влада, вибори, народ
В УЦОЯО відповіли, чи потрібно буде платити за ЗНО
Український центр оцінювання якості освіти заявляє, що ініціює запровадження можливості платного складання понаднормової кількості предметів зовнішнього незалежного оцінювання. Як заявили в УЦОЯО, це розширить можливості здобувачів освіти.
При цьому в центрі наголосили, що кількість предметів ЗНО, які можна складати за кошти держави, «завжди буде уможливлювати доступ громадян до омріяних закладів вищої освіти».
«У соціальних мережах шириться інформація про намагання Міністерства освіти і науки України спільно з Українським центром оцінювання якості освіти запровадити платне ЗНО. Звичайно, це збурює суспільство, оскільки ЗНО є важливою складовою системи освіти, передбачає дотримання принципу рівності всіх громадян. Маємо зазначити, що в проєкті наказу «Про затвердження Змін до Порядку проведення ЗНО результатів навчання, здобутих на основі повної загальної середньої освіти» справді передбачено запровадження можливості складати ЗНО коштом фізичних або юридичних осіб, однак ця норма тільки розширить можливості здобувачів освіти, оскільки дозволить складати понаднормову кількість предметів ЗНО», – заявили в центрі.
За даними УЦОЯО, у 2020 році учасники обирали до чотирьох предметів ЗНО, і якби пропонована норма вже була чинною, учасники змогли б складати чотири предмети ЗНО за кошти держави і ще до семи предметів за власні кошти.
«У поточному році Міністерство освіти і науки дозволило учасникам складати до п’яти навчальних предметів, тобто понаднормовими були б шостий, сьомий та інші навчальні предмети. Наголосимо також на тому, що оплата проходження ЗНО з понаднормової кількості навчальних предметів передбачена чинним законом «Про повну загальну середню освіту», у п. 7 статті 47 якого зазначено, що особа має право пройти зовнішнє незалежне оцінювання понад встановлену центральним органом виконавчої влади у сфері освіти і науки кількість навчальних предметів за рахунок коштів фізичних і юридичних осіб у порядку, встановленому центральним органом виконавчої влади у сфері освіти і науки», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Щодо термінів імплементації цієї норми, то, як заявили в УЦОЯО, з огляду на комплексність питання про надання платних послуг бюджетними установами брати участь у платному ЗНО учасники зможуть не раніше 2022 року.
Вступ до вищих навчальних закладів в Україні здебільшого відбувається за результатами зовнішнього незалежного оцінювання. Тестування регулярно проводять з 2008 року.
Цього року ЗНО відбувалося в умовах карантину через пандемію коронавірусу.
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By Gromada | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
У СБУ повідомили про майже 100 проваджень, пов’язаних з пандемією COVID-19
У період поширення коронавірусної інфекції COVID-19 за матеріалами Служби безпеки України зареєстровано 99 кримінальних проваджень стосовно злочинів і зловживань в період пандемії, повідомила у середу пресслужба СБУ.
«У межах розслідувань оголошено 23 повідомлення про підозру. Найбільше кримінальних проваджень розпочато щодо забезпечення та закупівель засобів індивідуального захисту. Загалом таких проваджень налічується 19», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Крім того, кажуть в СБУ, 13 кримінальних проваджень розпочато через порушення щодо будівництва та ремонтів приймальних відділень опорних лікарень.
«Здійснюється документування фактів привласнення бюджетних коштів під час капітального ремонту приймальних відділень за значно завищеними цінами на загальну суму понад 10 мільйонів гривень. Ще 11 кримінальних проваджень стосуються забезпечення лікарень киснем і закупівель апаратів штучної вентиляції легень. У тому числі 4 фігурантам із них повідомлено про підозру щодо зловживань під час закупівлі ШВЛ», – повідомили в СБУ.
Повідомляється, що у період пандемії СБУ активно протидіє поширенню фейків про COVID-19.
«Кіберфахівці Служби припинили діяльність понад 450 інтернет-агітаторів, які продукували відповідний контент і дестабілізували ситуацію в країні. 40 з них координували з РФ, тож їхня діяльність розслідується у межах кримінальних проваджень за статтями 109, 110 Кримінального кодексу України. Пік поширення фейків і панічних настроїв спостерігався на початку карантинних заходів», – зазначили у відомстві.
Станом на 9 грудня, за час пандемії COVID-19 в Україні захворіли 845 343 людей, одужали – 451 118, померли – 14 204.
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By Gromada | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
US House Approves Defense Bill With Veto-Proof Margin
The Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday easily approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration. The 335-78 vote in favor of the $731 billion defense measure came hours after Trump renewed his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the very weak National Defense Authorization Act,” or NDAA, unless it repeals so-called Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability. Trump also wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases that now honor Confederate leaders. Congressional leaders vowed to move ahead on the hugely popular bill — which affirms automatic 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes other military programs — despite the veto threat. The final vote represented approval from more than 80% of the House — well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto. A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats to back the bill, which now goes to the Senate. FILE – Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 17, 2019.Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the House Republican leadership, urged Trump not to follow through on his veto threat, but added that if he does veto it, “We should override.” If Trump vetoes the bill, “we will come back to vote to override,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. But with Trump pressuring Republicans to stand with him, it was unclear until the final tally whether the bill would receive the two-thirds support needed to override a veto. The House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of roughly three-dozen conservatives, backed Trump’s position Tuesday and opposed the bill. FILE – Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaks on Capitol Hill, Dec. 3, 2020.”We stand with the president,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., the group’s chairman. “This particular NDAA bill is filled with flaws and problems,” including limitations on troop withdrawals ordered by Trump in Afghanistan and Germany, Biggs said. Smith and other lawmakers noted that many defense programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction. The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals. FILE – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, April 12, 2018.Troops should not be “punished” because politicians failed to enact needed legislation to ensure their pay, said Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, the top Republican on the Armed Services panel. The $731 billion measure increases hazardous duty pay for overseas deployments and other dangerous job assignments, hikes recruiting and retention bonuses, and adjusts housing allowances. The dispute over social media content — a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly — interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years. Measures approved by the House and Senate would require the Pentagon to rename bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood named for Confederate generals, but Trump opposes the idea and has threatened a veto over it. The fight erupted this summer amid widespread protests over police killings of unarmed Black men and women, and Trump used the debate to try to appeal to white Southern voters nostalgic about the Confederacy. FILE – Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 2, 2019.Smith and Thornberry said in a joint statement last week that lawmakers had “toiled through almost 2,200 provisions to reach compromise on important issues affecting our national security and our military.” For 59 straight years, they added, the NDAA has passed because lawmakers and presidents agreed to set aside their own preferences “and put the needs of our military personnel and America’s security first. The time has come to do that again.” The powerful Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said he had spoken to Trump and explained that the defense bill is not the place for the big tech fight. “I agree with his sentiments — we ought to do away with 230,” Inhofe told reporters. “But you can’t do it in this bill.” Trump’s veto threat in the final months of his administration is his latest attempt to bend the norms. From redirecting money intended for military bases to build the border wall with Mexico to installing acting nominees in administrative positions without Senate confirmation, Trump has chipped away at the legislative branch throughout his term. If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override votes, senior House members said. FILE – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 4, 2020.”I think we can override the veto, if in fact he vetoes,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday before the vote. “I hope he does not veto, I hope he reconsiders. And I think he will get substantial pressure, advice (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump’s attempt to pressure Congress on Section 230 was justified. “Twitter has become a publisher, choosing to fact-check content,” she said. “And when you’re a publisher, there are certain responsibilities with that and you should not be immune from liability.” Past presidents have certainly threatened to veto defense bills, which set annual policy with troop levels, equipment priorities, pay raises and other matters. The defense bill is typically a widely bipartisan measure, one of the few areas of common ground. Over the summer, the Senate approved its version, 86-14, while the House similarly passed its effort, with opposition coming mostly from the liberal and conservative flanks. FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 12, 2020.Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have railed against the social media companies, especially during the heated November election. McCarthy, R-Calif., voted for the bill Tuesday but said he would not support overriding the veto. Some Democrats, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, agree the Section 230 provision could be revisited, even as they disagree with Trump’s tactic of attaching it to the defense bill.
