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World

ICC Rules it Has Jurisdiction to Examine Possible Israel War Crimes

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JERUSALEM — The International Criminal Court on Friday determined that it has jurisdiction over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, despite Israel’s insistence to the contrary, opening the way for an inquiry into allegations of Israeli, and Palestinian, war crimes in the region.

The ruling by the I.C.C. in The Hague came six years after the office of the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, began a preliminary investigation of Israeli actions in the territories, including during the devastating 50-day Gaza war of 2014.

The precedent-setting decision, coming more than a year after Ms. Bensouda asked the court to confirm its jurisdiction in the area, was hailed by Palestinian leaders and human rights organizations as a step toward justice for the victims. It was excoriated by Israel as a contentious political move without valid legal basis.

“Today the court proved once again that it is a political body and not a judicial institution,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement. “The court ignores real war crimes and instead persecutes the state of Israel, a state with a firm democratic regime, which sanctifies the rule of law, and is not a member of the court.”

He later issued a more bellicose video statement accusing the International Criminal Court of “pure anti-Semitism” while it “refuses to investigate brutal dictatorships like Iran and Syria, who commit horrific atrocities almost daily.”

“We will fight this perversion of justice with all our might,” he concluded.

The State Department expressed “serious concerns” about the decision in a statement by a spokesman, Ned Price. “The United States has always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the U.N. Security Council,” he said.

While Israel is not a member of the court, the Palestinians joined in 2015 and asked for the I.C.C. inquiry.

Dealing a severe diplomatic blow to Israel, the court ruled that for its purposes, Palestine qualified as the state on the territory where the events in question occurred and defined the territorial jurisdiction as extending to the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The ruling was not unanimous, with one of the three judges, Péter Kovács, presenting a dissenting opinion, disputing the notion that the court has jurisdiction in this case.

The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Muhammad Shtayyeh, praised the decision from The Hague as a victory for justice and a redress to the victims of Israeli war crimes. “The resolution is a message to the perpetrators of crimes, that their crimes will not be subject to a statute of limitations, and that they will not go unpunished,” he said.

Now that the court has determined it has jurisdiction, Ms. Bensouda, the chief prosecutor, must decide whether to proceed with an investigation or leave the decision to her successor. Her term ends in June.

In the past, she has cited a “reasonable basis to believe” that war crimes had been committed, pointing to what she described as Israel’s disproportionate use of force in the 2014 war in Gaza and its continuing settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Also under scrutiny is Israel’s deadly response to Palestinian protests in 2018 along the border fence in Gaza.

The Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Malki, said the decision “opens the door to the pursuit of criminal accountability for the most egregious crimes under the court’s mandate, which have been and continue to be committed against the Palestinian people.”

But the investigation could also cover alleged crimes by the Palestinian side, including that the authorities in the West Bank engaged in torture of opponents and supported attacks against Israeli citizens, according to Amnesty International.

The chief prosecutor has also cited possible war crimes by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, and other armed groups there, for firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas of Israel and for using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

Balkees Jarrah, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the court’s ruling “finally offers victims of serious crimes some real hope for justice after a half century of impunity.” She added, “It’s high time that Israeli and Palestinian perpetrators of the gravest abuses — whether war crimes committed during hostilities or the expansion of unlawful settlements — face justice.”

Filing a suit against Israel in the International Criminal Court was long considered a risky move by the Palestinians that would infuriate Israel and alienate the United States.

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that created and governs the court, in December 2014 over the strong objections of Israel and the United States. It was part of a strategy to pursue statehood in the international arena after another failed round of American-brokered negotiations with Israel.

Israel originally supported the establishment of the international court in 2002, but it did not ratify the Rome Statute, in part out of fear of ending up on trial over the issue of settlements.

As a nonmember, it cannot appeal Friday’s ruling. But Israel’s attorney general has argued all along that only a sovereign state can delegate authority to the I.C.C., and that the areas in question were not a Palestinian sovereign state.

Israel had been preparing for months for the decision, and though it finally came on Friday night, when Israel is generally shut down for the Sabbath, outraged officials quickly condemned the ruling.

The Foreign Ministry said that the court was getting itself involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and driving the parties further apart soon after the Palestinian Authority had resumed security cooperation with Israel. The Justice Ministry called the decision harmful and superfluous.

Israel has long had a testy relationship with United Nations investigators. In 2008, it denied entry to Prof. Richard A. Falk, a United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, viewing his positions as hostile and saying he was unwelcome. Professor Falk said he was not hostile to Israel, but critical of its occupation policy.

In 2009, a United Nations panel that investigated Israel’s invasion of Gaza that year contended that Israel had intentionally killed Palestinian civilians there, but two years later the leader of the panel, Richard Goldstone, a South African jurist, retracted that explosive assertion.

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Business

Leader of GameStop crusade ‘Roaring Kitty’ could have broken federal rules by posting trading videos

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The YouTuber known as Roaring Kitty, who became the face of the GameStop stock frenzy and also worked until last week as a broker, could be in legal trouble for potential violations of federal rules governing brokers’ communications with the public.

Keith Gill, 34, placed a huge bet on GameStop shares more than a year ago and shared his ideas about the stock online in the months leading up to the ‘meme stock’ bubble.

But his commentary may create a problem for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., which employed him and had a duty to supervise him. 

Keith Gill, the YouTuber known as Roaring Kitty, is facing regulatory scrutiny

Securities regulators in Massachusetts are said to be investigating Gill and his former day job as a financial wellness education director at insurance company MassMutual. 

The company told regulators that it was unaware of Gill’s YouTube videos promoting GameStop stock, and that if it had known it would have asked him to stop or fired him, according to the New York Times.  

