Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr (R) is playing it close-to-the-vest when it comes to announcing Maryland Department of Health Secretary Robert R. Nealls replacement.

Nealls retirement goes into effect on Tuesday, and as the clock ticked closer to midnight, no one seemed to know when the announcement will come or who will win the appointment: Not representatives from House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Fergusons (D-Baltimore City) offices, nor Senate Executive Nominations Committee leaders, who will be tasked with confirming or denying Hogans appointee.

Totally a blank on all those issues, Executive Nominations Chairman Ronald N. Young (D-Frederick) said Monday.

And the not-knowing transcends party lines: Republican leadership in the General Assembly has no clue either.

Havent heard a thing, said House Minority Leader Nicholaus R. Kipke (R-Anne Arundel).

In the midst of a pandemic, which worsens as days go on, Neall, a lifer in Marylands political scene, gave Hogan and his fellow cabinet members three-weeks notice of his departure.

We werent ready to announce this yet today, but I can confirm we just had an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoon where Secretary Bobby Neall, who has been a long-time friend for decades and whos done an incredible job leading a wonderful team of people throughout this crisis, he gave us notice that hes leaving the administration, said Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr (R) at the end of a news conference in mid-November.

Nealls reasoning? Hes tired.

These last three years, though trying, have been very rewarding and I simply do not have the strength and vitality to continue, he told the Joint COVD-19 Response Legislative Workgroup in November. You have to know when to say when.

Neall is tapping out after more than 40 years as a public servant, representing Anne Arundel County in the state House and Senate, as county executive, and everything in between, flip-flopping his party affiliation along the way.

Hes also not the first to step down from the Department of Health since the pandemic reached the state 10 months ago.

Former Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Fran Phillips announced her retirement in late July, and Gregg Todd, the former deputy secretary of operations, accepted a position as controller for Ingraham County, Mich., over the summer.

Philips vacancy was filled by Acting Deputy Secretary Dr. Jinlene Chan, and Todd was replaced by Atif T. Chaudhry.

But the name of Nealls replacement remains a mystery to political heavy-hitters, some of whom think his shoes will be difficult to fill.

No, I have to say the governor doesnt call me for advice and I think Bobby Neall will be hard to replace, said Senate Health, Education and Environmental Affairs Committee Chairman Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince Georges).

Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard and Baltimore County), a public health doctor, said the piece thats lost in Nealls departure is the amount of respect he has garnered from having been around the block quite a while.

I think its going to be a real challenge to find a replacement for him that carries that gravitas, Lam said in a phone interview Monday.

Hogan spokesman Michael Ricci told Maryland Matters in an email that he expects an update on Nealls replacement as early as Tuesday.

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Hogan Plays It Close to the Vest as Neall's Retirement Looms - Josh Kurtz

Kevin Wagner| Palm Beach Post

Question:Who replaces the Vice President if he or she dies?

Answer:This was oneissue that the drafters of the Constitution missed because there was no procedure for replacing a sitting Vice President. As a result, for much of our nations history, the death, removalor promotion of the Vice President to the Presidency resulted in a vacancy in the office of the Vice President until the next election.

Indeed, the office of Vice President has been vacant for extended periods over the course of U.S. history. When Harry S Truman ascended to the Presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, the office of Vice President remained vacant for over three years until the election of 1948.

When added together, the U.S. has been without a Vice President for roughly 37 years. Americans may not have noticed, because until more recent years, the job itself has not been very memorable. As the first Vice President, John Adams, put it: "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

The problem was largely solved by the adoption of the 25th Amendment in 1967, which allows the President to nominate a replacement Vice President, but requires the choice to be confirmed by a majority vote in both chambersof Congress.

We saw the first application of this amendment in 1973, when Richard M. Nixon nominated Gerald R. Ford, who was confirmed by Congress to the Vice Presidency after the resignation of then-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. Ford then ascended to the Presidency in 1974, after the resignation of President Nixon. This allowed President Ford to use the new amendment to select Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President. Interestingly, this resulted in an administration where neither the President nor the Vice President were actually elected to either office.

Question:Can the Senate block President Joe Bidens Cabinet choices?