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Media: Biden Selects Fudge for Housing, Vilsack for Agriculture
President-elect Joe Biden has selected Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as his housing and urban development secretary and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration, according to four people familiar with the decisions. Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was just elected to a seventh term representing a majority Black district that includes parts of Cleveland and Akron. Vilsack spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration and served two terms as Iowa governor. Their intended nominations were confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday by four people familiar with one or both of the decisions who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid preempting the president-elect’s announcement. Marcia FudgeBiden sees Fudge as a leading voice for working families and a longtime champion of affordable housing, infrastructure and other priorities, according to one of the people familiar with the president-elect’s decision. Vilsack was selected in part because of the heightened hunger crisis facing the nation and the need to ensure someone was ready to run the department on day one, the person said. FILE – Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, arrives for the Democratic Caucus leadership elections at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 28, 2018.As news outlets started reporting Fudge’s selection as HUD secretary, she said on Capitol Hill that it would be “an honor and a privilege” to be asked to join Biden’s Cabinet, though she didn’t confirm she had been picked. “It is something in probably my wildest dreams I would have never thought about. So if I can help this president in any way possible, I am more than happy to do it,” she said Tuesday evening. A longtime member of the House Agriculture Committee and a fierce advocate for food stamps, Fudge was originally discussed to become agriculture secretary. South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat who gave Biden a key nod of support in the primaries, had strongly backed her, saying, “It’s one thing to grow food, but another to dispense it, and nobody would be better at that than Marcia Fudge.” She also had the strong backing of progressive groups who touted her support for food aid and worker protections at meatpacking plants. But her name was later floated for HUD as Biden’s team focused on other candidates for USDA, including Vilsack and former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Tom Vilsack Biden’s relationship with Vilsack goes back decades. He was an early supporter of Biden’s first campaign for president in 1988 while Vilsack was the mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He endorsed Biden a year before the 2020 election and campaigned tirelessly for him in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus state. Biden adopted aspects of Vilsack’s rural policy agenda as Democrats look to make up ground they’ve lost to Republicans in rural areas over the past decade. Having run the giant department for eight years under Obama and sat at the table with Biden, there’s little mystery to Vilsack’s expertise. Their 34-year friendship and longtime professional connection make the choice one offering little risk. FILE – Former United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks at a campaign stop for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, in Burlington, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2020.Vilsack entered politics in large part because of tragedy, when the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down at a city council meeting in 1986. Vilsack, then a young lawyer, had grown up in Pittsburgh and moved with his wife, Christie, to her Iowa hometown. He was recruited to seek the mayor’s office, then served two terms in the Iowa Senate before being the first Democrat to win the governorship in 30 years. After two terms, Vilsack ran a 10-week campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination before withdrawing and throwing his support to Hillary Clinton, even as Biden was among the field. Vilsack was a finalist for Clinton’s running mate that year. Biden has said he wants a diverse Cabinet, and some Black leaders have said he needs to do more to achieve that. Biden announced earlier Tuesday that he had selected retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be the nation’s first Black defense secretary. Clyburn aggressively pushed Fudge for USDA but seemed to suggest earlier Tuesday that she may be under consideration for another position. “Marcia Fudge is a tremendous candidate. I was pitching her for the Department of Agriculture,” Clyburn said on CNN. “I don’t know if that’s where she will end up, but I feel certain that Marcia Fudge is the kind of person that should be in this Cabinet and I will continue to advocate for her.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from The Ohio State University and a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law at Cleveland State University. Politico first reported the news of Fudge’s selection, while Axios was first to report Vilsack as agriculture secretary.
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Congress Buys Itself More Time for COVID-19 Aid Compromise
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed Tuesday that lawmakers set aside two of the most contested elements of coronavirus government aid to break a month-long deadlock over a new round of congressional relief addressing the economic impact of the pandemic. “Why don’t we set aside the two obviously most contentious issues?” McConnell said to reporters, referring to liability protections and aid for state and local governments. “We know we’re going to be confronted with another request after the first of the year. We’ll live to fight those another day and pass the things that we agree on,” the Kentucky Republican said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks to the media after the Republican’s weekly Senate luncheon, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 8, 2020.Republicans have insisted that any new legislation include liability protections. They argue that a one-time shield from lawsuits is necessary for businesses, schools and churches to reopen safely without fear of financial damage. Meanwhile, Democrats have argued for their $2.4 trillion relief plan that includes far more direct aid for state and local governments than provided in the Republican proposal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said McConnell’s offer would jeopardize the well-being of emergency workers on the front line who are most exposed to the coronavirus threat by severely limiting funding for their salaries. “Every governor and mayor across the country has been fighting to keep these people working, and McConnell is pulling the rug out from under them,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “When a worker is laid off from the state or local government, it’s no different than when a worker is laid off from a small business.” FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2020.With just days left in session this year, U.S. lawmakers have bought themselves one more week to negotiate on a second round of coronavirus aid. Congress is expected to pass a short-term spending bill later this week, extending funding for the U.S. government for seven days past a December 11 deadline. Lawmakers will likely link any agreement on coronavirus assistance to a longer-term extension of government funding to wrap up work so they can leave Washington ahead of the holidays and begin a new Congress early next year. Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has said that any aid negotiated in December would be “a down payment” on more aid that could be passed in the new Congress when he takes office on January 20. Lawmakers have remained deadlocked over a new round of aid, as numbers of coronavirus infections have surged to more than 200,000 cases per day in recent weeks. Many cities and states are reinstating restrictions to control the so-called third wave of coronavirus infections, jeopardizing the economic gains made in part by bipartisan passage of the $3 trillion CARES Act earlier this year. FILE – President-elect Joe Biden speaks at The Queen theater, in Wilmington, Del., Dec. 4, 2020.Several key provisions of the last aid package are set to expire at the end of December, including enhanced unemployment insurance for 12 million people, student loan relief and rental eviction protections, keeping an estimated 40 million people in housing during the colder winter months. In a push for a second major package of relief measures, the Democrat-majority House of Representatives passed the $3.3 trillion HEROES Act in June. But McConnell and other congressional Republicans have criticized the Democrats’ aid proposal as overly expensive and instead argued for a slimmer, targeted package of aid. A bipartisan group of senators proposed a new $908 billion package of aid last week. Several congressional Republicans have also urged President Donald Trump to only sign legislation that includes a new round of stimulus checks for struggling Americans. Under the CARES Act, many Americans received checks of up to $1,200 to offset the impact of lost wages due to pandemic closures. Democrats have also expressed support for that proposal. “I think another round of relief checks would help make sure that our economy doesn’t dip even deeper into a recession in the months that come between now and when we have the vaccine,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told cable news network MSNBC Tuesday.