Although he didn’t advise specific clients on investments or insurance, he was not exempt from regulations that tightly regulate brokers’ conduct, securities lawyers have suggested to the Wall Street Journal. 

The once obscure YouTuber has become an unlikely celebrity in the clash between small investors and big hedge funds, and is seen by some as a folk hero and others as a dangerous disruptor of markets. 

Gill first touted GameStop as a potential investment more than a year ago

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) may well be taking a closer look at Gill

After shares of the struggling video game retailer skyrocketed 1,600 percent in January, as small investors inspired by the WallStreetBets message board on Reddit snapped up the stock to punish hedge funds that bet against it, the bubble collapsed this week, and is down more than 70 percent since Monday. 

Gill worked as a ‘financial-wellness education director’ but was a registered broker. He has already cashed out more than $13 million on his trades and was sitting on another $7.6 million in gains as of Wednesday, according to a screenshot of his brokerage account he posted on Reddit. At the height of the frenzy last week, his account was worth nearly $48 million.  

Gill gave his notice at MassMutual on January 21, but was technically still employed there until January 28, as the GameStop frenzy neared its peak, the company told regulators.

Gill quit his job at MassMutual on January 21 as GameStop shares exploded

He is a licensed securities broker, and licensed professionals have an ‘obligation’ to inform their employers about their outside activities, said William Galvin, the Massachusetts secretary of the commonwealth. 

On Friday, Galvin’s office sent a letter to MassMutual seeking information about Gill’s employment and whether the company was aware of his outside activities.  

‘I am not trying to inhibit anyone’s ability to access the marketplace,’ Galvin said. ‘The issue here is transparency.’ 

Over the last six months Gill posted dozens of videos, the majority related to his view that GameStop shares were undervalued and would rise as others took notice. 

Some videos looked at Gamestop’s past performance and forecasts but even posting online using a pseudonym does not absolve him of regulatory obligations, said lawyer Susan Light.

Gill is seen last week at his rented home in Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and their two-year-old daughter

Shares of GameStop, which soared 1,800 percent in January in a speculative bubble fueled by small investors, have fallen nearly 84 percent in the first four days of this month

‘An average Joe can go on a website and say, “I like XYZ stock.” A broker can’t do that. It would make sense for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) to be interested in looking at this.’ 

‘If you have a registered person trading securities away from the firm and making recommendations to the general public, it is potentially a big supervisory miss,’ said Brad Bennett, a former Finra enforcement director to the Journal.

‘After 40 years in the industry, there is no question in my mind that if you are a registered representative [of a brokerage firm], you should not be communicating with anybody on Reddit,’ Bill Singer, a regulatory defense lawyer said. ‘That’s the safest thing to do.’ 

Gill’s videos included a disclaimer saying investors should consult with a financial adviser before making any investment decision and ‘should not treat any opinion expressed on this YouTube channel as a specific inducement to make a particular investment.’ 

Roaring Kitty continued to create topical memes regarding the stock’s soaring price

Andrew Calamari, a lawyer with Finn Dixon & Herling and a former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York office, told the Times that it was too soon to determine whether Gill had violated any securities regulations. 

But he said that Gill could have violated company rules at MassMutual if he did not receive permission for his posts on Reddit and YouTube. 

‘Firms don’t allow employees to go out and make predictions on stock,’ he said of employees other than analysts. 

Gill has not posted on YouTube since January 22, and on Wednesday he announced on Reddit that he would step back from providing daily updates on his GameStop position there. 

He has remained mostly silent on the controversy, aside from an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week. 

‘I didn’t expect this,’ he said. ‘This story is so much bigger than me… I support these retail investors, their ability to make a statement.’ 

Gill made an initial investment in GameStop of about $53,000 in June 2019. He later added to the investment, plowing in a total of $745,991. 

A five-day view of GameStop stock price shows the steep decline from its peak last week

GameStop stock price is seen in a one-year view, showing the shares spiking and falling

In his latest YouTube videos, filmed in his basement, he celebrated his success with as many as 200,000 fans, wearing sunglasses and a sweatband to hold back his shoulder-length hair and dipping chicken tenders (the mascot food of his followers) in Prosecco.

Gill gained notoriety in the Reddit trading forum WallStreetBets as he posted regular updates of his ‘YOLO [You Only Live Once]’ trade beginning in 2019 under the username DeepF***ingValue.

But Gill told the Journal his original decision to buy – at first ridiculed in WallStreetBets before it was venerated – was based on fundamentals about the company.

‘People were doing a quick take, saying GameStop was the next Blockbuster,’ he said, referring to the video store all but destroyed by the decline of retail and the rise of streaming services.

‘It appeared many folks just weren’t digging in deeper. It was a gross misclassification of the opportunity,’ he said. 

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US

Texas woman charged in Capitol riot can visit Mexico, judge rules

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A Texas business owner charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will be allowed to visit Mexico for a “bonding retreat” with employees, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Jenny Cudd, of Midland, was charged last month and is free on personal recognizance. She was seen inside the Capitol after a pro-Trump mob stormed it, and in a video on Facebook that day said, “I f—ing charged the Capitol today” and “Hell yes, I am proud of my actions,” according to a criminal complaint.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden granted a request that will allow Cudd to travel to a pre-planned, pre-paid retreat with employees in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

The judge wrote that neither prosecutors nor a pretrial services officer opposed the request. Cudd “has no criminal history and there is no evidence before the Court suggesting the Defendant is a flight risk or poses a danger to others,” McFadden wrote.

Cudd was cleared to travel to Mexico on Feb. 18 and to return to the U.S. on Feb. 21, according to the judge’s order. She will have to provide authorities with her itinerary.

