggested on Tuesday that he would oppose confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s national security team, presaging the first sign of potential Senate battles to come if Republicans maintain control of the Senate.” Rubio said in a tweet, “Biden’s cabinet picks went to Ivy League schools, have strong resumes, attend all the right conferences & will be polite & orderly caretakers of America’s decline.” He continued, “I support American greatness. And I have no interest in returning to the ‘normal’ that left us dependent on China.” The Wall Street Journal (11/24, A1, Restuccia, Siddiqui, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) also reports on its front page that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has criticized some of Biden’s selections. Fox BusinessVi (11/24, 254K) hosted Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and asked him about Joe Biden’s selection of Jake Sullivan as national security adviser. Reschenthaler said, “As far as these picks go, and I’m treating this as a hypothetical because I want to encourage the President and Administration to continue to exhaust their legal options in court, but as far as these picks go it seems clear that the big winners from this are going to be China, Iran, and North Korea, and Iran as well.” Reschenthaler added that Sullivan “was one of the ones that was pushing the Russian hoax” and “was gumming up the works with the transition of power between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. So this is just going to be Obama’s really third term in terms of foreign policy and remember, their foreign policy was a disaster.” Reschenthaler concluded “This will be disastrous.” Biden Campaign Officials Upset By Former Obama Administration Appointments. Politico (11/24, Lizza, 4.29M) reports that the Biden transition process is beginning to provoke a “sense of dread” among campaign officials as Obama establishment staffers “are now cutting out the people who got Biden elected” in the race for federal positions. While executive-level appointments remain reserved for Biden campaign staff, there is a “perceived lack of outreach” to campaign staff for mid-level openings. ## GAO Reports US Has Paid Up To $870K Per Acre On Land For Border Wall. The Washington Times (11/24, Dinan, 492K) reports that according to the Government Accountability Office, “the federal government has paid as much as $870,000 to take ownership of private land along the border in Texas for space to build President Trump’s border wall.” So far, the GAO found that “more than 50 such takings have been completed, and dozens more are still in the works.” So far, the Times reports, 123 parcels of land “have been acquired, at an average cost of about $13,000 per acre,” with some costing as much as "$870,261 per acre." EFTA00148758 ## In Texts, US Census Manager Told Counters To Provide Fake Answers For Residents. The AP (11/24, Schneider) reports on “texts from an Alabama census supervisor” sent in October, which “laid out how census takers should fake data to mark households as having only one resident even if they had no idea how many people actually lived there.” The goal, the AP says, was “to check off as many households as possible on the list of homes census takers were supposed to visit because residents never had filled out census questionnaires.” The supervisor “wanted the census takers to finalize cases – without interviewing households – as the Trump administration waged a legal battle to end the once-a-decade head count early.” These texts “are the latest evidence suggesting census accuracy was sacrificed for speed as census takers and supervisors rushed to complete a head count last month,” and suggest “that falsification of census data may be more widespread than previously known.” ## US Agrees To Pause Deportation Of Women Alleging Abuse By Gynecologist. The AP (11/24, Merchant) reports the US government “has agreed temporarily not to deport detained immigrant women who have alleged being abused by a rural Georgia gynecologist, according to court papers filed Tuesday.” In “a motion that must still be approved by a federal judge, the Justice Department and lawyers for several of the women agreed that immigration authorities would not carry out any deportations until mid-January.” Dozens of women “have alleged that they were mistreated by Dr. Mahendra Amin, a gynecologist who was seeing patients from the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is investigating as well.” Several women “say they have faced retaliation by immigration authorities for coming forward.” ## Women Detained For Speaking Spanish Settle CBP Lawsuit. The AP (11/24, Hanson) reports US citizens Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez, “who were detained in northern Montana by US Customs and Border Protection agents for speaking Spanish while shopping at a convenience store,” have “reached an undisclosed monetary settlement in their lawsuit against the agency, the ACLU of Montana announced Tuesday.” The women “said their constitutional rights were violated when they were detained in the parking lot outside a the store in the city of Havre for 40 minutes after an agent demanded their identifications.” In settling the case, US Customs and Border Protection “said it did not admit liability and added in a statement that ‘the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe.’” ## More Wealthy Americans Seeking A Second Passport. Bloomberg (11/24, Stupples, Pendleton, 4.73M) reports on the growing number of wealthy Americans seeking second passports. Previously, “U.S. citizens rarely sought to buy