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Signals Continued Fight to Upend Biden Victory
Campaign lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday they intend to contest his loss to President-elect Joe Biden into January, even though all states but one certified their vote counts showing Biden won the national election last month. U.S. law calls for all 50 states to certify the outcomes in their individual states six days ahead of next Monday’s Electoral College vote, which determines the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. Only the Midwestern state of Wisconsin missed Tuesday’s “safe harbor day” deadline to certify its vote — which Biden carried — but could by the end of the week. Biden is expected to win the Electoral College vote by a 306-232 margin, the same total that Trump won the presidency by in 2016, then calling it a “landslide” victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Congress is set to review and certify the Electoral College outcome on January 6, two weeks ahead of Biden’s inauguration as the country’s 46th president. But Trump campaign lawyers Rudy Giuliani, hospitalized with COVID-19, and Jenna Ellis, who also has contracted the coronavirus, issued a joint statement on Tuesday describing the “Safe Harbor Deadline” as “a statutory timeline that generally denotes the last day for states to certify election results.” FILE – Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, November 19, 2020, in Washington.“However, it is not unprecedented for election contests to last well beyond December 8,” they added. The Trump lawyers quoted the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as saying during the disputed 2000 election that the congressional review and certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6 was of “ultimate significance.” Giuliani and Ellis said: “Despite the media trying to desperately proclaim that the fight [between Trump and Biden] is over, we will continue to champion election integrity until every legal vote is counted fairly and accurately.” Trump has refused to concede his loss to Biden or say whether he plans to attend Biden’s inauguration on the steps of the U.S. Capitol January 20. Trump has repeatedly claimed, with no evidence, that the election vote and vote-counting were rigged against him and fraudulent. But Trump’s lawyers have lost dozens of suits in political battleground states trying to upend Biden’s victory. Trump, to no avail so far, has also tried to convince lawmakers in some states to ignore the vote outcome and pick electors who support him. Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit in the U.S. Supreme Court late Monday claiming that the vote in favor of Biden in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin should be overturned because of irregularities. Trump applauded the lawsuit, saying it showed “courage and brilliance.” Attorneys general in the four states attacked by Paxton variously called his lawsuit a “publicity stunt,” “a circus” and “genuinely embarrassing.”
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Texas Asks US Supreme Court to Help Trump Upend Election
The state of Texas, aiming to help President Donald Trump upend the results of the U.S. election, said on Tuesday it has filed suit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the Supreme Court, calling changes they made to election procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic unlawful.
The lawsuit, announced by the Republican attorney general of Texas Ken Paxton, was filed directly with the Supreme Court, as is permitted for certain litigation between states. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority including three justices appointed by Trump.
The lawsuit represents the latest legal effort intended to reverse the Republican president’s loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election.
Republican-governed Texas in the lawsuit accused election officials in the four states of failing to protect mail-in voting from fraud, thus diminishing “the weight of votes cast in states that lawfully abide by the election structure set forth in the Constitution.”
State election officials have said they have found no evidence of such fraud that would change the results. There was a surge in voting by mail in the election due to the pandemic, as many Americans stayed away from polling places to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Texas is asking the Supreme Court to block the Electoral College votes in the four states – a total of 62 votes – from being counted. Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes – exceeding the necessary 270 – compared to 232 for Trump in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election’s outcome, while also winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes.
Texas also is asking the Supreme Court to delay the Dec. 14 deadline for Electoral College votes to be cast.
Paul Smith, a professor at Georgetown University’s law school, said Texas did not have a legitimate basis to bring the suit.
“There is no possible way that the state of Texas has standing to complain about how other states counted the votes and how they are about to cast their electoral votes,” Smith said.
Trump’s campaign and his allies have pursued unsuccessful lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and other states, making unfounded claims of widespread election fraud. Trump lost those four states after winning them in 2016.
The Supreme Court is not obligated to hear the case and has said in previous decisions that its “original jurisdiction” that allows litigation between states to be filed directly with the nine justices should be invoked sparingly.
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Introduces Top Health Care Officials as US COVID Cases Soar
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is introducing his top health care officials on Tuesday, all of whom will quickly face the country’s grim world-leading coronavirus statistics: nearly 15 million infections and more than 283,000 deaths.Biden, FILE – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, California, March 5, 2019.Outgoing President Donald Trump, defeated for re-election by Biden in last month’s national vote, is delivering remarks at Tuesday’s Operation Warp Speed summit on the government’s effort to produce several vaccines against the coronavirus.Although Biden has promised to get inoculated when a vaccine is approved as safe, polls show about four in 10 Americans are wary of getting the shots or will refuse to be vaccinated.In this file photo, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during an unscheduled briefing after a Coronavirus Task Force meeting at the White House on April 5, 2020, in Washington.Biden picked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus. Fauci will also continue in his longtime role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.Fauci, 79, has served as a medical adviser to six U.S. presidents and for months was the face of the U.S. government’s response to the pandemic. But in the months before the presidential election, Trump grew increasingly angered at Fauci’s grim assessments of the spread of the infection and sidelined him in favor of more upbeat commentary.Biden has also decided to nominate retired four-star Army General Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to numerous news accounts.Austin, 67, a career officer, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1975 and served 41 years. He would need a congressional waiver to become defense secretary because he has not been out of uniform for at least seven years. If confirmed, he would be the Pentagon’s first Black leader.Throughout his campaign, Biden said he will pay close attention to scientific findings about the coronavirus from Fauci and other medical experts. Aside from reviewing the Pfizer vaccine, U.S. health regulators are to review another produced by the Moderna biotechnology firm next week. Millions of doses of the vaccines could be available later this month, with millions more in early 2021. In this image from video, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy speaks during the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 20, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)Biden named Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, a position he held from 2014 to 2017 during the administration of former President Barack Obama, when Biden was second-in-command.The president-elect picked Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a top expert on virus testing, prevention and treatment in the eastern state of Massachusetts, as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.Biden chose Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an expert on health care disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., as chair of his COVID-19 equity task force. She is an associate professor of medicine, public health and management at the Yale School of Medicine.The president-elect picked business executive Jeffrey Zients, a former director of the National Economic Council under Obama, as a coordinator of his COVID-19 response team and a counselor to him. Biden named former White House and Pentagon senior adviser Natalie Quillian as deputy coordinator of the government’s response to the pandemic.The Biden transition team said the health officials “will help fulfill the president-elect’s vision of making health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans — building on the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and tackle prescription drug costs.”In a statement, Biden said, “This trusted and accomplished team of leaders will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor, and crisis-management experience to one of the toughest challenges America has ever faced — getting the pandemic under control so that the American people can get back to work, back to their lives, and back to their loved ones.”He said that after his inauguration next month, the government would “expand testing and masking, (and) oversee the safe, equitable and free distribution of treatments and vaccines.”Biden said his administration would “rally the country and restore the belief that there is nothing beyond America’s capacity if we do it together.”