Cudd was charged in January with violent entry or disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building, both misdemeanors. Court documents filed Wednesday appear to show she was indicted by a grand jury on five federal counts.

A request for comment from Cudd’s attorney was not immediately returned Friday night.

In the Facebook video posted the day of the riot, Cudd said “we did break down the Nancy Pelosi’s office door,” according to an FBI statement of facts in the case. She also said she “charged the Capitol today with patriots” and she was proud, the court document says.

Cudd in a Jan. 8 interview with NBC affiliate KWES of Midland attempted to clarify the comments she made in the Facebook video. “I personally did not tear down anything, destroy anything, go into any offices,” she said. She said she frequently uses the word “we” generally and that she only went into the Rotunda.

The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol occurred as Congress was to formally count the electoral vote affirming Joe Biden’s election as president. The riot led to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives — for an unprecedented second time — on Jan. 13 while he was still president.

The article of impeachment charges him with “incitement of insurrection,” in part over Trump’s repeated and false claims that his loss was because of voter fraud, and his comments made to a rally before the riot.

Trump’s trial in the Senate is scheduled to start Tuesday.

Phil Helsel

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.



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World

Hong Kong introduces sweeping national security rules for schools

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For years, parents and students in the semi-autonomous city have feared a shift toward China-style “patriotic education,” with a previous attempt to introduce such a curriculum defeated by mass protests in 2012. The new rules, coming in the wake of both the new security law and a crackdown on the city’s opposition movement, go far beyond what was previously mooted.

“Schools have a significant role to play” in this, he added.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Ip Kin-yuen, a former lawmaker and vice chairman of the Professional Teachers’ Union, criticized the government for announcing the new policies without consulting teachers and parents.

“There is a lot of sensitivity and unpredictability when it comes to national security law education,” he said. “It will bring about huge pressure and anxiety among principals and teachers.”

New rules

The new policies are outlined in a series of circulars seen by CNN, as well as new teaching materials, including videos, picture books, and graphics, with cartoon Chinese soldiers and local police officers helping students understand their “responsibilities” under the security law.

They go into granular detail over how national security issues should be taught across a range of subjects, from general studies and history to biology and music, as well as how administrators and teachers should handle discipline issues and failure to respect the new guidelines.

Both teachers and students who contravene the rules face potential censure, with administrators advised to involve the police in the event of “serious” offenses, while books and other materials deemed to be contrary to national security are to be removed from school grounds, though little precise guidance is offered for what materials are covered.

“If an employee is found to have committed any act of disrespecting the country, the school should give appropriate advice or warning, and pay attention to this employee’s future performance accordingly,” the rules state.

Students, both university and high school, were at the forefront of anti-government, pro-democracy protests which rocked Hong Kong for much of 2019. During the unrest and in the run-up to the national security law being introduced, many pro-government figures blamed the city’s liberal education curriculum, as well as teachers, for supposedly radicalizing the city’s young people.

“We lost two generations, we lost them through the schools,” a top adviser to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told CNN at the height of the unrest.

“The fundamental problem is that you have a whole generation of young people who are not just dead against, but actually hate China,” the aide said, on the condition on anonymity. “How are you going to have ‘one country, two systems’ work if you have a whole generation hating that country?”

While members of the city’s democratic opposition have dismissed these claims, pointing out that many of them did not receive the supposedly radical lessons, which were only introduced in 2009, this has not stopped the push to “reform” Hong Kong’s education system.

In her annual policy address last November, Lam, the city’s Beijing-appointed leader, said the 2019 protests had “led many to question again the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s education.”

“We cannot bear to see that with the infiltration of politics into school campuses, students are drawn into political turbulence or even misled to engage in illegal and violent acts, for which they have to take legal responsibilities that will impact on their lives,” Lam said, adding it was “the shared responsibility of the government, society, education sector and parents to find a way to protect our students.”

Political controls

Under the new guidelines, inculcation of the tenets of national security will start early.

Kindergartens — both private and public — will be expected to instill in their students a greater knowledge of “Chinese history, Chinese culture, and moral education,” which the guidelines say will “gradually build up students’ identity as a Chinese and thus lay the foundation for national security education.”

Beginning at the age of 6, all students in Hong Kong will receive new lessons aimed at helping them “understand the country’s history and development, the importance of national security, the national flag, national emblem and national anthem.”

Primary school students will be instructed in singing the national anthem and raising the flag, while older children will discuss the rationale behind the law itself, and the importance of institutions such as the People’s Liberation Army.

Nor are international schools — which are popular among both foreign residents and wealthier locals — exempt from the new guidelines.

While private educational institutions are not directly under the control of the EDB, the rules issued Thursday state that international and private schools “have the responsibility to help their students (regardless of their ethnicity and nationality) acquire a correct and objective understanding … of the concept of national security and the National Security Law, as well as the duty to cultivate a law-abiding spirit among their students.”

Hong Kong’s education system is already notoriously intense for students, while the city’s international schools command high fees and are tough to gain admission to, meaning the new rules might be the final straw for some parents who were already considering moving abroad.
This week, the United Kingdom launched its resettlement program for holders of British Nationals (Overseas) passports, of which there are an estimated 3 million in Hong Kong. The Chinese government has reacted angrily to the plan and said it will no longer recognize BN(O) documents, but still an estimated 300,000 people are expected to relocate to the UK.

Others are moving to Canada and Australia, where many Hong Kongers hold dual residency, while several prominent activists and politicians have sought asylum in the UK, Germany and the United States.

“The (exodus) is already happening, especially for families with small kids,” opposition lawmaker Lester Shum said last year. “If I put myself in their shoes, I can understand the fear and the worry that they have about the next generation. Children cannot reasonably have bright prospects or a bright future in Hong Kong, and so in order to protect that … it’s understandable why people want to leave.”