Answer:Presidents get to fill thousands of jobs when they assume office, but the most focus is on the nominations of Cabinet Secretaries, like the Defense Secretary or the Attorney General. These are influential jobs, as these individuals make policy decisions and run government departments with substantial powers.

Each of the Presidents Cabinet nominations must be approved by the Senate. So, in theory, yes, the Senate could block or reject any nominee. However, Presidents are often given some deference in building their administration, so a partisan no vote is not automatic.

Further, a change to a Senate rule in 2013 prevents confirmation votes for Cabinet Secretaries from being blocked by the filibuster. Previously, a controversial nominee would require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. However, that rule was changed about seven years ago so that votes on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments cannot be filibustered.

The new rule has worked well for Republicans in confirming an almost unprecedented number of judges over the last four years, often on close votes, but it will also make it easier for Biden to confirm his Cabinet.

Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar, and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university.

The professor wants to hear from you. Keep in mind that no question is too basic; but it can be too partisan. So if you have a question about how American government and politics works, send us an email at rchristie@pbpost.com.

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The Civics Project: Replacing a vice president was not addressed in the original US Constitution - Palm Beach Post

The President-elect says he wants a government as diverse as America when he enters the White House. Here are some of his Executive Branch picks. USA TODAY

WASHINGTON In January 2017, Betsy DeVos,President Donald Trumps nominee for education secretary, told lawmakers at her confirmation hearing that the threat of grizzly bears in Wyoming justified the national push to equip schools with guns. She was responding to a question from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., whod made gun control a priority afterchildren in his state were massacred in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

DeVos gaffe, which garnered a slew of memes and a spoof on Saturday Night Live,became a metaphorfor her tenure as education secretary.It also contributed to her status as the most unpopular member of Trumps already-controversial Cabinet. DeVos won confirmation, thanks to Vice President Mike Pences tiebreaking vote.

DeVos, a conservative billionaire philanthropist, advocated for school choice. In her view, public education money should follow students to whatever learning model their parents prefer whether its a traditional public school, a charter school, a private school or a home school.

Overall, DeVos didnt accomplish much of her school choice agenda. Her hallmark education freedom campaign, which sought to create a national private school voucher program, didnt come to fruition. Congress repeatedly killed that proposal, which in its latest iteration sought to allocate $5 billion toward tax credit scholarships for private school.

If we fast-forward 10 years and look back at this period, were not going to see much, said Dale Chu, a senior visiting fellow at the Fordham Institute, a right-leaning education think tank.

DeVos did convince Congress to expand 529 plans, enabling the state-sponsored college savings accounts to cover private school tuition. She got lawmakers to reauthorize a program providing private school vouchers to students in Washington.

She has really tried to make the case that as education secretary, her job is to work with schools of all stripes, said Lindsey Burke, who directs the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank. Public education means education of the public and for the public not just traditional public education.

Teachersunions and civil rights groups, including the NAACP, had a different take.

She came into that position with one purpose in mind: to destroy public education, said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, noting public schools enroll 90% of the countrys schoolchildren.

DeVos gained traction in her efforts to reverse a suite of policies from President Barack Obamas administration that she said had given the federal government an outsize role in education. Many of those policies pertained to civil rights.

She axed guidelines meant to reduce racial disparities in student discipline rates, arguing they made campuses less safe. She rescinded regulations requiring schools to provide facilities accommodating transgender students, sayingshe wanted toreduce federal "overreach" in schools.

Some of DeVos most concrete policy changes, experts suggested, concerned Title IX, the federal law protecting people from sex-based discrimination in education. She revoked Obama-era guidance that she said negated the due process rights of college students accused of sexual assault.This year, DeVos raised the bar to prove claims of sexual misconduct in schools. She argued the procedures enacted in May would tackle the tragic rise of sexual misconduct complaints in our nation's K-12 campuses.

How DeVos' policy works at some colleges: Hearings are traumatic for both sides

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos hosted a listening session in 2018 on the impact of the department's Title IX sexual assault guidance on students and families and institutions.(Photo: Jasper Colt, USA TODAY Network)

President-elect Joe Biden said he plans to scrap those changes, though DeVos college regulations were backed by federal court rulings.