so-called golden passports,” but “that’s changing. People close to the industry say they’ve been inundated with inquiries from citizens of the world’s richest country.” While the increased increase from Americans “predates the coronavirus pandemic,” Bloomberg says “the crisis has helped turbo-charge demand as they plan for how to maintain some freedom of movement with lockdown measures increasing amid a swelling second wave of Covid-19 cases.” In addition, the US elections have “stoked interest. While Joe Biden has rejected the wealth tax pushed by some of his Democratic primary rivals, his proposals could disrupt the ways that many Americans minimize – or altogether avoid – taxes on their investment gains.” ## House, Senate Appropriators Seal Deal On Funding Levels, Avoiding December Shutdown. Politico (11/24, Emma, 4.29M) reports, "Top House and Senate appropriators on Tuesday clinched a deal on a bipartisan set of funding levels, paving the way for a $1.4 trillion spending EFTA00148759 package to avert a government shutdown next month.” The “agreement on the funding allocations, confirmed by a House Democratic aide, establishes overall totals for 12 appropriations measures that will be rolled into one massive omnibus bill that would boost federal budgets for the rest of the fiscal year.” Negotiators “plan to keep the numbers – known as 302(b)s – under wraps until a bipartisan, bicameral omnibus is finalized, the aide said.” ## Fox News, Parents Of DNC Staffer Settle Lawsuit. The AP (11/24) reports, “Fox News has reached a settlement with slain Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich’s parents, who alleged in a lawsuit that the cable news company exploited their son’s death in stories and commentary.” Rich’s parents said, “We are pleased with the settlement of this matter and sincerely hope that the media will take genuine caution in the future.” ## Progressive Democrats Said To Be Critical Of Durbin As Senate Judiciary Ranking Member. Politico (11/24, Everett, Levine, 4.29M) reports Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) “was just re-elected as his party’s whip, the No. 2 leadership job,” and now “is seeking to succeed” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, “first he will have to overcome resistance from some on the left and questions about whether he is accruing too many plum posts in the caucus.” Durbin “is popular in the caucus and may already have the job locked down because of his seniority,” but “some prominent progressives are pushing” for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) “to get the job due to his reputation as a political brawler – the latest instance of the party fighting over its future in the post-Trump era.” WSJournal: Feinstein’s Ouster Reflects Stakes In GA Senate Runoffs. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal (11/24, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says Feinstein’s ouster reinforces the stakes of Georgia’s runoffs, because if Durbin takes over, Joe Biden would feel more pressure to nominate more liberal nominees and district-court trial judge bipartisanship would be eliminated. ## INTERNATIONAL NEWS ## US, EU Stockpile Coronavirus Vaccines While Russia, China Move To Share State-Backed Vaccines. The Washington Post (11/24, Morris, Rauhala, Mahtani, Dixon, 14.2M) reports that while the US and EU plan to stockpile coronavirus vaccines, China and Russia “rushed to share their own state-backed vaccines with nations scrambling for supply, positioning themselves to possibly expand their political and economic interests in the process.” According to the Post, “The contrast goes well beyond the crisis of the pandemic, reflecting how the post-World War II world order is challenged by the rise of authoritarian powers and the retreat of the United States during the outgoing Trump Administration.” While the New York Times (11/24, Kramer, 18.61M) reports the manufacturers of the "leading Russian vaccine candidate" Sputnik V “said on Tuesday that it showed an efficacy rate of 95 percent in preliminary results from a clinical trial, which would put it at the same level as or better than three other vaccines that have yielded results in recent weeks,” this “was based on an unspecified small group of volunteers within the ongoing Phase 3 trial of the vaccine, and the vaccine makers did not specify how many people with the vaccine or the placebo got sick.” In addition, Bloomberg (11/24, Kravchenko, Khrennikov, 4.73M) reports a spokesman for the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet been vaccinated. The spokesman added, "The president can’t use an uncertified vaccine." England To Use Tests To Reduce Quarantine Time Ahead Of Holiday Travel. EFTA00148760 The AP (11/24) reports, “In a boost to holiday travel that will be cheered by families and businesses, the British government has laid out a plan to reduce England’s 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers from destinations not deemed safe to as little as five days if they test negative for COVID-19.” The “change to the quarantine rules, which was announced Tuesday and takes effect on Dec. 15, has been long-awaited by the travel industry.” Under the new rules, “passengers from places not deemed safe can reduce the 14-day quarantine period by paying for a test from a private firm on or after Day 5 of their arrival at a potential cost of around 100 pounds ($133).” Report: UK Government Too Slow To Respond To Ventilator Shortage. Bloomberg (11/25, 4.73M) reports, “The UK government lost a ‘crucial month’ in its fight against coronavirus because it was slow to respond to a shortage of ventilators, the House of Commons spending watchdog found.” Ministers “only started efforts to buy more ventilators on March. 