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By Polityk | 12/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
У Дніпрі відкрилася волонтерська «фабрика Святого Миколая»
У Дніпрі відкрилася «фабрика Святого Миколая». Волонтери почали фасувати перші подарунки до Дня Святого Миколая дітям із родин, які потребують підтримки.
Як розповіла Радіо Свобода координаторка акції Ніна Кондрікова, загалом цього року волонтери в рамках традиційної акції «Миколай про тебе не забуде» хочуть вручити подарунки двом тисячам дітей – з родин учасників бойових дій на Донбасі, переселенців, малозабезпечених та багатодітних сімей.
Подарунки – канцтовари, книги, іграшки, солодощі – приносять мешканці міста. Для цього організатори відкрили близько десятка локацій в різних точках Дніпра.
«Цьогоріча особливість – працюємо в умовах пандемії. Тому збираємо подарунки ми малими групами, не більш ніж 5 людей, потрібен обов’язково попередній запис. Фабрика відкрита з 12:00 до 19-20-ї, запрошуємо всіх долучатися. Розвозитимемо подарунки також, дотримуючись санітарних норм: невеликими групами – водій і два волонтери із засобами індивідуального захисту, за можливості вручатимемо подарунки надворі або безконтактно», – сказала координаторка.
За словами Ніни Кондрікової, для збору коштів на подарунки також проведуть низку заходів – майстер-класи з різних видів творчості, доброчинне кавування, краєзнавчий квест-похід тощо.
Збір подарунків триватиме до 16 грудня. З 17 грудня по 19-те волонтери їх розвозитимуть по домівках.
Цьогорічна «фабрика Святого Миколая» в Дніпрі – вже одинадцята.
Уперше акція «Миколай про тебе не забуде!» відбулася у Львові, згодом ідею підхопили інші міста України та сусідньої Польщі.
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By Gromada | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Майже 8849, а не 8848 метрів: Китай і Непал провели нове вимірювання висоти Евересту
Китай і Непал назвали нову офіційну висоту гори Еверест (Джомолунгма), спільно виміряну дослідниками двох країн. Вона становить 8848 метрів 86 сантиметрів, повідомляє BBC News.
Дві країни, на межі яких розташована гора, домовилися про спільне вимірювання в 2019 році. До цього між ними були розбіжності щодо необхідності включення до висоти гори висоти снігової шапки на її вершині.
Китай раніше оцінював висоту гори у 8844 метра, Непал не проводив своїх вимірювань.
Дотепер загальноприйнятим значенням висоти Евересту вважалося 8848 метрів. Така висота була отримана геологічною службою Індії в 1954 році.
У 2015 році в Гімалаях стався сильний землетрус. Геологи припускали, що через це висота Евересту могла змінитися на кілька метрів.
your ad hereBy Gromada | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
НСЖУ та ІМІ оприлюднили звіти про напади на журналістів в Україні
Провідні медійні організації, які здійснюють моніторинг порушень свободи слова, оприлюднили дані про випадки фізичної агресії проти журналістів.
За даними Національної спілки журналістів України, лише за три осінні місяці 2020 року сталося 25 випадків фізичної агресії щодо українських журналістів.
«За останні чотири роки це найбільша кількість інцидентів, які фіксувалися восени – найменше нападали на журналістів у 2019 році (16 інцидентів протягом вересня-листопада), у 2017 році – 21 інцидент, 2018 – 23. Головною причиною зростання агресії наприкінці цього року є напружена кампанія з місцевих виборів та конфліктна поведінка порушників запроваджених урядом карантинних обмежень», – ідеться в повідомленні НСЖУ.
Загалом від початку 2020 року зафіксовано 74 таких інциденти, йдеться в моніторингу «Індекс фізичної безпеки журналістів України», який НСЖУ проводить спільно з партнерськими громадськими організаціями.
Інститут масової інформації (ІМІ) лише в листопаді нарахував 19 порушень свободи слова, з них 10 стосувалися фізичної агресії щодо журналістів. Такими є дані щомісячного моніторингу Інституту масової інформації «Барометр свободи слова».
З початку року ІМІ зафіксував загалом 205 випадків порушення свободи слова, з них 155 – це фізична агресія проти журналістів.
У травні 2020 року Україна на 6 пунктів поліпшила свій рейтинг і вперше увійшла в сотню країн за рівнем свободи преси. Такі дані цьогорічного звіту оприлюднила міжнародна правозахисна організація «Репортери без кордонів».
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By VilneSlovo | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Свобода слова
Лише Toyota Camry: ще одне міністерство повідомило про свій автопарк
Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України повідомило, що має у своєму розпорядженні один службовий автомобіль.
«На балансі Міністерства розвитку громад та територій України обліковується 1 (один) автомобіль Toyota Camry», – ідеться у відповіді на запит Радіо Свобода.
Раніше Міністерство інфраструктури, Міністерство з питань стратегічних галузей промисловості, Міністерство захисту довкілля та природних ресурсів, Міністерство культури та інформаційної політики, Міністерство молоді та спорту, Міністерство цифрової трансформації, Міністерство розвитку економіки, торгівлі та сільського господарства, Міністерство освіти і науки, Міністерство соціальної політики та Міністерство енергетики повідомляли, що не мають у себе на балансі автотранспортних засобів.
В Офісі президента України повідомляли, що не мають свого власного автомобільного парку, оскільки транспортними засобами їх забезпечує автобаза Державного управління справами.
Водночас Кабінет міністрів України повідомляв Радіо Свобода, що має 120 автомобілів у своєму розпорядженні. Верховний суд – що 46 авто, Конституційний суд має 32 автомобілі, Верховна Рада – 187 транспортних засобів, а Офіс генерального прокурора – 73. Натомість Служба безпеки України у відповідь на запит Радіо Свобода назвала дані про свій автопарк «інформацією з обмеженим доступом».
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By Gromada | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
White House Announces New Tennis Pavilion
Nearly a year after announcing its construction, a new tennis pavilion has been completed on the White House grounds, the administration said in a statement Monday. The project, for which construction began in 2019, was to refurbish the existing tennis court on White House grounds and construct a new building alongside it, inspired by the classic architecture of the East and West Wings, the White House said in a statement Monday. “It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future first families,” first lady Melania Trump was quoted as saying in the statement. Today, @FLOTUS announced the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds! https://t.co/CQeyDLPTHN— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 7, 2020But the announcement was immediately met with backlash by some on social media, as many Americans questioned the cost and importance of the project as the U.S. recorded more than 283,000 deaths from COVID-19. “How many PPEs, tests, masks, contact tracers, and ICU beds could that have bought instead?” one epidemiologist wrote on Twitter. Good news—WH just announced today that they just completed the WH Tennis ? Pavilion. WH is so excited that they put out a press release. How many PPEs, tests, masks, contact tracers, and ICU beds could that have bought instead? #COVID19https://t.co/zGVpn7mkAGpic.twitter.com/uRLGpvvxcU— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 7, 2020The White House has not revealed how much money was spent on the project. The project drew criticism earlier in the year as well, when Melania Trump posted on Twitter a photo of herself wearing a hard hat and surveying construction. She responded to critics then in a tweet, calling on those who criticized her to “contribute something good and productive in their own communities.” I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities. #BeBesthttps://t.co/03sx0rq2Nx— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) March 7, 2020
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By Polityk | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Синоптики: в Україні і далі сильні вітри, акваторію Азовського моря штормить
В Українському гідрометеорологічному центрі повідомили про збереження в Україні поривчастого вітру упродовж 8 грудня.