The big question is: How long does it take them to put a replacement together? said Terry Hartle, the senior vice president for the American Council on Education, a lobbying group for the industry.

The Biden administration could plan simply to cut the rules and come up with a replacement later, he said. Or it could repeal them and replace them immediately with a new set of regulations. Either way, those rules would have to be made available to the public for review before they are made official.

The DeVos regulations went into effect in August. Before a university can take any form of punitive action in response to potential sexual misconduct, officials need a formal complaint. Not all survivors of sexual assault are ready for formal complaints and the investigations and cross-examinations they require.

In normal times, changing a colleges process of handling sexual misconduct complaints would be a massive undertaking, said Jody Shipper, a former university administrator and an adviser to colleges onTitle IX.

Many institutions are hurting financially and struggling to respond to the changes in operations caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Some have started furloughing or laying off employees, which means they may lack ready hands to overhaul sexual misconduct rules.

Shipper said she has seen several new Title IX policies that have gaps or mistakes.

Its clear people scrambled, Shipper said.

Some will certainly see DeVos as a defender against governmental overreach. On the college level, she rolled back several federal rules meant to protect students who borrowed federal money to pay for their education.

To Steve Gunderson,CEO of a trade group of for-profit colleges, DeVos department reversed policies that unfairly targeted the members of his organization.

One of those unfair rules, he said, was the Obama administrations push to limit federal funding to colleges whose programs provided gainful employment. That rule was meant to protect students from wasting time and money on shoddy programs that dont lead to jobs. Gunderson argued it was used to target for-profit institutions.

Gunderson said information published by the Education Department, such as expanded details about how much students pay for a program and earn in their lifetime after completing it, should be enough to help them choose successful programs.

I think theres a growing belief that transparency of data and common metrics is far better in higher education than a whole set of rules and regulations, Gunderson said.

DeVos department denied many requests from student loan borrowers who said their college failed to provide them an adequate educationor forgave only partial amounts of what borrowers sought. Borrowers sued the department for the inaction, and theyve won some cases.

Under DeVos, the federal government even rolled back rules for accreditation, the dry and arcane process of approving which universities can receive federal funding.

The biggest accomplishment from their perspective is going to be the deregulation, said Clare McCannof the left-leaning New America. All of that will add to the amount of time it takes to put some accountability back into the system.

Biden, in his higher education plan, promised to undo many of DeVos changes, stopping colleges from profiteering off students. He plans to reinstate Obama-era rules that tie a college's receipt of federal money in part to graduates' salaries and debt levels.

Kamala Harris, Bidens vice president, sued for-profit Corinthian Colleges when she was Californias attorney general for making false advertisements to students. The system of colleges closed in 2015 after the Department of Educationrestricted its access to federal money for allegedly lying about its job placement rates.

Student loans: Court fight over debts of former Corinthian Colleges students

DeVos issued a statement Tuesday defending her decisions on rolling back rules on Title IX and "reforming accreditation and other heretofore burdensome requirements and regulations." She criticized Biden's plan for cutting the cost of college and forgiving student debt.

"Weve heard shrill calls to 'cancel,'to 'forgive,'to 'make it all free.'Any innocuous label out there cant obfuscate what it really is: wrong," the statement read. "What we do next in education policy and in public policy writ large will either break our already fragile economy, or it will unleash an age of achievement and prosperity the likes of which weve never seen."

President-elect Biden has yet to name his choice for DeVos replacement. The former vice president, whose candidacy was endorsed by teachers unions such as the National Education Association, said that person will have experience as a public school educator.

One of the biggest tasks facing the incoming secretary will be related to colleges: the nations $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio. In terms of touching individuals, the Department of Educations biggest role is making and collecting student loans, Hartle said.

The Education Department has frozen interest rates on federally held student loans and paused borrowers' payments. This pandemic-era hiatus is slated to expire at the end of the month. The next secretary may have to handle the resumption of paymentsif the pause isnt extended before Biden takes office. (Politico reported late Tuesday thatDeVos' department instructed student loan servicers to wait at least aweek before sending bills to borrowers, which could suggest a further extension.)