3, just over a month after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic a public health emergency, the Public Accounts Committee said Wednesday.” In addition, “a separate report by the National Audit Office, the body that scrutinizes public spending, found that the UK was too slow to source personal protective equipment for frontline health workers.” According to Bloomberg, “The two reports pile pressure on Boris Johnson’s government over its handling of the pandemic.” ## Macron Lays Out Gradual Easing Of Lockdown Measures. The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Bisserbe, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday laid out a plan to lift his country’s COVID lockdown measures, trying to strike a balance between his health officials who want measure to remain in place and his economic minister who wants more leeway ahead of the winter holidays. Bloomberg (11/24, Nussbaum, 4.73M) reports Macron “said he will gradually lift a nationwide lockdown from Saturday, as he attempts to avoid a resurgence of the coronavirus and damaging fits and starts for the economy.” Smaller shops “will be permitted to open from Nov. 28 with extra rules, after weeks of shopkeepers criticizing and mocking the government’s decision to ban retail it deemed non-essential.” Restaurants “will remain closed, however, until at least Jan. 20, depriving the sector of the income from one of the busiest periods of the year.” Macron said, “We have put the brake on the circulation of the virus,” but “a few weeks are still needed to reach our targets” of 5,000 cases per day and a maximum of 3,000 people in intensive care. ## Merkel Proposes Stricter Virus Measures. Bloomberg (11/24, Delfs, 4.73M) reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel “is proposing a further tightening of the country’s coronavirus restrictions, setting the stage for another tense round of discussions with the country’s 16 state leaders who have called for more lenient measures.” Merkel “will talk to regional premiers on Wednesday to agree on an extension of the country’s partial shutdown until at least Dec. 20.” In a briefing from the Chancellery, she “suggests to further restrict the number of customers allowed into shops and for additional measures in schools located in infection hotspots.” These proposals “go beyond a plan agreed upon by regional leaders on Monday, raising the stakes for the discussions.” Reuters (11/24, Rinke) reports Germany’s 16 federal states wanted “to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year, offering some relaxation of coronavirus restrictions to let families and friends celebrate together, a draft proposal showed on Tuesday.” Berlin mayor Michael Mueller “told ARD television he was confident the measures, agreed by the leaders late on Monday, would be adopted.” ## Asian Countries See COVID Numbers Rising Amid "Pandemic Fatigue." The Washington Post (11/24, Denyer, 14.2M) reports that in "Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, governments are reimposing restrictions this week as public complacency, policy blunders EFTA00148761 and colder weather fuel a new surge in virus cases.” Japan “is scaling back a contentious subsidy program designed to encourage domestic tourism and dining out,” while in Seoul, “officials ordered bars and nightclubs to close and limited dine-in service at cafes and restaurants this week.” Hong Kong “also closed bars and nightclubs, days after officials postponed the launch of a travel bubble with Singapore...after the virus found gaps in the territory’s defenses to stage a comeback.” Experts believe “pandemic fatigue” is a significant contributor to the rise in cases. NYTimes Analysis Highlights Public Health Lessons From South Korea’s Successful Handling Of Flu Vaccine Program. A New York Times (11/24, Sang-Hun, Grady, 18.61M) analysis says that South Korea’s scientists, in response to reports of deaths in people receiving the flu vaccine, “quickly determined that the deaths were unrelated to the flu shots,” and health officials “ramped up efforts to communicate with the public.” Officials “disclosed data on what was found,” allowing them to quickly get “the vaccination campaign back on track, at a time when scientists dealing with Covid-19 are increasingly worried about the rise of the anti-vaccine movement.” ## Hong Kong’s Lam Facing Pandemic, Political Tests In First Policy Address. Bloomberg (11/24, Lam, 4.73M) reports, “Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam faces no shortage of issues to tackle when she delivers her delayed economic policy address Wednesday after another tumultuous year for the Asian financial hub.” Lam “must grapple with a new wave of coronavirus cases and renewed social-distancing restrictions, which threaten an economy just starting to show signs of recovery after being rocked by protests in 2019 and the pandemic this year.” She “also must balance political demands from China amid its clampdown on Hong Kong, and seek ways to integrate the city’s economy more closely with the mainland.” ## Columbian First Lady Tests Positive For Coronavirus. Reuters (11/24) reports, “Colombian first lady Maria Juliana Ruiz has tested positive for coronavirus, the government said on Tuesday, but is asymptomatic.” Ruiz, “who along with her husband was tested on Monday, is following quarantine rules as established by the health ministry, the statement added. Duque received a negative result.” ## US Airlines Adding Flights To Mexican, Caribbean Resort Locations.