«8 грудня у західних, південних та південно-східних областях пориви вітру 15-20 м/с (І рівень небезпечності, жовтий)», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Крім того, в акваторії Азовського моря очікуються пориви вітру 25-30 м/с, висота хвиль 15-20 дм, швидке обледеніння суден.
«У зв’язку iз зниженням температури повітря до 10 грудня на рівнинних річках країни (крім української ділянки Дунаю, Дніпровського та Каховського водосховища) очікується поява та подальше посилення льодових явищ у вигляді заберегів, шугоходу, на окремих ділянках до встановлення льодоставу», – попередили в Укргідрометцентрі.
Раніше синоптики вже попереджали українців про поривчасті вітри на початку поточного тижня.
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By Gromada | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Trump Summit Aims to Boost Faith in Vaccine; Biden Excluded; Drugmakers Decline
The Trump administration is aiming to instill public confidence as well as claim major credit for the forthcoming coronavirus vaccines with a White House summit Tuesday featuring experts who will outline distribution plans in detail. Officials from President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team are not invited, even though they will oversee the continuation of the largest vaccination program in the nation’s history once he takes office January 20. President Donald Trump is trying to frame vaccine development as a key component of his legacy. The Operation Warp Speed summit will feature Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a host of government experts, state leaders and business executives, as the White House looks to explain that the vaccine is safe and lay out the administration’s plans to bring it to the American people. Senior administration officials provided details on the summit on Monday. An official with the Biden transition confirmed no invitation was extended.FILE – Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo, October 31, 2020.Officials from the pharmaceutical companies developing the vaccines also were not expected to attend, despite receiving invitations, according to people familiar with the matter. Some expressed concerns about the event contributing to the politicization of the vaccine development process and potentially further inhibiting public confidence in the drugs. Trump is set to kick off the event with remarks aiming to celebrate vaccine development, according to an official who previewed the event. Trump also will sign an executive order to prioritize Americans for coronavirus vaccines procured by the federal government. A second official said the order would restrict the U.S. government from donating doses to other nations until there is excess supply to meet domestic demand. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the summit. It was not immediately clear what, if any, impact the order would have on other nations’ abilities to access the vaccines. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he expects his country to receive about 250,000 doses of a vaccine from Pfizer by the end of the year. The Food and Drug Administration is to meet Thursday to conduct a final review of the Pfizer drug, and it will meet later this month on a vaccine developed by Moderna. Both have been determined to be 95% effective against the virus that causes COVID-19. FILE – A man receives a trial COVID-19 vaccine at the Research Centers of America, in Hollywood, Florida, August 13, 2020.Plans call for distributing and then administering about 40 million doses of the two companies’ vaccines by the end of the year — with the first doses shipping within hours of FDA clearance. But Biden said Friday that “there’s no detailed plan that we’ve seen” for how to get the vaccines out of containers, into syringes and then into people’s arms. Trump administration officials insist that such plans have been developed, with the bulk of the work falling to states and municipal governments to ensure their most vulnerable populations are vaccinated first. The administration says it has leveraged partnerships with manufacturers, distributers and health care providers, so that outside of settings like veterans’ hospitals, “it is highly unlikely that a single federal employee will touch a dose of vaccine before it goes into your arm.” In all, about 50,000 vaccination sites are enrolled in the government’s distribution system, the officials said. Each of the forthcoming vaccines has unique logistical challenges related to distribution and administration. The Pfizer vaccine must be transported at super-cooled temperatures and comes in batches of 975 doses. Each vial contains five doses, requiring careful planning. The administration has prepared detailed videos for providers on how to safely prepare and administer doses, to be posted after the FDA issues its emergency use authorization. One such plan is to be announced Tuesday: Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens have stood up a “mobile vaccination service” ready to vaccinate people in every nursing home and long-term care facility in the country. The roughly 3 million residents of those facilities are among the most vulnerable for COVID-19 and have been placed at the front of the line to access the vaccine. So far, 80%-85% of the facilities have signed on to the service, the officials said.
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By Polityk | 12/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Names Top Health Care Officials
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named his top health care officials on Monday, tapping former Congressman Xavier Becerra as his Health and Human Services chief to lead the country’s fight to curb the surging coronavirus pandemic and oversee millions of vaccinations against it in the coming months.
FILE – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, California, March 5, 2019.Becerra currently is attorney general for the western state of California who led the defense last month in the U.S. Supreme Court against a conservative bid to overturn the country’s Affordable Care Act, in a case yet to be decided. During his 24 years as a congressman in the House of Representatives, Becerra worked to win approval for the national health care law that has provided insurance coverage to millions of Americans.
In addition, Biden picked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19. Biden also asked Fauci to continue in his longtime role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci, 79, has served as a medical adviser to six U.S. presidents and for months has been the face of the U.S. government’s response to the pandemic.
In the months before the presidential election, President Donald Trump grew increasingly peeved at Fauci’s grim assessments of the spread of the virus and sidelined him in favor of more upbeat commentary.
FILE – Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases arrives to participate in a roundtable at the American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington.Biden has said he will pay close attention to scientific findings about the virus from Fauci and other medical experts and get vaccinated as soon as Fauci says the preventative is safe.
U.S. health regulators are about to review two proposed vaccines that have proved effective in clinical tests. Millions of doses of the vaccines could be available later this month, with millions more in early 2021.
Biden named Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, a position he held from 2014 to 2017 during the administration of former President Barack Obama, when Biden was second in command.
The president-elect picked Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a top expert on virus testing, prevention and treatment in the eastern state of Massachusetts, as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Biden chose Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an expert on health care disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., as chair of his COVID-19 equity task force. She is an associate professor of medicine, public health and management at the Yale School of Medicine.
The president-elect picked business executive Jeffrey Zients, a former director of the National Economic Council under Obama, as a coordinator of his COVID-19 response team and a counselor to him. Biden named former White House and Pentagon senior adviser Natalie Quillian as deputy coordinator of the government’s response to the pandemic.
The Biden transition team said the health officials “will help fulfill the president-elect’s vision of making health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans — building on the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and tackle prescription drug costs.”
In a statement, Biden said, “This trusted and accomplished team of leaders will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor, and crisis-management experience to one of the toughest challenges America has ever faced — getting the pandemic under control so that the American people can get back to work, back to their lives, and back to their loved ones.”
