Republican senators tore into President Biden Joe Biden Trump State Department appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot FireEye finds evidence Chinese hackers exploited Microsoft email app flaw since January Biden officials to travel to border amid influx of young migrants MORE ’s nominee to lead the Pentagon’s policy shop Thursday, with several coming out in opposition to Colin Kahl over fiery tweets in recent years critical of the Trump administration. Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee also grilled Kahl, Biden’s nominee to be under secretary of Defense for policy, over his support for the Iran nuclear deal, from which former President Trump Donald Trump Trump State Department appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot Intelligence community investigating links between lawmakers, Capitol rioters Michelle Obama slams 'partisan actions' to 'curtail access to ballot box' MORE withdrew and which Biden is hoping to revive. “What concerns me here is that hyper-partisanship, especially in regards to our national security, is inappropriate for the position of under secretary of Defense for policy,” Sen. James Inhofe James (Jim) Mountain Inhofe Overnight Defense: Capitol Police may ask National Guard to stay | Biden's Pentagon policy nominee faces criticism | Naval Academy midshipmen moved to hotels Top Republican: 'Outrageous' to extend National Guard deployment at Capitol Republicans blast Pentagon policy nominee over tweets, Iran nuclear deal MORE (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the committee said. “Unfortunately, in the past, in many cases, your public policy positions have been couched in partisan politics rather than fact-based analysis.” ADVERTISEMENT The under secretary of Defense for policy is widely considered the third most powerful civilian role at the Pentagon. The job is also expected to be of particular importance in the Biden administration ...
Backdrop to national health policy 2017 situation analysis
France could follow Italy and block vaccine shipments, health minister says
(CNN) France said Friday it may follow Italy in blocking Covid-19 vaccine shipments as concerns about vaccine nationalism rise. The comments by French Health Minister Olivier Véran came the day after Rome invoked European Union powers to block the export of 250,000 Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Australia, in a dramatic escalation of a dispute between the bloc and the drug giant. "Of course, I understand what Italy did," Véran said during an interview with CNN affiliate BFM on Friday. "We could do the same thing." AstraZeneca's vaccine contract with the UK is based on 'best efforts,' just like its deal with a frustrated EU A spokesperson for Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told CNN that Italy and the European Commission had agreed on the action. This is the first time that such EU measures have been used for vaccines. "We are closely discussing with Italians, as well as with all our European partners to have a European approach on the issue." Véran said. Read More "Since the first day, France has believed in a shared European approach," he added. In late January, a public and acrimonious fight erupted between the EU and AstraZeneca over vaccine delays, after the company advised the bloc that it would deliver tens of millions fewer doses than agreed by the end of March. The European Commission later adopted new measures giving member states the power to restrict the export of vaccines outside the bloc, in certain situations. Italy justified invoking the powers by citing AstraZeneca's delays in supplying its vaccine to Italy and the EU, and noting that Australia is not considered a "vulnerable" nation to Covid-19 by the EU. A nurse prepares to administer the first Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in the northern French town of Dunkirk on February 17. "While we understand the political pressures at play within Europe, blocking exports to meet domestic vaccination targets is a very ...
Suncor refinery north of Denver faces state review of outdated permits, plans $300 million push to be “better not bigger”
Colorado officials committed to cleaner air and reducing reliance on fossil fuels have reached a turning point on whether to tolerate the hulking oil refinery north of Denver that ranks among the state’s major polluters and regularly malfunctions . They must approve or deny Suncor Energy’s applications to renew its operating permits, which serve as contracts governing the emission levels of toxic pollutants that can cause cancer and serious heart, lung and other health problems. This is oversight power Colorado air pollution regulators have declined to use over nearly a decade of letting Suncor run the refinery under the equivalent of an expired driver’s license — a perk granted to companies if they submit timely renewal applications. Suncor’s outdated permits, which records show were issued in 2006 and 2012, allow emissions of 866,100 tons a year of heat-trapping gases and toxics including sulfur dioxide, benzene and hydrogen cyanide . During malfunctions, pollution exceeds what the permits allow. Colorado air pollution control officials defended their approach, saying it doesn’t impinge on their ability to enforce provisions of the old permits, and blamed bureaucratic backlogs. They’re acting now, they say, because Colorado is cracking down on pollution. Suncor’s refinery, built 89 years ago on a 230-acre site along Sand Creek in Commerce City, malfunctioned 108 times over the past five years, according to state records obtained by The Denver Post. That’s an average of about one breakdown every three weeks — often visible when putrid yellow grit wafts over Denver. The records show toxic pollution spiked above permit limits more than 500 times over the past two years. Suncor also benefits from annual state tax credits, $2.3 million in 2019, for investing in an enterprise zone. But now state officials, reviewing Suncor’s permit applications, say all options up to and including closure are on the table — though they’re mindful of the ...