Reuters(11/24,Rucinski) reports,“US airlines are adding flights,and in some cases COVID-19 testing programs,for travel to Mexico and the Caribbean,a region central to carriers' strategies to tap into pockets of holiday demand before a vaccine makes its way around the world.” Resort destinations"in areas like Cancun are the only spots that now have more flights from US cities scheduled for November and December than last year,numbers from aviation data firm Cirium show.”US airlines"are flying about 50% less than 2019,with flights to traditional European vacation hotspots like Paris down by as much as 82% due to travel bans and quarantines."

## Bloomberg Analysis: Algerian President’s Absence Puts Residents In Limbo Again. A Bloomberg (11/24, Slimani, Karam, 4.73M) analysis says that Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune “flew to Germany last month for treatment after catching Covid-19,” and “he hasn’t been seen in public since and barely a word on his condition reaches home.” According to Bloomberg, his “prolonged absence” is “now the hot topic of political debate, supplanting a vote on constitutional reform and the rumblings of war near the country’s western border.” It is “also stirring uncomfortable echoes of veteran predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who spent months in the hospital abroad before his bid for re-election sparked mass unrest and his downfall last year.” Algerians “are again in limbo as the protest-wracked country faces its biggest economic challenge in decades, plotting a recovery from the pandemic and a fall in income from energy exports.” EFTA00148762 ## WPost: Poor Nations Need Debt Relief From China To Help Battle COVID-Related Financial Strains. In an editorial, the Washington Post (11/24, 14.2M) says this year’s G-20 summit “has disappointed in a critical respect: debt relief for low-income nations.” China “has recycled its huge export earnings, and purchased political influence, via aggressive project lending across Asia and Africa.” China “has joined the G-20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative – a freeze on official debt service until mid-2021” due in part to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic – yet “the group’s Sunday statement promised nothing more than an extension of this modest program through June 2021, and possibly six months after that.” The Post says the “level of indebtedness – 12 countries owe China more than 20 percent of their respective economic outputs – calls for principal reduction.” ## Multiple New Findings Suggest The 614G Mutation In SARS-CoV-2 Made The Virus More Transmissible Between People. The New York Times (11/24, A1, Glanz, Carey, Beech, 18.61M) reports “multiple new findings suggest” that the 614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 made the virus more transmissible between people. The 614G mutation “was first spotted in eastern China in January and then spread quickly throughout Europe and New York City.” The article adds, “Within months, the variant took over much of the world, displacing other variants.” ## Pompeo: Administration’s Iran Policy Saved American Lives. On Fox News’ Special Report (11/24, 1.53M), Secretary of State Pompeo said, “I came into an Administration, as did President Trump, where we were funneling tens of billions of dollars into [Iran], creating wealth and prosperity. The real tools of creating a nuclear weapon are capacity, smart people, money. … The previous Administration had chosen to give them a lot of that – money. We have chosen to deny them of tens and tens of billions of dollars in wealth has been denied them as a result of the isolation which we have created. We’ve saved lots of lives, lots of American lives. We have fewer soldiers in the Middle East today because of the actions we’ve taken, and I’m confident that’s the right policy. Appeasing terrorists, appeasing those who have hegemonic desires, appeasing those who are underwriting militias all throughout the region destabilizing the Middle East cannot possibly be the right course of action.” ## Khamenei Says Past Talks With US Were A Failure. Bloomberg (11/24, Shahla, 4.73M) reports in “his first public comments on talks as Joe Biden’s incoming administration is expected to reengage with Tehran,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “said past negotiations with the U.S. over sanctions had been a failure because they didn’t ensure lasting relief.” Khamenei said, “We tried the path of removing sanctions once before and negotiated for several years, but it didn’t work.” He said Iran’s response to sanctions imposed under President Trump had made the penalties ineffective. Iran Expects Foreign Companies To Return If US Sanctions Are Lifted. Reuters (11/24, Staff) reports Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said Tuesday his country expects foreign companies to return if US sanctions are lifted under Joe Biden. Rabiei told a news conference, "Recently, contacts about opening offices and the presence of foreign companies in Iran have increased. ... Some are considering reopening offices, but some companies... never closed down completely. These companies will definitely have more opportunities to operate. ... Certainly, with the...lifting of the oppressive sanctions and the absence of Trump, the presence of foreign companies and a willingness to invest in Iran will increase." ## Violence In Daraa Undercuts Assad’s Claim Of Control. The Washington Post (11/23, A1, Dadouch, 14.2M) reports on its front page that “violence has erupted in recent weeks” in the Syrian city of Daraa “with government forces and former rebels EFTA00148763 clashing amid a wave of assassinations, revealing the difficulty President Bashar al-Assad faces in maintaining control over areas he says he has pacified.” The Post says the violence in the city is “eroding the image Assad has tried to portray as he urges Syrians who fled the country to return home to government-controlled territory. He has promised that no harm will befall those who come back. But many Syrian refugees remain skeptical, aware of