He said that after his inauguration on January 20, the government would “expand testing and masking, (and) oversee the safe, equitable and free distribution of treatments and vaccines.”
He said his administration would “rally the country and restore the belief that there is nothing beyond America’s capacity if we do it together.”
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
У Києві налічується 159 муралів: найбільше у Дарницькому, найменше – в Дніпровському районі
У Києві загалом налічується 159 настінних розписів – муралів. Така кількість випливає з відповідей районних держадміністрацій, які вони надіслали на запит Радіо Свобода.
Зокрема, у Голосіївському районі Києва є шість муралів, один із яких з’явився за останній рік.
У Даницькому районі розміщено рекордну кількість зображень – 42 мурали. З них вісім намальовано в рамках проєкту «MoreThanUs» на станції метро «Осокорки» – це роботи різних художників, що відображають їхнє бачення України.
У Деснянському районі столиці нанесело шість муралів. Серед них є роботи закордонних митців: мурал австралійського художника Фінтану Меджі в рамках фестивалю Mural Social Club та іспанського художника Liqen.
У Дніпровському районі муралів найменша кількість – два.
В Оболонському районі – 18 муралів. Зокрема, малюнок на одному з будинків вулиці Маршала Тимошенка, що зайняв 345 квадратних метри. Завдяки такому масштабу він потрапив до книги рекордів України, як найбільше трьохвимірне реалістичне зображення, виконане в техніці стрит-арт.
У Печерському районі налічується 26 муралів.
У Подільському районі Києва є 11 муралів, нанесених на фасади будинків.
У Святошинському районі нарахували 17 муралів, які розміщені на фасадах будівель комунальної власності та нежитлових будинках. За останній рік нових муралів не додалось, а найперший з’явився в 2015 році.
У Солом’янському районі наразі є 11 муралів, один із яких з’явився в 2020 році.
У Шевченківському районі столиці є 20 муралів, і за останній рік нових не з’явилось.
На законодавчому рівні питання встановлення муралів не врегульоване. Проте низка районних РДА зазначили, що існує певна процедура, якої слід дотриматись, перш ніж прикрашати будівлі малюнками.
Так, у Дніпровській, Печерській, Подільській та Шевченківській РДА повідомили у відповідь на запит на Радіо Свобода, що нанесення муралів відбувається лише за попереднім узгодженням із власниками/співвласниками будинку та обслуговуючою будинок організацією. У Деснянському районі необхідно попередньо обговорити зміст зображення з балансоутримувачем споруди. У Святошинському районі звертають увагу, чи запропонований мурал покращить естетичний вигляд будивлі, на якій буде створений.
Жодна районна адміністрація не повідомила про випадок знищення якогось із муралів.
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By Gromada | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
У Фонді соціального страхування розповіли про виплати, пов’язані з COVID-19
У Фонді соціального страхування у відповідь на запит Радіо Свобода повідомили, що за травень-листопад поточного року на виплати через непрацездатність, пов’язану з ізоляцією від COVID-19, витратили понад 56 мільйонів гривень.
У відомстві пояснили, що на сьогодні при заповненні листка непрацездатності відсутня окрема позначка для зазначення причини непрацездатності внаслідок безпосереднього захворювання на COVID-19, водночас причина – «ізоляція від COVID-19» прописується.
«Так, за травень-листопад 2020 року за причиною непрацездатності «Ізоляція від COVID-19» прийнято заявки-розрахунки для надання допомоги для більш ніж 56,3 тисяч застрахованих осіб для оплати 57,3 тисяч листків непрацездатності. На оплату такої допомоги Фондом витрачено понад 56 млн. грн, в тому числі близько 16 млн.грн у жовтні та майже 17,5 млн.грн у листопаді поточного року», – йдеться у відповіді Фонду соціального страхування на запит Радіо Свобода.
Повідомляється також, що станом на 1 грудня фондом призначено допомогу по тимчасовій непрацездатності внаслідок «гострого професійного захворювання» 1,2 тис.працівникам медичних закладів по 1,7 тис.листків непрацездатності на суму 6,4 млн.грн, в тому числі у листопаді поточного року по 495 листкам на суму 1,9 млн.грн.
Загалом, за березень-листопад поточного року, Фонд прийняв заявки щодо надання допомоги через тимчасову непрацездатність для більш ніж 1,6 млн. застрахованих осіб для оплати листків непрацездатності на суму майже 8,3 млрд.грн., повідомили для Радіо Свобода у відомстві.
За весь час пандемії в Україні захворіли 821 947 людей, одужали – 423 704, померли – 13 733.
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By Gromada | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
В Україні виявили 8 641 новий випадок COVID-19 – МОЗ
В Україні минулої доби виявили 8 641 новий випадок COVID-19, повідомив міністр охорони здоров’я Максим Степанов у фейсбуці.
За його даними, захворіли 390 дітей та 284 медпрацівники.
«За минулу добу госпіталізовано – 1 037 осіб; летальних випадків – 145; одужало – 5 123 особи; здійснено тестувань за добу – 33 502 (зокрема методом ПЛР – 27 881, методом ІФА – 5 621)», – повідомив Степанов.
Повідомляється, що за останню добу найбільша кількість підтверджених випадків зареєстрована у Києві (1 526), Дніпропетровській (960), Одеській (662), Київській (635) та Сумській (477) областях.
За весь час пандемії в Україні захворіли 821 947 людей, одужали – 423 704, померли – 13 733.
У світі, за даними університету Джонса Гопкінса, число інфікованих перевищило 67 мільйонів, померли понад 1,5 мільйона людей, одужали більш ніж 43 мільйони пацієнтів.
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By Gromada | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Синоптики попереджають українців про поривчасті вітри на початку тижня
В Українському гідрометцентрі повідомили, що на початку поточного тижня в Україні очікується вітряна погода.
«Вдень 7 грудня у західних областях та на Приазов’ї пориви вітру 17-22 м/с (І рівень небезпечності, жовтий). Вдень 7 грудня на акваторії Азовського моря пориви вітру 25-30 м/с, висота хвиль 15-20 дм, швидке обледеніння суден (ІІ рівень небезпечності, помаранчевий)», – йдеться в попередженні на сайті Укргідрометцентру.
Також, за даними синоптиків, у найближчі три доби без істотних опадів, лише місцями у на півдні країни, 8 грудня і в Карпатах та на Закарпатті невеликий мокрий сніг та дощ, слабка ожеледь. У північно-східній частині на дорогах подекуди ожеледиця.
«Температура вночі 5-11° морозу, на сході та північному сході до мінус 14°, вдень від 4° морозу до 1° тепла; у західних областях, 8-9 грудня і в південній частині вночі 0-5° морозу, вдень від 2° морозу до 3° тепла, на Закарпатті 4-9° тепла», – повідомили в Укргідрометцентрі.
Синоптик Наталка Діденко у фейсбуці зазначила, що вітер в Україні сьогодні «практично скрізь буде некомфортним, рвучким, до штормових поривів».