Concerns for teachers

For school employees, both administrators and teachers, the new rules open up the concerning possibility of being reported by students for contravening national security, something that could result in them losing their jobs or, in extreme incidences, being arrested.

Last year, the city’s former leader, CY Leung, launched a campaign to name and shame teachers he said had been involved in the 2019 protests, posting their personal details on his Facebook page and calling for them to be fired.
In mainland China, such reporting of teachers who go against the Party line is relatively routine, both on high school and university campuses, and regular campaigns are conducted to ensure educators’ ideological purity, while “student information officers” compile dossiers on teachers deemed to be insufficiently patriotic.

While for many older Chinese these practices have worrying echoes of the Cultural Revolution, in which teenage Red Guards frequently abused and even murdered teachers, such campaigns have ramped up under Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On Thursday, China’s government issued new guidelines for “strengthening the work of the Chinese Young Pioneers,” (CYP) a Communist Party youth wing which “serves as a school for children to learn about socialism with Chinese characteristics and communism.”

“The guideline stressed upholding the Party’s leadership over the CYP work, and following the fundamental task of nurturing capable young people who are well-prepared to join the communist cause,” according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Young Pioneers operate similarly to the Scouts, but with a distinctly political bent, wearing a uniform red scarf tied around their necks. Per the new guidelines, they will be encouraged to engage more with schools and youth groups in Hong Kong and Macao, so as to enhance the “national, ethnic and cultural identity” of young people in these territories.

CNN’s Eric Cheung contributed reporting.

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Sports

USGA, R&A propose equipment standards changes that could include different rules for elite players

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For the first time, golf’s governing bodies appear poised to allow for significant rules differences between elite players and other golfers as a way to combat the distance gains the sport has seen with the advancement of technology.

Known as “bifurcation,” it would mean the professional tours and elite amateur competitions could require competitors to use equipment that is restricted while allowing everyday players the benefits that those technological gains bring them.

The United States Golf Association and the R&A jointly announced Tuesday that they are proposing equipment standards changes, including a potential local rule for club and ball specifications. They are also proposing changes to club length.

A year ago, the USGA and R&A released their “Distance Insights Project,” in which they stated that the continuing increase in length was “detrimental’ to the game.

On Tuesday, they announced three proposed changes:

  • A limit on the maximum driver length from 48 inches to 46 inches. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is one of the high-profile players who has experimented with the longest-shafted driver in order to attain more distance off the tee.

  • Changes to how drivers are tested for distance, which is known as the spring-like effect, and changes to how golf balls are tested by revising the conditions.

  • The driver-length maximum will have a one-month review period, while the other testing proposals will be reviewed over six months.

As part of the proposal, the governing bodies gave the example where a committee could limit the maximum driver length through a “model local rule” and that the change is ”recommended for use only in competitions limited to highly skilled players.” That means golfers at the recreational level would still be playing by the rules even if using the longer clubs.

The professional tours, including the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour as well as the major championships, all play by USGA or R&A rules, depending on jurisdiction. The exceptions made at the highest levels — such as the “one-ball” rule used on the pro tours — are all covered in the rule book, typically under local provisions.

After years of discussion on the topic, the governing bodies now appear ready to act on distance gains.

“The research … clearly shows that hitting distances have consistently increased through time, and if left unchecked, could threaten the long-term future of our game at every level and every golf course on which it is played,” said Mike Davis, chief executive officer of the USGA. “This is the first forward step in a journey and a responsibility the USGA and the R&A share with the worldwide golf community, to ensure that golf continues to thrive for the next hundred years and beyond.”

Said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A: “The research topics and the proposed changes we have announced will be the focus of our attention in the coming months, and we look forward to gaining insights from the golf industry and fully understanding their perspectives in key areas. We remain fully committed to conducting this hugely important exercise for the sport thoroughly, efficiently and collaboratively.”

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Sports

Patrick Reed wins Farmers Insurance Open by 5 shots a day after rules controversy

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SAN DIEGO — Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a 5-shot victory Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Reed closed with a 4-under 68 at Torrey Pines, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th.

The former Masters champions finished at 14 under after a consistent four days at the blufftop municipal courses overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He shared the first-round lead with Alex Noren, was in a group a shot off the lead in the second round and then shared the third-round lead with Carlos Ortiz.

The controversy arose Saturday on the par-4 10th when Reed hit a 190-yard shot out of a bunker. A TV replay showed the ball bounced once before settling into the rough. Without waiting for an official, Reed picked up the ball to see if it was embedded. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. He was awarded a free drop and saved par in a round of 70.

On Sunday, Reed jump-started his round with a 45-foot eagle putt on No. 6 to get to 12 under and followed with a birdie on the par-4 seventh. His only bogey was on the par-3 eighth, and he rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 ninth. He played par the rest of the way until sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Ryan Palmer, Henrik Norlander and Viktor Hovland tied for second.

Hovland had been the closest in pursuit with four birdies on the front nine, including on the ninth to get to 12 under. But the birdies dried up and he bogeyed Nos. 14, 15 and 17 — missing a 2-footer on 17 — in a round of 1-under 71.

Ortiz stumbled badly with a round of 6-over 78. He hurt himself with three bogeys on the front nine that left him even at the turn. He had even more trouble on the back nine, where he bogeyed No. 11 and then had trouble getting out of a greenside bunker on No. 12, taking a double-bogey 6. He bogeyed 15, 16 and 18.

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Business

Chicago Moves to Phase 4 Coronavirus Mitigation Rules, Officials Say – NBC Chicago

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The city of Chicago is officially moving into Phase 4 of Illinois’ coronavirus mitigation plan thanks to continued improvements in positivity rates and hospitalizations, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Sunday.