reports that some who’ve returned have disappeared or died in custody.” ## US, EU, Others Pledge Billions For Afghanistan. The AP (11/24, Keaten) reports the US, EU, “and other donors on Tuesday pledged billions in new funds for Afghanistan, hoping to salvage years of work aimed to foster peace and stability in the country and coax along uncertain peace talks between the government and Taliban rebels.” The “largely virtual pledging conference” was “co-hosted by Finland and the United Nations in Geneva.” US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale, the AP adds, said “that Washington would pledge $600 million for Afghanistan in 2021, but only half would come now ‘with the remaining three hundred billion available as we review progress in the peace process.’” While Reuters (11/24) reports the US and Germany “slapped strict conditions on future funding,” and a New York Times (11/24, Gibbons-Neff, Cumming-Bruce, 18.61M) article headlined “Donors Pledge Less Aid To Afghanistan During A Violent Chapter” says the “reduced pledge” of “around $12 billion over the next four years” comes “with harder conditions attached, including tangible progress toward a peace deal,” a Wall Street Journal (11/24, Rasmussen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) article titled “U.S., Other Foreign Donors Pledge Billions In Aid To Afghanistan” says the commitment amounted to $3 billion in development support for 2021. ## Pakistan, India Give UN Dossiers On Each Other. Reuters (11/24, Nichols) reports Pakistan on Tuesday “gave U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a dossier…accusing India of stoking terrorism in Pakistan, a day after India provided a dossier to some U.N. Security Council members accusing militants from Pakistan of attempting an attack in the disputed Indian territory Kashmir.” Pakistan’s UN.. Ambassador Munir Akram “accused India of violating international law, the U.N. Charter and Security Council resolutions by sponsoring terrorism. … A spokesperson for India’s mission to the United Nations in New York denied the charges.” On Monday, India said “that four militants, belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, made their way into Indian Kashmir through a tunnel last week and opened fire when their truck was stopped for a routine inspection. Pakistan has rejected allegations of any involvement in the alleged attack.” ## Pompeo Expects More Normalization Announcements Before End Of Administration. On Fox News’ Special Report (11/24, 1.53M), Secretary of State Pompeo said he expects more announcements of normalization between Middle Eastern countries and Israel before the end of the Trump Administration. Pompeo said, “Whether they will come in the next 30 days or 60 days or six months is difficult to know, but the direction of travels are very clear. The rationale for that has a little bit to do with American policy. We got it right. We took away the excuse of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. We took away the excuse that the United States was going to appease Iran and so we took that – and in the end, it was good, sovereign decisions by those leaders. Those countries are more safe, more secure, and they will be more prosperous.” Pompeo added, “I am highly confident that many, many more nations will ultimately do to choose to do the right things in the homeland of the Jewish people.” Netanyahu Tells Pollard That Israel Will Welcome Him "With Open Arms." Reuters (11/24, Heller) reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has promised Jonathan Pollard, an American who spent 30 years in U.S. prison for spying for Israel, a warm welcome and a comfortable life in Israel now that parole restrictions have ended.” In a video EFTA00148764 distributed by his office of part of a phone call with Pollard and his wife, Esther, Netanyahu said, "We are waiting for you, even during the time of the coronavirus, with open arms, and you will receive the genuine embrace of the Israeli people." ## Tice’s Mother, Former Ambassador Credit Trump For Efforts To Bring Home US Hostages, Other Foreign Policy Efforts. USA Today (11/24, Hjelmgaard, Shesgreen, 10.31M) reports Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, “a 39-year-old former U.S. Marine who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 while working as a journalist” praised President Trump for his efforts on his behalf. She “said her family’s contact with U.S. officials during the Obama administration was dominated by ‘a constant shuffling of the cards’ – being passed from official to official without clear purpose,” while Trump made “Austin’s release a very high priority. He really has in his heart an intolerance for Americans being held against their will.” Former US ambassador Bill Richardson also said that Trump has been successful in “streamlining the way American hostage cases are handled and improving communications with families.” Other foreign policy “experts” credit Trump with successes such as getting European allies to contribute more to NATO, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries, and relations with Iran and China. Mattis Calls For End To "American First" Foreign Policies. The Washington Times (11/24, Wolfgang, 492K) reports Trump’s former Secretary of Defense James Mattis published Monday a critical op-ed, where he “argued that the president’s view of America’s 21st-century role in the world is fundamentally misinformed and dangerous.” He and the other authors “took specific aim at Mr. Trump’s effort to pull all U.S. troops from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, where they argue that American engagement is key to ensuring stability.” They wrote, “The United States today is undermining the foundations of an international order manifestly advantageous to U.S. interests, reflecting a basic ignorance of the extent to which both robust alliances and international institutions provide vital strategic depth. In practice, ‘America first’ has meant ‘America alone.’” ## Biden Will Feel Pressure To Strengthen Ties With Taiwan. The New York Times (11/24, Hernández, Chien, 