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By Gromada | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Georgia Republican Senator Loeffler Dodges Questions on Trump During Debate With Challenger Warnock
Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler danced around questions about whether President Donald Trump lost the November 3 election in a debate with her Democratic challenger on Sunday before two Georgia runoffs that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. Facing off with the Rev. Raphael Warnock on a debate stage in Atlanta, Loeffler repeatedly called the political newcomer a “radical liberal,” while Warnock criticized Loeffler’s stock trades after the wealthy businesswoman was appointed senator a year ago. Each criticized the other’s interpretation of the Christian faith. As the debate began, Loeffler sidestepped a question about whether she agreed with Trump’s baseless claims that last month’s election was rigged. Trump has not conceded to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, instead insisting without evidence that the result was because of widespread fraud, claims that state and federal officials have repeatedly rejected. “It’s vitally important that Georgians trust our election process and the president has every right to every legal recourse,” Loeffler said. Warnock countered by asking why Loeffler “continues to cast doubt on an American democratic election. It’s time to put this behind us.” Trump Campaigns in Georgia for Republican SenatorsThe president repeats vote fraud claims while backing GOP candidates in January runoff elections that could decide party control of SenateUphill fight for Democrats Georgia has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator in 20 years, but Biden’s narrow victory there over Trump has given Democrats hope. They face an uphill battle, however, and need to win both races to deny Republicans a Senate majority that could be used to block much of Biden’s legislative agenda. Republicans are training much of their fire on Warnock, the Black senior pastor of the Atlanta church where civil rights champion the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. “My opponent, radical liberal Raphael Warnock, is a socialist,” Loeffler said, an attack she voiced repeatedly throughout the debate. She went through a litany of attacks she has made in her campaign ads, which seek to portray Warnock as anti-police, anti-Israel, Marxist and tied to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and a sermon in which the Black Chicago pastor declared: “God damn America!” Warnock said Loeffler was trying to misrepresent him. “I believe in the free enterprise system,” he said. He accused Loeffler of improperly profiting by “dumping millions of dollars of stock” just after becoming senator and early in the coronavirus outbreak, before the stock market turned down. “I’m OK with the fact that she wants to make money, I just think you shouldn’t use the people’s seat to enrich yourself. You ought to use the people’s seat to represent the people,” Warnock said. The Justice Department closed a probe into stock trades made by Loeffler, along with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Jim Inhofe, earlier this year, shortly before market turmoil tied to the coronavirus, media have reported. All three have denied wrongdoing. Loeffler was appointed to her seat a year ago after its former occupant retired. She trailed Warnock in her complicated 20-candidate November 3 contest, when Warnock got 32.9% and Loeffler took 25.9%. Who’s in Georgia’s US Senate Election Runoffs?Two special elections in Georgia on Jan. 5 will determine which political party controls the US SenateRunoffs, recriminations Senator David Perdue, the other Georgia Republican fighting to hold his seat on January 5, opted out of debating Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff again, leaving his rival alone on stage on Sunday. Ossoff said Perdue may not want to talk about his frequent stock trades while a senator. Last summer, the Justice Department closed an inquiry into Perdue’s trades in shares of a financial firm without charges, the New York Times reported last month. “Senator Perdue, I suppose, doesn’t feel that he can handle himself in a debate, or perhaps is concerned that he may incriminate himself in a debate, both of which in my opinion are disqualifying for a U.S. senator seeking reelection,” Ossoff said. Perdue’s campaign has said he does not manage his stock portfolio day to day. The road to the runoffs poses challenges for both parties. Biden demonstrated that a Democrat could win in the historically conservative state by defeating Trump there by 49.5%-49.3% in last month’s election. That outcome has sparked recriminations among Republicans, with Trump blasting Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, and Loeffler and Perdue calling for the resignation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In a rally in Valdosta, Georgia, on Saturday night, Trump urged the crowd to vote Republican in the Senate runoffs despite his unsubstantiated claims of significant electoral fraud in the state. He also repeated his allegations of fraud in the national election that cost him the White House.
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Rallies Georgia Voters in US Senate Runoff While Alleging Widespread Fraud
Republicans and Democrats are working to get Georgia residents to vote in the January 5 runoff election that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. But Republicans are also divided about the results of the November 3 presidential race, with President Donald Trump still asserting widespread voter fraud. Michelle Quinn reports.Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Congress Braces for Tough Week as COVID, Budget, Defense Dominate Agenda
Top U.S. lawmakers scrambled Sunday to reach difficult agreements as quickly as possible on a new aid package for the coronavirus-battered economy, a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown and the defense budget.And time was running out.The current federal budget law expires on December 11. If Congress fails to agree on a new one by that date, American public finances will suddenly dry up.In order to avoid a shutdown, Congress could decide to pass a temporary law for a few days, to give itself time between now and Christmas to reach a broad annual agreement on the 2021 budget.Republican and Democratic leaders have indicated that they would like the budget bill to include the next economic aid measures for the coronavirus, which have been the subject of bitter negotiations.”It’s really a superhuman effort on our part to help the American people as quickly as possible,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told ABC’s “This Week.”Lawmakers have negotiated for months on passing such a bill but haven’t come to terms on how much to spend and what to spend it on.Durbin has backed a bipartisan $908 billion aid package proposed this week.Democratic and Republican senators and their teams worked all weekend to draft the text of the detailed bill, which “will probably come out early this week,” said Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican, on “Fox News Sunday.”Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed to make the proposal the basis for negotiations on a final text.But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and President Donald Trump, who must sign the bill into law, have not made their positions clear.At the same time, Congress members hope to pass the Pentagon’s defense budget quickly. Democrats and Republicans have reached a consensus on a bill for $740 billion.But Trump is threatening to veto the measure if it does not include abolishing a law protecting the legal status of social media networks, which he says are biased against him.He also opposes plans to rename military bases named for Civil War confederate generals, pushing back on pressure to rid public places of reminders of the once pro-slavery South.Republicans believe they have the votes to override his veto, saying that the military cannot wait and that these issues could be addressed separately.House Majority Leader, Democratic representative Steny Hoyer, has scheduled a vote for as early as Tuesday.
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Taps California Attorney General to Be First Latino Health Secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response. If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1-trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.As California’s attorney general, Becerra has led the coalition of Democratic states defending Obamacare, as the Affordable Care Act is often known, from the Trump administration’s latest effort to overturn it, a legal case awaiting a Supreme Court decision next year. A former senior House Democrat, Becerra played a role in steering the Obama health law through Congress in 2009 and 2010. At the time he would tell reporters that one of the primary motivations for him was having tens of thousands of uninsured people in his Southern California district.Overseeing the coronavirus response likely will be the most complicated task Becerra will have. By next year, the U.S. will be engaged in a mass vaccination campaign, the groundwork for which has been laid under the Trump administration. Although the vaccines appear very promising, and no effort has been spared to plan for their distribution, it’s impossible to tell yet how well things will go when it’s time to get shots in the arms of millions of Americans.The core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the government’s coronavirus response. The Food and Drug Administration oversees vaccines and treatments, while much of the underlying scientific and medical research comes from the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the lead in detecting and containing the spread of diseases. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides insurance coverage for more than 1 in 3 Americans, including vulnerable seniors, as well as many children and low-income people.Under President Donald Trump, the CDC was relegated to a lesser role after agency scientists issued a stark early warning that contradicted Trump’s assurances that the virus was under control, rattling financial markets. The FDA was the target of repeated attacks from the president who suspected its scientists were politically motivated and who also wanted them to rubber-stamp unproven treatments.As California’s attorney general, Becerra jokingly became known in Democratic legal circles as the man who sued Trump more than anyone else. Beyond health care, the lawsuits centered on issues from immigration to environmental policies.Before he became California’s attorney general, Becerra had served for more than a decade in Congress, representing parts of Los Angeles County. He had also served in the California state assembly after attending law school at Stanford.His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and emigrated to the U.S. after marrying his father.