Under the parameters of Phase 4, indoor service at bars can resume, with indoor service continuing at restaurants, according to the IDPH website.

The move means that more than half of the state’s health care regions have now moved to Phase 4 mitigation rules. Most suburban communities remain under Tier 1 mitigations, which allow indoor dining but not indoor bar service.

Under normal circumstances the move to Phase 4 would bump up capacity limits in indoor dining establishments, but city officials say that restaurants and bars will be required to adhere to Tier 1 limits on those numbers. Indoor service is limited to 25% or 25 or fewer persons per room, with no tables exceeding six customers indoors.

Bar service is also allowed to resume at restaurants and bars, according to a press release from the city of Chicago.

The city’s “non-essential” curfew has also been lifted under the new regulations, according to the mayor’s office.

“We continue to see great progress in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, and I am thrilled that our metrics continue to move in the right direction,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. “However, while we welcomed the return of limited indoor service last weekend, a rush to expand capacity too quickly would be irresponsible. With cases and positivity rates still higher than before the second surge, now is the time to keep safeguards in place to ensure continued progress and hopefully prevent any rollbacks in the future.”

The city achieved the reduction in mitigation rules by dropping its positivity rate below 6.5% for three consecutive days. That number has remained steady at 6.4% in recent days, according to IDPH data. The city’s ICU bed availability has remained steadily above 20% for 11 consecutive days, while hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have decreased each of the last 10 days.

When Chicago shifts to Phase 4, the following regulations will be in place:

  • Indoor dining and indoor events will remain limited to the lesser of 25% capacity or 25 people per space 
  • Most other industries will be limited to the lesser of 40% capacity or 50 people 
  • Bar seating will be allowed and indoor table size can increase to six people 
  • Non-essential business curfew will be repealed
  • Bars and restaurants will be able to extend operating hours to midnight, with no alcohol service after 11 p.m. 

In a news release, city officials stated that while numbers continue to decline, they claim a “hurried return to greater indoor capacity would bring serious risk” of reducing the progress that has been made.

“We have just resumed safe indoor dining, and while we are excited to make that move we must continue to be thoughtful and cautious in our reopening,” Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said in the news release. “The last thing we want is to cause a third wave of the virus by rushing to fully reopen riskier settings where masks are removed and people gather in close proximity.”

Additionally, health officials stated it is “standard public health practice” to monitor the impact of any significant mitigation change for a minimum of two weeks, noting Chicago returned to indoor dining less than a week earlier.

Illinois health officials on Saturday reported 3,345 new cases of COVID-19 as well as 65 additional deaths attributed to the virus.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Friday’s new cases brought the statewide total number of confirmed cases to 1,123,873 since the pandemic began. The fatalities reported Friday lifted the death toll to 19,203.

In the last 24 hours, Illinois officials said 107,802 test specimens were returned to state laboratories, putting the state at 15,952,421 tests performed during the pandemic.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate on all tests was 4%, remaining the same from the day before. The positivity rate for unique individuals tested dropped slightly to 5.1% Saturday.



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World

Thousands join in Jerusalem funeral, flout pandemic rules

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis on Sunday thronged the funeral of a prominent rabbi in Jerusalem, flouting the country’s ban on large public gatherings during the pandemic.

The funeral procession for Rabbi Meshulam Soloveitchik, who died at age 99, wended its way through the streets of Jerusalem in the latest display of ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ refusal to honor coronavirus restrictions. Police estimated that more than 10,000 people joined the procession and said they had issued dozens of tickets for failing to heed lockdown rules.

The phenomenon has undermined the country’s aggressive vaccination campaign to bring a raging outbreak under control and threatened to hurt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March elections. One challenger accused Netanyahu of failing to enforce the law due to political pressure from his ultra-Orthodox political allies.

Densely packed throngs of people gathered outside the rabbi’s home, ignoring restrictions on outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. Many did not wear masks. Thousands of black-garbed ultra-Orthodox funeral-goers coursed past the city’s main entrance toward the cemetery where Soloveitchik was to be buried. A handful of police officers blocked intersections to traffic to allow participants to pass, but appeared to take no action to prevent the illegal assembly.

Israeli media said Soloveitchik, a leading religious scholar who headed a number of well-known seminaries, had recently suffered from COVID-19.

Israel’s Health Ministry has recorded over 640,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 4,745 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Israel has recently been averaging over 6,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus each day, one of the highest infection rates in the developing world. At the same time, Israel has vaccinated over 3 million of its citizens, also one of the highest rates per capita in the world.

Health experts say it will take several weeks for the vaccination campaign to have an effect on infection and hospitalization rates. But large public funerals like that for Soloveitchik in Jerusalem, and for a prominent Arab sheikh killed in Jaffa last week, have confounded efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

A disproportionate number of Israel’s coronavirus cases are within the country’s ultra-Orthodox minority. The strictly religious community, which makes up around 11% of Israel’s 9.2 million people, has been accounting for about 40% of the new cases.

Many ultra-Orthodox sects have kept schools, seminaries and synagogues open, and held mass weddings and funerals in violation of lockdown restrictions that have closed schools and many businesses in other parts of the country. Recent weeks have seen violent clashes between members of the ultra-Orthodox community flouting the rules and police officers trying to enforce them.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders say they have been unfairly singled out and argue the country’s secular public does not understand the importance of public prayers and religious studies in their community. They claim the scofflaws are a small part of their diverse community, and blame crowded living conditions for the outbreak.

Netanyahu has long relied on ultra-Orthodox parties for support, and critics say he has refused to antagonize his allies ahead of critical elections. Without ultra-Orthodox support, it will be extremely difficult for Netanyahu to cobble together a governing coalition — especially as he seeks immunity from an ongoing corruption trial.