DeVos deepened partisan divides within federal education policy. Many of the leading Democratic candidates for president in this years primary election, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, distanced themselves from charter schools a key issue for DeVos. Historically, some Democrats including PresidentBill Clinton and Obama supported charter schools, especially as an option for disadvantaged families in urban areas.

Given those divisions and Bidens commitment to unifying the country, some experts suspect DeVos successor will be agnostic on the subject of charters.

DeVos legacy will probably be one of rollbacks rather than steps forward. The secretary may be fine with that. Last month, in an interview with Reason, DeVos questioned the necessity of the department she was tasked with managing.

"This building," she said,"has caused more problems than it solved."

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Betsy DeVos vowed to change American education. For the most part, she didnt. - USA TODAY

Bengaluru: Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa is facing intense heat over cabinet expansion as impatience is growing among the aspirants. Several of them had defected from the Congress to the BJP in August 2019 thereby ensuring collapse of the Congress-JDS coalition Government and its replacement by the BJP administration. Several of the legislators have landed in Delhi to urge the BJP High Command to bring about pressure on the CM to induct them.

Utter confusion prevails within the State BJP as there are also rumours of Yeddiyurappa being replaced by a new leader. This has led to flurry of activity with Yeddiyrappa hastily appointing his acolytes as chairmen of boards and corporations. There have also been changes among the CMs advisors. The CMs move to include the Veerashaiva-Lingayats in the Central OBC list was stalled in the nick of the moment as dissidents mounted pressure on the High Command to rein in the Chief Minister. Following this, Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly rang up Mr. Yeddiyurappa asking him to put the decision on hold.

The grapevine has it that most of the moves by the CM are prompted by feelers that he may not be in the seat for long and marching orders are imminent. At 78, Mr. Yediyurappa has survived enough past the retirement of age of 75 years that the BJP has been following. It is not difficult to see that the haste in initiating the recent measures is mainly motivated by his desire to do the maximum benefit to the community to which he belongs. Constituting 17% of the State population, Lingayaths however rule the roost in power structure of the State. Of the 19 chief ministerial tenures in the State, members of the community had occupied the seat 13 times. A little less than one-third seats in the State Assembly are held by the Lingayath legislators. The community individuals represent a third of the posts in the top bureaucracy in the State. Yet the hunger for greater representation in the power corridors has remained undiminished. Tag of winning the all-time great CM within the community seems to have been behind the inspiration to shower the sops on the community.

Expansion of the cabinet is proving to be a pain in the neck for the CM. He had been promising induction of the long-time aspirants after the by-election results on November 10. But it remains unfulfilled even three weeks after the BJP bagged both the seats for which by-polls were held on November 3. One of the winnersMunirathana from R. R. Nagar within the Bengaluru urban districtshas also been the hot favourite for a cabinet post. Besides several other defectors who won their seats in December 2019 by-polls have been endlessly waiting for a berth in the cabinet. Party MLC A. H. Vishwanath belonging to the Kuruba community has also been pressing for his induction in the cabinet reminding the CM that of the 15 defecting MLAs, four were from Kuruba community. Some members have alleged that delay in cabinet expansion has led to groupism within the State BJP with migrant MLAs (read defecting MLAs) coming together to exert pressure for maximum allocation of berths to those who made sacrifices to see the installation of the BJP Government.

Inclusion of Veerashaiva-Lingayath among the OBCs too has been a longstanding demand from the seers of the Community mutts in the State which wield considerable clout in decision-making within the State. Sixteen sub-castes of the community are currently considered the OBC. But seers and other community leaders are urging the community to include as a whole with the OBC category. A prominent mutt chief has even threatened protest if the community was not included in the 2A category for reservation in the State. In the State, Lingayaths are included in 3B category which applies to those living in rural areas thereby allowing 5% quota within the state.

Earlier this month, CMs decision to constitute Veerashaiva-Lingayath Board has been criticized by rival parties. Former CM H. D. Kumaraswamy wanted a similar board for the Vokkaliga community. Vishwanath too has demanded a development corporation for the Kuruba community.

There has been reshuffle among the CMs private staff with political and media secretary putting in their papers from the posts. His political secretary N. R. Santhosh was rushed to a hospital after a suspected bid to commit suicide. Santhosh is grandson of CMs sister. Earlier this month another of CMs media advisor Mahadeva Prakash resigned from his post. Prior to that, another political advisor M. B. Maramkal was removed from his post.