Biden can build on Pope Francis’s visit to Iraq
Pope Francis Pope Francis Religious leaders reassure faithful over Johnson & Johnson vaccine Biden can build on Pope Francis's visit to Iraq Bishops discourage Catholics from receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccine if alternatives available MORE is set to make history as he embarks on an apostolic journey to Iraq. The focus of his visit, entitled “ You are all brothers and sisters ,” signifies a clear objective of reconciliation between Iraqis. The nation since 2003 has been defined by Sunni-Shia conflict over domestic politics and finds itself struggling to recover after the genocide that ISIS committed against Christians, Yazidis, Shia Turkmen and Shabaks. The situation for these communities is particularly dire. Iraqi Christians numbered more than 1.5 million before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and, by 2017, their numbers had fallen to fewer than 250,000 because of sectarianism and genocide. It was a little over five years ago when ISIS targeted Iraq’s Christian heartland of the Nineveh Plains and the Yazidi bastion of Sinjar. ISIS killed many of these people, or sold them at sex slave markers, burned villages and crops, and desecrated and destroyed holy sites to erase these communities from the face of the earth. As a consequence, Christian and Yazidi communities there are weakened and divided, an effect of longstanding persecution and genocide. ADVERTISEMENT Yousif Kalian, with the U.S. Institute of Peace, has remarked that Pope Francis’s visit will give a “huge vote of confidence” to these communities that are in desperate need of hope. Leading the international community in genocide response is the best way that President Biden Joe Biden Trump State Department appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot FireEye finds evidence Chinese hackers exploited Microsoft email app flaw since January Biden officials to travel to border amid influx of young migrants MORE could build upon this ...
Ask Amy: COVID-19 concerns dominate relationships
Dear Amy: I recently had a conversation with a friend that I am still ruminating about. She shared how she used a loophole to get a COVID vaccination that she really wasn’t entitled to receive. It was as if I should be impressed with how creative and smart she was to game the system. She then went on to describe how she will now be comfortable eating in restaurants, etc. I said I was happy for her and changed the subject so I could take time to process this. Our family is trying to stay patient and wait our turn. Thoughts? — Waiting Dear Waiting: There are stories of people standing in line outside vaccination centers to try to receive shots that would otherwise be thrown away if they weren’t used. I’m all for that kind of enterprise. However, if your friend leapt through a loophole to snag an appointment before her turn, that’s completely unethical. I have read accounts of how some people have used their connections, money, and privilege to game the system. Ask yourself, when do we learn important truths about people? During times like these. Your friend is showing you who she is: She is someone who would jump the line (ahead of others who are classified as at greater risk) in order to eat out at a restaurant a few weeks earlier than if she had waited her turn. And she is bragging about it. A note of caution: Although COVID numbers are currently falling, as of this writing the CDC has stated that the reduction in infection numbers is likely due to vigilant mask wearing and social distancing during the lengthy vaccination rollout. Your friend – and others who have been vaccinated – should continue to be cautious. Dear Amy: I have strong feelings about who I will see during the pandemic. I have very little contact with my friend “Marion.” Marion is 62, and a nurse practitioner (but in management, so she is working from home). Thirty years ago, Marion had breast cancer, but otherwise she is healthy. I am 60 with an ...