But there are signs that this alliance could become a liability due to widespread public anger over ultra-Orthodox behavior during the pandemic. A poll last week indicated that over 60% of Israelis do not want ultra-Orthodox parties to serve in the next coalition.

Gideon Saar, a right-wing Israeli politician challenging Netanyahu in the elections, criticized the prime minister on Twitter, saying “the pictures from Jerusalem prove that Netanyahu has given up on enforcing the law for political reasons. This won’t happen in a government headed by me. There will be one law for all and it will be enforced.”

Israel’s Cabinet was set to extend the country’s general lockdown for an additional week Sunday evening as the infection rate remained high.

The government imposed the movement restrictions and closure of schools and non-essential businesses last month in an effort to clamp down on Israel’s runaway pandemic.

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Alexey Navalny to remain in detention ahead of hearing next month, Russian court rules

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Navalny appeared by video link at the court in the city of Khimki, on the outskirts of Moscow. He continues to be held at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center, in the northeast of the capital.

He’d been detained a day earlier following his arrival from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. The Kremlin repeatedly denied any involvement.

Navalny was placed on the country’s federal wanted list last month for breaching the terms of probation related to the 2014 fraud case, which he dismisses as politically motivated.

His next court date is currently scheduled for February 2, when a court will decide whether his three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence on fraud charges should be converted into a jail term due to what Russian authorities say is the violation of the terms of his suspended sentence.

The judge in Thursday’s appeal hearing ruled that Navalny’s detention was lawful and that the opposition leader would remain in detention.

Navalny’s reaction on hearing the decision suggested he was expecting it. “Everything was clear to me even before the hearing,” he told the court.

The politician had earlier complained about violations of legal procedures and a lack of opportunity to communicate with his lawyers since his detention on January 17.

“Everything is so amazing here that I don’t even know where to start. As usual it works: you take a court decision, look for violations of the law and speak about them when appealing. And here everything is one big violation of the law,” Navalny said.

In his final statement, Navalny urged protesters to keep coming out.

“They are the last barrier that prevents those in power from stealing everything. They are the real patriots,” he said. “You will not be able to intimidate us — we are the majority.”

Russian law enforcement conducted searches Wednesday at Navalny’s Moscow apartment and his team’s headquarters, according to his aides.

The raids came as Navalny’s allies called for a second round of unsanctioned nationwide demonstrations, planned for Sunday, to demand the activist’s release from detention.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets, resulting in nearly 4,000 detentions, according to monitoring group OVD-Info.

Tycoon urges US pressure on Putin

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who was once Russia’s richest man, spent more than 10 years in a Russian jail after falling out with Putin.

Speaking to CNN from exile in London, he urged US President Joe Biden to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle to help save Navalny from a similar fate.

“Personal sanctions must be imposed by President Biden and others in the West on those closest to Putin,” he told CNN. “This would be extremely painful for Putin’s entourage and will affect the stability of his power.”

Khodorkovsky ran Russian oil giant Yukos until 2003. He was later convicted of tax evasion and fraud — charges he argued were politically motivated — and jailed.

“Looking back, I was one of the lucky ones. I lost a decade of my life in prison but others who challenge Putin have paid a far higher price,” he told CNN.

That list includes Anna Politkovskaya, one of Russia’s most prominent journalists and Kremlin critics. She was shot dead in 2006. There have been numerous arrests, two trials and five convictions, including of three Chechen brothers, but it is still unknown who ordered her murder. The Kremlin denies any connection with the killing.

In 2015, Russia’s former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, then the most visible leader of the Russian opposition, was gunned down on a Moscow bridge within sight of the Kremlin. Five Chechen men were jailed for his killing in 2017.

Former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko died in 2006 after being poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope, polonium-210. A UK inquiry concluded in 2016 that Putin probably approved the operation by two Russian agents to kill the ex-spy. Russia dismissed the UK inquiry as politically motivated.

US has ‘deep concern’ for Navalny’

The US State Department has called on Russia to free all those arrested at protests in the country over the weekend and for the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny.

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday that the Biden administration was conducting a review of Russian “actions that are of deep concern to us, whether it is the treatment of Mr. Navalny and particularly the apparent use of a chemical weapon in an attempt to assassinate him.”

Biden spoke to Putin on Tuesday for the first time since becoming US President, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, and raised the poisoning of Navalny, among other issues.

“I don’t want to get ahead of where we are on those reviews,” said Blinken. “But as I say, we have a deep concern for Mr. Navalny’s safety and security, and the larger point is that his voice is the voice of many, many, many Russians, and it should be heard, not muzzled.”

Blinken told reporters he was “not ruling out anything but we want to get this full review done, and then we’ll take it from there.”

He also reiterated his comments from his Senate confirmation hearing that “it remains striking to me how concerned, and maybe even scared the Russian government seems to be of one man, Mr. Navalny.”

CNN’s Mary Ilyushina reported from Moscow and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. Anna Chernova contributed to this report.

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More rules for returning New Zealand travelers

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Travelers returning to New Zealand will face stricter rules at quarantine hotels as health authorities investigate how up to three people got infected with the coronavirus while isolating at Auckland’s Pullman Hotel.

The people were released before testing positive and were potentially contagious, but so far testing has shown no evidence the virus has spread in the community. New Zealand has managed to stamp out community transmission of the virus.

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said Thursday that as an interim measure, travelers would need to stay in their hotel rooms for the final days of their 14-day mandatory quarantine, and would also face stricter controls around leaving their rooms at other times.

Health authorities believe the three people at the hotel caught the virus from another returning traveler, who had the South African variant.