The fast-paced developments in the State BJP signal tightening of noose around Yediyurappa as a group of party legislators are camping in Delhi to seek High Commands assurance and approval for their induction thereby inviting Centres intervention in State party affairs.

M A Siraj is senior journalist based in Bengaluru. He writes for several publications in the country

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Yediyurappa facing intense heat in move to expand cabinet - The Siasat Daily

The Cabinet approved on Thursday the amended Action Plan for the gradual resumption of flights and the reopening of airports. The Plan, which will enter into force on March 1, 2021, includes the categorization of states as well as the replacement of the classification categories of states.

Speaking after the Cabinet, Minister of Transport, Communication and Works, Yiannis Karousos said that the plan provides that for the categorization of the countries, the Ministry of Health will be based on the weekly report of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). For the states that do not have an evaluation by the ECDC, this evaluation will be done by the Ministry of Health.

As he said, the categorization of States are modified as follows: Category A is replaced by Green Category, in which there will be no restrictions, a practice that still applies today. Category B is replaced by Category Orange, which will require a negative PCR laboratory test within 72 hours prior to departure, a practice that is still valid today. Category C is replaced by Category Red, which will require double PCR laboratory test within 72 hours before departure and another PCR laboratory test upon arrival in Cyprus. No self-restraint or quarantine measures apply in this category.

There will also be a Special Permission Category (Gray) in which passengers must submit a laboratory PCR test within 72 hours before departure. In this category quarantine will be applied in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health.

The Minister said that in the categories Green, Orange and Red the following countries will be included: Firstly, countries of the European Union, secondly, countries of the European Economic Area including the United Kingdom and Switzerland, thirdly, countries that fall on the recommendation list for third countries of the European Council, and fourthly, third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Belarus).

He clarified that the countries that are not included in the above categories, will be classified in the category Gray special permission. In this category, he explained, a specific procedure will be followed for granting a special permission to enter the Republic of Cyprus for citizens of third countries.

Karousos stated that the following passengers will have the choice to carry out a laboratory test upon their arrival in the Republic of Cyprus: Cypriot citizens and members of their families (including their foreign spouses and their children), legal residents of the Republic and persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention.

The Plan also provides that the Ministry of Health will continue the random checks on passengers arriving in Cyprus, based on the epidemiological criteria of the countries from where flights to the Republic of Cyprus will be operated.

Karousos pointed out that in the amended Action Plan there is provision for people who will be vaccinated. These passengers will be excluded from laboratory tests. He said that the amended Action Plan will enter into force on March 1, 2021.

The Minister said that until the Action Plan enters into force there will be a transitional phase with a starting date of January 15, 2021. In this phase all the following countries can be classified into one of the 4 categories, namely Green, Orange, Red or Gray.

The EU member states, the European Economic Area states, including the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the third countries on the list of the European Council, and the third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Belarus), are included in the phase.

At the same time, the Cabinet approved the extension for another 6 months of the temporary Incentive Plan to the airlines. This is a Plan that has received positive reviews from airlines and has been described at the EU level as a Best Practice Plan. According to this Plan, an amount per passenger will be paid, as an incentive to the airlines. The amount will depend on the fullness of the aircraft and varies from 41% -70%.

(CNA)

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Governments approves Amended Action Plan for gradual resumption of flights - in-cyprus

BEHIND THE VETO THREAT President Donald Trumps war against Big Tech turned into a game of chicken today: Congress is forging ahead with a must-pass defense policy bill while ignoring Trumps threat to veto it unless it repeals a 24-year old law that protects websites from lawsuits. The law Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 means that tech giants like Twitter and Facebook (and tech small fry, too) cant be sued for the user content on their platforms. Many credit it with giving rise to the internet we know and love to hate today.

Repealing it has become an obsession for Trump, one that has escalated in the twilight of his presidency, as Cristiano Lima details today. He mentions it frequently in his rallies without really explaining what it does. Yet President-elect Joe Biden also has said he supports repealing the law, telling The New York Times in January, Section 230 should be revoked, immediately. So theres at least the potential for bipartisan agreement for change when Congress is off deadline.