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Georgia Officials Reject Trump Vote Fraud Claims
Officials in Georgia on Sunday rebuffed Republican President Donald Trump’s contention that Democratic challenger Joe Biden fraudulently won the southern U.S. state, declaring that the president-elect’s claim to Georgia’s 16 electoral votes would stand.Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, told ABC News’s “This Week” show that as a conservative Republican he was “disappointed” that Trump lost Georgia, but the people “have spoken” and “we don’t see anything that would overturn the will of the people.”Trump on Saturday asked the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to call a special session of the state legislature to overturn the vote there and award Trump the state’s electors, which alone would not be enough to upend Biden’s unofficial 306-232 advantage in the Electoral College that determines the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. Kemp declined Trump’s request. Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Republican Geoff Duncan, told CNN on Sunday that he “absolutely” believes Kemp won’t accede to Trump’s demand that the governor persuade state lawmakers to nullify Biden’s victory in the state.FILE – Then-Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, left, walks with President Donald Trump as Trump arrives for a rally in Macon , Georgia, Nov. 4, 2018.“We’re certainly not going to move the goal posts at this point in the election,” Duncan said.Biden won the November 3 vote in Georgia by more than 12,000 votes. Two recounts, including a hand-by-hand tally of the more than 5 million ballots cast, upheld the result. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won Georgia since 1992, after Trump captured the state in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Biden is set to become the country’s 46th president after his inauguration on January 20.Trump staged a rally Saturday night in Georgia, briefly assailing Kemp for not helping him overturn Biden’s victory there.“Your governor could stop it very easily if he knew what the hell he was doing,” Trump said. “So far we haven’t been able to find the people in Georgia willing to do the right thing.”Trump voiced grievances and falsehoods about the election, even though there was no evidence, either in Georgia or other contested battleground states, of widespread fraud. William Barr, the Trump-appointed attorney general, told the Associated Press last week that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” In his Sunday interview, Duncan said Trump’s claims of fraud were “concerning. The mountains of misinformation are not helping the process; they’re only hurting it.”FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 30, 2020.In his ABC interview, Raffensperger, in defending the vote count in Georgia, said that he has received death threats and that his wife has received “sexualized texts and things like that.”“And now they’ve actually gone after people, been following … young poll workers and election workers in Gwinnett County and also our folks at one of our offices,” Raffensperger said. “And so, you’re seeing just irrational, angry behavior. It’s unpatriotic. People shouldn’t be doing that.”Trump fired Christopher Krebs, the government’s most senior cybersecurity official who called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.” In an interview Sunday on CBS News’s “Meet the Press” show, Krebs said he does not know why Trump is continuing his allegations of election fraud, even after he and his campaign have now lost or withdrawn three dozen or more lawsuits alleging vote and vote-counting irregularities.”I don’t know if it’s intentional or willful blindness,” Krebs said. “But this race is over; we’ve got to get ready for January 20th and the next administration.”
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By Polityk | 12/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Campaigns in Georgia for Republican Senators
U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to the key southeastern state of Georgia on Saturday to campaign for two Republican senators running against Democratic challengers in the January runoff election that will decide which party controls the Senate, but he mostly repeated his claims of widespread vote fraud.”You know we won Georgia, just so you understand,” Trump told the large crowd gathered for the first post-election rally for the president. Few in the crowd wore masks.Democrat Joe Biden, a former vice president, unofficially won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes out of about 5 million cast, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1992.Hours before his trip to Georgia, the president called Governor Brian Kemp, urging the fellow Republican to call a special session of the state legislature to get lawmakers to override the vote results and appoint electors who would back him, according to The Washington Post.The governor refused, according to sources in Georgia and the White House who spoke on condition of anonymity, The Associated Press reported.The Republican Party needs one more seat to maintain its majority in the U.S. Senate. Republican Senator David Perdue must defeat Jon Ossoff in the January 5 runoff election in Georgia, while Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler must overcome a stiff challenge from Raphael Warnock. If the Republicans lose, resulting in a 50-50 Senate, Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote.Trump, a Republican, repeatedly has said without evidence there was widespread fraud in the November election, a claim frequently rejected by federal and state officials.”They cheated and rigged our presidential election, but we’ll still win it. And they are going to try to rig this election, too,” Trump told the crowd Saturday night in Valdosta, Georgia.Hundreds arrive for a President Donald Trump rally in support of Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler on Dec. 5, 2020, in Valdosta, Georgia.Trump’s campaign said it filed a lawsuit Friday in Georgia to nullify the November 3 presidential election results in the state. The campaign and its supporters have filed dozens of similar lawsuits in various states, most of which have been rejected. As the campaign filed the lawsuit in Georgia, Trump’s legal battles were defeated in Michigan and Nevada.The suit in Georgia is the latest legal attempt to reverse Biden’s defeat of Trump. Trump’s campaign said the suit would include sworn statements from Georgia voters claiming fraud. But Georgia election officials, including the state’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, have said several times they have found no evidence of significant irregularities.Biden’s narrow win in Georgia, where a recount Trump’s campaign requested shows Biden winning by 11,769 votes, means any additional support Trump can garner in the state could increase Perdue’s and Loeffler’s chances of victory.Some Republicans are concerned Trump’s appearance in Georgia, however, could discourage voter turnout for the runoff.“Trump’s comments are damaging the Republican brand,” Republican donor Dan Eberhart told The Associated Press. He said Trump is “acting in bad sportsmanship and bad faith” instead of working to maintain Republican control of the Senate.Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, said Trump’s attacks on the integrity of the state election dampen Perdue’s and Loeffler’s chances of winning the runoff.“The more Trump talks about the presidential election and gets into criticism of how the election was run here, the bigger a problem that is for the Senate candidates, and the greater likelihood that he could reduce enthusiasm among a segment of the electorate,” Abramowitz said in an interview with Reuters.But a top adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Josh Holmes, told the AP that Republicans “haven’t seen any evidence of lack of enthusiasm in the Senate races.”Loeffler and Perdue are walking a fine line on the campaign trail: They warn voters of the dangers of a Democratic Senate majority but will not say Biden won the White House.They are not alone. The Washington Post contacted all 249 Republicans in the U.S. House and the Senate and reported that only 27 would say Biden won or have called him the president-elect. Two said they considered Trump the winner.Trump’s visit to Georgia comes one day after California certified Biden’s win in that state, giving him more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.Presidential electors meet in each state on December 14 to cast their votes. On January 6, the newly elected Congress will officially count the electoral votes and formally name the president.
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By Polityk | 12/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