Meanwhile, Australia has extended its suspension on quarantine-free travel from New Zealand for another three days. Australia is requiring New Zealanders to quarantine for 14 days in hotels upon arrival.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

The Biden administration is projecting as many as 90,000 Americans will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks. The 27-nation EU is coming under criticism for the slow rollout of its vaccination campaign. AstraZeneca and EU to meet in Brussels to talk over vaccine production delays. U.S. boosting vaccine deliveries amid complaints of shortages. IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemic.

— Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BEIJING — China saw a slight drop in cases of domestic transmission, although clusters remain stubbornly persistent in the country’s frigid northeast.

The World Health Organization experts who have been in quarantine since their arrival in Wuhan two weeks ago are expected soon to conduct field visits as part of a worldwide investigation into the origins of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese industrial center in late 2019.

The National Health Commission said Thursday that 41 new cases of domestic transmission had been reported over the previous 24 hours, down from 55 on Wednesday 69 the day before.

A total of 1,820 people were in treatment for COVID-19 and another 988 being observed in observation after testing positive but displaying no symptoms of the virus. China has reported a total of 4,636 COVID-19 deaths from among 89,326.

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Note this version has been corrected with details on the WHO team’s quarantine.

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BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia will ban flights from Brazil effective Friday over concerns of a variant of the coronavirus that is circulating in that country.

Colombia President Ivan Duque on Wednesday announced the 30-day measure. No flights will take off from Colombia to Brazil either.

In addition, anyone who arrived from Brazil to Colombia between Jan. 18 and Wednesday will have to quarantine for 14 days.

The Brazil P.1 variant was first identified in four travelers who were tested at an airport outside Tokyo. It contains a set of mutations that may affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The emergence of variants is linked to ongoing surges since infections give viruses the chance to mutate and spread. It’s another reason experts stress the importance of mask wearing and social distancing.

Colombia has recorded more than 2 million cases and over 52,100 deaths of COVID-19.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama health officials said Wednesday that the more highly transmissible COVID-19 variant seen in the United Kingdom has been found in the state.

The Alabama Department of Public Health said the variant is thought to be more contagious. It is the first time the variant has been identified in the state, although it has been detected in at least 24 other states, including Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina.

The variant was first detected in the United Kingdom in late 2020.

Health officials said the variant was found in two children and one adult in Alabama. Two cases are in Montgomery County and one is in Jefferson.

This variant is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19, but state health officials said it “has not definitively been linked to worse outcomes of the disease.”

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SANTA FE, N.M. — Health officials in New Mexico said Wednesday that schools may have to make do with aggressive virus testing and limited vaccinations for elderly teachers, if they want to begin reopening soon.

New Mexico Health Secretary Tracie Collins said that schools can find some safety assurances by adding rapid-result tests that look for COVID-19 proteins, called antigens.

“Regarding schools reopening, you know we’re going to prioritize teachers getting a vaccine who are 75 and older,” Collins told a panel of state legislators Wednesday. “As far as the testing piece, we do have options for rapid antigen testing that we can combine. … We’ve got some things we can do to reopen these schools with a little more security behind us.”

She and Human Services Secretary David Scrase say the vaccine bottleneck is at the federal level in the supply chain, as local hospitals clamor for doses to inject at mass inoculation clinics.

“All schools can still open but if you’re in what we’re calling a red county, you would be tested much more often than you would in a yellow or green,” Scrase said, referring to color codes for infection rates.

New Mexico’s governor announced this week that all schools have the option to reopen classroom teaching on Feb. 8. The vast majority of students are confined to online learning currently.

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TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister says the President of the European Commission has reassured him any vaccine export controls the EU enacts won’t impact shipments of Canada’s doses from Europe.

Trudeau says he spoke to EU President Ursula von der Leyen who he says told him transparency measures taken by the EU will not affect Canada’s Pfizer and Moderna vaccine deliveries from Europe.

The EU has threatened to impose export controls on vaccines produced within its borders, and warned pharmaceutical companies that have developed coronavirus vaccines with EU aid that it must get its shots on schedule. All of Canada’s Pfizer and Moderna vaccines come from Europe.

Canada isn’t getting any deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine made in Europe this week, shipments are set to resume next week.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Health will receive an approximately 16% increase in coronavirus vaccine per week during the next three weeks, deputy state health commissioner Keith Reed said Tuesday.

The announcement comes on the same day the health department reported a new one-day record of 65 deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

The increase in vaccines is in line with President Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. is ramping up deliveries of the vaccine to provide enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall. Oklahoma expects to receive just more than 103,000 doses per week from the federal government, an increase from just under 85,000 last week, Reed said.

“This allows us to take a look at what’s going to happen the next three weeks, it helps us to understand how much vaccine supply we have that we can support bringing on some other pandemic providers,” such as local pharmacies, to provide vaccinations, Reed said.

The record increase of 65 deaths is three more than the previous one-day record reported on Jan. 6, according to health department records. The health department also reported 2,686 new virus cases Wednesday for totals of 3,388 deaths and 379,110 cases since the pandemic began.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday extended a trio of executive orders allowing for curbside alcohol sales, a halt to evictions and a requirement for people to remain at home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

North Carolina’s modified stay-at-home directive that was set to expire on Friday will now remain in place until Feb. 28, while the eviction moratorium and allowance for the sale of “to-go” or delivery of mixed beverages remains in place through March 31.

The Democratic governor’s extensions come as prominent state Republicans expressed their frustrations over a new coronavirus vaccine distribution strategy from Cooper’s administration that critics argue has prioritized speed over equity.

During a news conference, Cooper reiterated his desire to distribute the doses received by President Joe Biden’s administration quickly and equitably.