Nightly asked a group of experts and insiders whether they think Section 230 should be repealed or amended or whether it should be left alone. Heres what they said:

Section 230 is Big Techs sweetheart deal. No other companies get the kind of protections that internet giants enjoy. And over and over, weve seen them abuse those privileges by censoring and deplatforming anyone who contradicts whatever progressive agenda theyre trying to push on any given day. If Congress cant get its act together and revise Section 230 to allow Americans to fight back, the whole thing needs to go. Maybe a clean slate is exactly what we need at this point to ensure that real change happens. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)

It is long overdue to amend Section 230. The whole point of Section 230 was to enlist online service providers as Good Samaritans so that they would help reduce the amount of abusive online activity. Congress knew then, in 1996, that federal agencies needed help in curtailing and combating toxic and dangerous online activity and that online service providers were in the best position to help.

Yet Congress did not condition the legal shield for under-filtering on any behavior at all. This has led to sites enjoying the legal shield even though they encourage, solicit or make money from clear illegality. So revenge porn operators enjoy that immunity their business model is the destruction of peoples lives. They should not enjoy that immunity. Section 230(c)(1) should be amended to condition the immunity on reasonable content moderation practices in the face of clear illegality that causes serious harm. That would reset the statute to its original purpose rewarding online service providers that act as Good Samaritans. Danielle Keats Citron, a law professor at Boston University and a 2019 MacArthur fellow

Many recent proposals to change Section 230 would make it more difficult for platforms to curb misinformation and abuse, purportedly in the name of free speech. Of course, although Section 230 provides procedural protections, the First Amendment also allows private platforms to decide whether to carry user content. More generally, the interests of free expression are best served by competition policy that ensures there are multiple platforms including those with varying content policies, and by allowing platforms to take steps to ensure they are safe for all users. We support reforms that address platform business practices for example, to ensure that platforms are responsible for ads they carry, and oppose efforts to use Section 230 to avoid normal business regulation. Any reforms we may consider are part of ensuring that Section 230 continues to be a law that promotes speech online. John Bergmayer, legal director for Public Knowledge, a D.C.-based public interest group that promotes freedom of expression and open internet

We rely on Section 230-protected internet services literally multiple times an hour. Amending or repealing Section 230 likely solves none of the problems that would motivate such changes, while the changes would jeopardize the things we love the most about the internet while entrenching incumbents at the expense of new startups.

I wish our members of Congress would understand just how much Americans love the internet services that Section 230 enables; and it shows greatly disrespect towards their constituents when Congressmembers threaten to repeal or amend Section 230 as a bargaining chip, as a way of trying to punish Big Tech, or to send messages to their base. Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University who has co-edited a new book about a key Section 230 case

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Austins mayor is the latest example of a political leader not necessarily following his own pandemic guidelines. Reach out at [emailprotected], or on Twitter at @renurayasam.

A message from AARP:

More than 94,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19. With cases spiking across the country once again, desperate families demand that Congress take immediate action to save lives. aarp.org/nursinghomes

A man wearing full protective clothing and a gasmask walks through the decorated piazza of Covent Garden in London. | Getty Images

STILL MIGUK? In Korea, the U.S. is called miguk, which directly translates to beautiful country. It has always seemed like a fitting name, considering Koreas longstanding admiration of the U.S. But these days in Korea, TV broadcasters talk about the U.S. with grim faces, flashing to b-roll of lines of Americans wrapped around buildings waiting for Covid-19 testing or graphs depicting an exponential growth of pandemic deaths, writes Catherine Kim from Seoul.

Newspaper headlines question the strength of U.S. democracy above pictures of demonstrators protesting mythical claims of voter fraud. One recent column in the Hankyoreh, a major center-left daily newspaper, was titled, Covid-19 and the downfall of the U.S. Another headline, in sisajournal, a popular weekly current events magazine, read: The surprising election system that make you wonder Is the U.S. actually a democratic country? And its not just in the news. In boardrooms, in classrooms and in casual dinner table conversations, youll hear the same sense of bewilderment: How did the U.S. lose its way?