18.61M) reports President Trump “has made cultivating closer ties with Taiwan a critical part of his efforts to counter China’s rising influence.” Joe Biden “will most likely continue on a similar path, albeit without Mr. Trump’s characteristic pugnacity.” The Times says Biden “will face pressure from Democrats and Republicans to strengthen ties with Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.” Biden’s “transition team has already reached out to Taiwanese officials. … His approach, though, is expected to be less confrontational than” that of Trump, who is “working to leave a legacy of severed ties between the United States and China, including a series of last-minute actions focused on Taiwan.” Cancels Planned Visit To Taiwan Amid Questions About Costs. Bloomberg (11/24, Dlouhy, 4.73M) reports EPA Administrator Wheeler “is canceling a planned trip to Taiwan next month that had threatened to stoke anger with Beijing, after concerns were raised about the costs of the travel near the end of the Trump administration.” The trip “was originally planned following several high-level visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan in recent months as well as stepped-up arms sales that have angered China.” It had “drawn scrutiny for its potentially high price tag, with a charter flight planned to ferry Wheeler and other EPA staff to the country because of coronavirus concerns.” EPA spokesman James Hewitt said in an email, “Due to pressing domestic priorities at home, Administrator Wheeler’s visit to Taiwan has been postponed.” Hewitt “said the EPA would be asking the agency’s inspector general to probe the disclosure of details surrounding Wheeler’s Taiwan travel plans, after a New York Times report on the cost concerns.” Pope Francis Says "The Poor Uighurs" Are "Persecuted." EFTA00148765 The New York Times (11/24, Pianigiani, 18.61M) reports a comment in Pope Francis’ upcoming book, “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future,” in which “he called ethnic Uighurs in western China a ‘persecuted’ people for the first time,” has “set the Chinese government on the defense.” In the book, Francis “listed ‘the poor Uighurs’ among the people of the world he kept in his mind and prayers.” In one passage, he wrote, “I think often of persecuted peoples. … The Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi – what ISIS did to them was truly cruel – or Christians in Egypt and Pakistan killed by bombs that went off while they prayed in church.” Bloomberg (11/24, 4.73M) reports Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, “Pope Francis’s remarks on Uighurs are totally groundless.” Zhao argued China’s government “has been protecting the ethic minorities’ rights in accordance with law.” The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Subscription Publication, 7.57M)says Francis’s comments followed indications of better relations between Rome and Beijing as the Catholic Church in China ordained its first bishop since Beijing and the Vatican last month renewed an agreement on episcopal appointments. ## Trump’s Departure Rekindles European Differences Over Defense Relationships With US. The New York Times (11/24, Erlanger, 18.61M) reports the Trump presidency “forced European nations to consider whether they had become too dependent on the United States for leadership and their own security, and to ponder how far they were willing to go to defend themselves.” Now, the prospect of President Trump’s departure “has reopened old fissures between key European allies over their defense relationships with the United States, with considerable doubts about what just months ago looked like a determined turn toward greater European ambition and integration.” The Times cites “a bitter squabble between France and Germany over the future of European defense and strategic autonomy,” which it says is “a measure of the raw feelings stirred by Mr. Trump’s presidency, which raised doubts about America’s long-term commitment to global leadership and European security that a Biden presidency is not likely to erase.” Reuters (11/24, Landauro) says Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez “on Tuesday backed Germany’s view that Europe would not be able to provide for its own security without U.S. and NATO help, distancing him from a call by France for an independent European defence strategy.” Asked during a video conference on foreign policy held by the Krober whether he backed the German or French position, Sanchez said, “I would say I am more with the German vision of international relations.” His comments come after German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer “last week rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an independent European defence strategy, saying Europe would continue to rely on the United States and the NATO military alliance for security for decades to come.” Biden Says Border Between UK, Ireland Must Be Open. Reuters (11/24, Staff) reports Joe Biden “said on Tuesday he did not want to see a guarded border between Ireland and the United Kingdom, adding that he had previously discussed the matter with the British and Irish prime ministers and other European leaders.” Speaking to journalists in Delaware, Biden said the border must be open, He said, “We do not want a guarded border.” Erdogan Could Face A Difficult Four Years With Biden In White House. Bloomberg (11/24, Wadhams, 4.73M) reports Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erogan is moving quickly to position “for Joe Biden’s move into the White House,” as the next four years appear “set to be more difficult to navigate than the last.” US Sanctions against Turkey are “ready to deploy” and have been “held back to date only by Donald Trump.” By the time Biden left the vice presidency in 2017, “he had overseen a collapse in relations from close partnership to mutual distrust.” In a January interview, he called Erdogan an “autocrat” and said, “He has to pay a price.” Bloomberg says concerns over what could happen next “may help to explain the Turkish leader’s decision to congratulate Biden and