“The top priority in our state is getting vaccines to people as quickly and as equitably as possible,” Cooper said. “As of today, North Carolina has administered 99.8% of all the first doses that we have received from the federal government.”

Top Republican lawmakers on Wednesday signaled more scrutiny of the vaccine rollout.

Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters it makes no sense why state officials couldn’t distribute doses to ensure vaccine appointments occur as scheduled. Instead, Berger said, some older residents whose appointments were canceled may have to wait a month longer to obtain a shot.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan and the Washtenaw County Health Department asked students Wednesday to avoid leaving their residences to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a more contagious variant.

There have been 175 COVID-19 cases in the student population since the new semester started on Jan. 19 and 14 of those cases have been a variant, according to a news release from the Washtenaw County Health Department.

The stay-in-place recommendation is effective immediately and will run through Feb. 7. The university and county health department are asking students to limit leaving their residence to going to classes, getting food, work and other necessary in-person activities.

The health department said in the news release that if the case counts continues to rise, stricter measures will have to be applied.

The recommendation came just days after the state health department recommended the university pause all athletics after several individuals linked to athletics tested positive for COVID-19 and the university complied.

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MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin will become one of only 10 states without statewide mask mandates if the Assembly votes as scheduled Thursday to overturn Gov. Tony Evers’ order, but masks will still be required in some of its largest cities thanks to local ordinances.

More than two dozen public health organizations, as well as state and local health officials, have urged the Republican-controlled Legislature to reconsider the scheduled vote. Wearing masks is one of the pillars of recommendations from health experts worldwide to slow the spread of the coronavirus, along with physically distancing and avoiding crowds.

The move comes as Wisconsin lags in distribution of coronavirus vaccines, health officials warn about the spread of contagious new variants and total deaths due to COVID-19 near 6,000.

Republican lawmakers contend that Evers exceeded his authority by issuing multiple health emergencies, and mask orders, rather than coming to the Legislature for approval every 60 days.

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the President of the European Commission has reassured him any vaccine export controls the EU enacts won’t impact shipments of Canada’s doses from Europe.

Trudeau says he spoke to EU President Ursula von der Leyen who he says told him transparency measures taken by the EU will not affect Canada’s Pfizer and Moderna vaccine deliveries from Europe.

The EU has threatened to impose export controls on vaccines produced within its borders, and warned pharmaceutical companies that have developed coronavirus vaccines with EU aid that it must get its shots on schedule. All of Canada’s Pfizer and Moderna vaccines come from Europe.

Canada isn’t getting any deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine made in Europe this week, shipments are set to resume next week.

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O’FALLON, Mo. — Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s spokeswoman said Wednesday that the state plans to divert thousands of unused doses of coronavirus vaccine from CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to other state-enrolled vaccinators in Missouri to help the slower-than-expected vaccination process.

Spokeswoman Kelli Jones said the administration has requested the return of 25,000 doses from CVS and Walgreens, which would then be re-routed to county health departments, medical hospitals and clinics and hundreds of other state-approved vaccinators.

CVS and Walgreens were tasked with providing vaccinations at long-term care facilities under a Trump administration plan unveiled in December. Jones said Missouri’s new plan won’t affect shots for workers and residents at those facilities that have been ravaged by COVID-19.

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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is projecting as many as 90,000 Americans will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks.

That warning came Wednesday as the administration held its first televised science briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic. In the briefing, experts outlined efforts to improve the delivery and injection of vaccines.

The administration is examining additional ways of speeding vaccine production, a day after President Joe Biden announced the U.S. plans to have delivered enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of summer.

Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says there’s concern about virus variants. But he says vaccines provide a “cushion” of effectiveness, adding the government was working with pharmaceutical companies on potential “booster” shots for the new variants.

The Biden administration is asking citizens to recommit to social distancing measures and mask-wearing, pointing to scientific models that suggest those practices could save 50,000 lives over the coming months.

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that the coronavirus lockdown in England will remain in place until at least March 8.

In a statement to lawmakers, Johnson also confirmed new restrictions for travelers arriving in England from countries deemed to be high-risk. He says the U.K. remains in a “perilous situation” with more than 37,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly double the number during the previous peak in April.

While dashing any hopes that students would return to classrooms after a mid-February school break, Johnson says the March 8 aspiration is based on progress on the vaccination front.

On Tuesday, the U.K. became the fifth country to record more than 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths.

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JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is preparing to roll out its first vaccines to the country’s frontline health care workers.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says a delivery of 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to arrive at Johannesburg’s international airport on Monday. There are plans for shots to be given to doctors and nurses starting in mid-February. Mkhize says South Africa intends to vaccinate 67% of its 60 million people in 2021, starting with the most vulnerable health care workers.

South Africa has 1.4 million confirmed cases and 41,797 deaths, representing about 40% of the cases reported by all of Africa’s 54 countries.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma has reported a new one-day record of 65 deaths from COVID-19.

The previous one-day record of 62 was reported Jan. 6, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

The department also reported 2,686 new cases Wednesday for totals of 3,388 confirmed deaths and 379,110 cases since the start of the pandemic.

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NEW ORLEANS — Coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings are easing a bit in New Orleans, but bars in the city will stay closed through the Mardi Gras season. City officials say a ban on public events will be eased Friday. Indoor gatherings of up to 10 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people will be allowed. Capacity limits on restaurants — and bars that provide restaurant food service — will go from 25% to 50%.

Also, New Orleans education officials said students in kindergarten through eighth grade will begin returning to class on Monday. Most high school students will continue online learning until later in February.

The easing of restrictions comes as local authorities report that the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests has dropped below 5%. Statewide hospitalization numbers also have been falling in recent weeks.

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