accept his victory in contrast to other strongmen who have benefited from Trump’s tenure.” EFTA00148766 ## Guaido Hopes To Keep Bipartisan US Support During Biden Transition. Reuters (11/24, Ellsworth, Sequera) reports Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said in an interview on Tuesday that his country’s opposition hopes to maintain bipartisan support from US politicians as Joe Biden prepares to take office. The Trump Administration “led an international push to recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader as part of a plan to force the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro amid an economic crisis and a mass migration.” Now, the opposition “hopes to maintain the backing of both Republicans and Democrats as it seeks to continue pressuring Maduro, who has retained the support of Venezuela’s military despite a raft of aggressive U.S. sanctions.” Reuters adds, “Biden aides have said he does not plan to change Washington’s approach toward Maduro.” However, “Biden will likely face pressure to ease some measures such as restrictions on Venezuela’s gasoline imports amid crippling fuel shortages.” ## Russian Ship Threatened US Ship In Sea Of Japan. The Washington Times (11/24, Wolfgang, 492K) reports, “The Russian military on Tuesday threatened to ram a U.S. Navy ship that was conducting freedom-of-navigation operations in the Sea of Japan.” According to the US Navy, “the USS John S. McCain was sailing in the vicinity of Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan as a way to challenge ‘Russia’s excessive maritime claims’ in the region.” In response, “Russian forces…warned the American vessel to vacate the area.” While the Russian Defense Ministry said, “the USS John S. McCain destroyer returned to international waters,” the US Navy said, “By conducting this operation, the United States demonstrated that these waters are not Russia’s territorial sea and that the United States does not acquiesce in Russia’s claim that Peter the Great is a ‘historic bay’ under international law.” ## Clooney Accuses Orbán’s "Propaganda Machine" Of Lying About Him. The Washington Post (11/24, Taylor, 14.2M) reports actor George Clooney this week accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “propaganda machine” of “lying about him, adding that he would be ashamed if he didn’t speak out against Hungary’s ‘authoritarianism’ and listing illiberal measures taken by the European Union member state.” Clooney said in a statement, “The Orbán regime owns all the media, forces all the companies to comply by draconian taxation policies, silences the free press, requiring permits to photograph their razor wire fences, demonizes the disenfranchised, and winks at far right extremists.” His comments “came after Hungarian officials slammed the actor for ‘foolish’ remarks about Hungary and suggested that he was repeating the talking points of George Soros, a Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire and Orbán foe.” The dispute “was sparked by a brief remark Clooney made in an interview with GQ Magazine that was posted Nov. 17 on YouTube.” ## Police Push To Clear Paris Migrant Camp Sparks Outrage. The New York Times (11/24, Breeden, 18.61M) reports Paris police on Monday “cleared out a temporary migrant camp…forcing people out of tents, chasing them in the streets and firing tear gas in a crackdown that fueled growing outrage over the government’s tough new security policies.” While police “regularly clear out hundreds or even thousands of people from such camps,” the “violent evacuation of mostly Afghan migrants…from the Place de la République was covered widely in the media and struck a nerve, coming as Parliament voted on Tuesday to move forward with a new security bill,” which critics say “would make it harder for reporters or bystanders to film instances of police brutality.” ## Scotland Will Make Period Products Freely Available To All Who Need Them. The New York Times (11/24, Specia, 18.61M) reports “a landmark piece of legislation” approved in Scotland’s Parliament on Tuesday will make it “the first country in the world to make period products freely available to all who need them.” The Times adds, “The measures are intended to EFTA00148767 end ‘period poverty’ – or the circumstances, and in some cases, prohibitive expense that have left many without access to sanitary products when they need them.” ## Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Says 600 Civilians Were Killed In Massacre In Tigray Region. The Washington Post (11/24, Wroughton, 14.2M) reports the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Tuesday that “hundreds of people in a town in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region were stabbed, strangled and hacked to death in an apparent ethnically based attack that may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.” According to the commission, “at least 600 people were killed in the town of Mai Kadra in western Tigray on Nov. 9 when local youths known as Samri, aided by the then-local administration, went door to door killing those they identified as from the minority Amhara and Wolkait ethnic groups.” Victims “were beaten to death with sticks, stabbed with knives, machetes and hatchets, and strangled with ropes, according to the report. Many others were severely injured and property looted or destroyed, the commission said.” Bloomberg (11/24, Gebre, 4.73M) reports the group said the death toll could increase “as there were individuals unaccounted for at the time of EHRC’s visit to the town.” Reuters (11/24, Staff) reports U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply concerned” about the in the Tigray region and called on the parties to de-escalate tensions. Dujarric said in a statement, “Amid reports of a potential military offensive into the regional capital of Mekelle, he urges the leaders of Ethiopia to do everything possible to protect civilians, uphold human rights and ensure humanitarian access for the provision of much-needed assistance.” ## THE BIG PICTURE ## Headlines From Today's Front Pages. ## Wall Street Journal:

Dow Jones Industrial Average Crosses 30000 For First Time

Behind Dow 30000: A Self-Perpetuating Upward Spiral

A Homebound Nation Goes All Out With Lavish Christmas Decorations

Biden Transition Moves Quickly After Trump Agrees To Share Resources

Politics Isn't Janet Yellen's Forte, But It's What She's In For Now

## New York Times:

Biden’s National Security Team Offers A Sharp Turn. But In Which Direction?

Trump Stress-Tested The Election System, And The Cracks Showed

How De Blasio Backed Himself Into A Corner On Closing Schools

David N. Dinkins, New York’s First Black Mayor, Dies At 93

Markets Throw A Welcome Party Of Sorts For Biden

Evidence Builds That An Early Mutation Made The Pandemic Harder To Stop

# Washington Post: Failing Grades Spike In Fairfax Transition Revs Up As Roadblocks Fall Trump’s Election Assault Bodes Lingering Damage In Ga., Warnock Gets The Focus And The Fire Unrest In Key City Undercuts Assad’s Control Divided Over Coming Together EFTA00148768 ## Financial Times: Yellen Prepares For Second Act At Pinnacle Of Economic Policymaking Tesla’s Market Value Soars To $500BN Ahead Of S&P 500 Debut City Of London Makes Late Scramble To Limit Brexit Disruption ## Washington Times:

Rigged-Election Claims In Georgia Fuel Republican Fears Of Losing Senate

Trump Vows He'll 'Never Concede' Despite Administration Starting Transition Move

Trump's Health Secretary Already Briefing Biden Team On COVID-19, Vaccine Coming In Weeks

Trump's Move To Label Iran-Backed Yemeni Rebels As Terrorists Threatens Peace Efforts

Guantanamo Becomes Biden's Dilemma As Detainees Dwindle, Costs Soar

## Story Lineup From Last Night’s Network News: ABC: COVID-Surge; CDC Guidelines; Presidential Transition; Trump-Wall Street; Trump-Election Results; COVID-Hunger Crisis; Weather Report; NYPD-Officers Shot in Domestic Dispute; Former NYC Mayor Dies; Utah-Steel Monolith; Elon Musk-Net Worth; New York-Missing Dog Reunited With Family. CBS: COVID-Surge; CDC Guidelines; Thanksgiving Travel; Weather Report; Presidential Transition; Trump-Wall Street; Trump-Election Results; Purdue Pharma-Criminal Charges; COVID-Hunger Crisis; Mexico-Drug Cartel Boss In Custody; Grammy Nominees; New York-Deli Gives Out Free Meals To Those In Need. NBC: Biden-Transition; Biden-COVID Response; Thanksgiving Travel; Biden-Priorities; Biden-Civil Unrest Response; Presidential Transition; Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. ## Network TV At A Glance: Presidential Transition – 6 minutes, 45 seconds ## Story Lineup From This Morning’s Radio News Broadcasts: ABC: COVID-Surge; LA County-COVID Restrictions; Presidential Transition; Trump-Election Results; Wall Street. CBS: Thanksgiving Travel; FDA-Vaccine Approval; Presidential Transition; Biden-Cabinet; California-Unemployment Benefits Fraud. FOX: Thanksgiving COVID Restrictions; FDA-Vaccine Approval; Trump-Michael Flynn Pardon. NPR: Presidential Transition; Biden-Cabinet; COVID-Surge; Purdue Pharma-Criminal Charges. ## WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE ## Today's Events In Washington. ## White House: - President Trump — Has no public events scheduled. - Vice President Pence — Has no public events scheduled. ## US Senate: - Senate on recess from 18 Nov – 30 Nov ## US House: - House of Representatives on recess from 20 Nov – 30 Nov ## Cabinet Officers: • No public schedules released. ## Visitors: • No visitors scheduled. ## This Town: EFTA00148769 - Revised growth figures for Q3 published – Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes revised GDP data for the third quarter of 2020, after last month's advance data showed that real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 33.1% in the third quarter of the year, following a decrease of 31.4% in Q2 as a result of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the U.S. economy; 8:30 AM - Department of Transportation monthly Air Travel Consumer Report released – Department of Transportation monthly Air Travel Consumer Report released, containing September and third-quarter 2020 airline on-time numbers, tarmac times, mishandled baggage numbers, mishandled wheelchair and scooter numbers for reporting marketing and operating carriers. Report also contain third-quarter denied boarding numbers; 11:00 AM - GMF virtual discussion on transatlantic relations with Ukraine and Georgia – ‘Ukraine, Georgia, and the Future of the Transatlantic Alliance’ German Marshall Fund of the U.S. online event, featuring Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, Member of the European Parliament Anna Fotyga, New Europe Center Director Aylona Getmanchuk, and Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies co-founder Irakli Porchkhidze; 11:00 AM - Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes published – Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes published * The FOMC decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0-0.25% at its last meeting earlier this month as it continued to deal with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the U.S. economy; 2:00 PM Copyright 2020 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC Reproduction or redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, radio broadcasts, social-media platforms and additional forms of open-source data. Sources for Bulletin Intelligence audience-size estimates include Scarborough, GfK MRI, comScore, Nielsen, and the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Data from and access to third party social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, is subject to the respective platform’s terms of use. Services that include Factiva content are governed by Factiva’s terms of use. Services including embedded Tweets are also subject to Twitter for Website's information and privacy policies. The FBI News Briefing is published five days a week by Bulletin Intelligence, which creates custom briefings for government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at BulletinIntelligence.com, or called at (703) 483-6100. EFTA00148770