Its a shocking development for a country that has, for decades, largely viewed the United States almost like an older sibling a model of success and progress that Koreans were proud to emulate. Now many Koreans see the U.S. as a failing country, deeply divided and unable to meet basic challenges.

The shift began after Trumps 2016 win, when many Koreans were shocked to see him claim the presidency after a string of scandals. But the clincher has been Americas bungled response to Covid-19, followed by Trumps and the GOPs recent efforts to contest the legitimate results of the 2020 U.S. election. For Koreans, the last year has exposed the deep problems within the American system, from hyper-partisanship and deep distrust in government to a poor healthcare system issues that have long been familiar to Americans, but not to Koreans, many of whom have maintained the idea of American exceptionalism far longer and livelier than many Americans.

YES, 2024S STARTING Even in defeat, Trumps hold on the Republican party remains strong. The president has teased running again in 2024 and while Trump was slow to win party support four years ago, plenty of Republican lawmakers are ready to support his next bid, write Burgess Everett and Melanie Zanona. In a series of interviews today, House and Senate Republicans made clear that the party has no intention of turning its back on Trumpism or Trump himself. Thats in part because Trump remains an exceedingly popular figure in his party, far more than most congressional Republicans.

The political calculus is also clear. While he will soon lose the Oval Office, hell still have his Twitter handle and is expected to still be in firm control of his base. Trump could play a central role in Senate and House primaries in 2022 and create trouble for incumbents who break with him. Future Republican presidential candidates will presumably be eager to court his supporters if he ultimately passes on another campaign.

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel is inviting roughly a dozen potential 2024 candidates to the committees January meeting in Amelia Island, Fla. the most explicit move shes made yet to show that the committee will be impartial going forward.

TEARS ON THE FLOOR Prior to Sen. Lamar Alexanders farewell address in the upper chamber, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a tearful goodbye to the Tennessee Republican. I myself have leaned on Lamars wisdom for many years, but I think I leaned just as much on his optimism, his can-do spirit, his ability to look on the bright side and then discern how some more hard work could make it brighter still, McConnell said.

HART ATTACK A Democratic candidate who fell six votes short of holding an open battleground congressional district in Iowa is planning to challenge those results directly with the House, placing the chamber in the highly unusual position of potentially determining the outcome of the race, Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick write.

After what appears to be the tightest congressional election in decades, Rita Hart, a state senator, has decided to forgo a legal battle in her home state and will instead contest the election directly with the House Administration Committee. Iowa election officials certified Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks as the winner on Monday after a recount diminished her initial victory margin from 47 votes to only 6 votes.

LITTLE STATE IN THE GREAT MENTIONING Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo is now a top contender to be Bidens HHS secretary pick, according to two people close to the transition, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Adam Cancryn and Tyler Pager write. Raimondos rise comes as New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is no longer favored for the role, according to one of those sources and another familiar with the discussions.

FROM TRANSITION PLAYBOOK A former colleague of Heather Boushey, a top economic adviser to Biden, is publicly airing prior accusations that Boushey mismanaged the think tank she runs and verbally abused her and other subordinates, saying she wants to prevent future White House employees from enduring a similar experience, write Alex Thompson and Theodoric Meyer.

Former subordinates and employees have alleged that Boushey was phenomenally incompetent as a manager and had frequent episodes of yelling and swearing. The complaints were serious enough that the think tank where she worked hired a management coach to work with her to improve her management style around 2015.

But Dinetta Parrott, who reported directly to Boushey as Washington Center for Equitable Growths director of development from 2017 to 2020 before leaving for the Brookings Institution, said the criticisms of Boushey dont match her experience. I just dont think its an accurate depiction, she told POLITICO.

BIDENS CARPENTRY You cant please everyone, especially when youre putting together a team to run the federal government. In the latest POLITICO Dispatch, Megan Cassella looks at why Bidens promise to build a Cabinet that looks like America hasnt turned out the way advocates had hoped and what sort of turbulence his nominees could face in the Senate.

Welcome to Bidenology, Nightlys look at the president-elect and what to expect in his administration. Tonight, Andy Blatchford writes from Ottawa about Bidens relationship with Canada:

The arrival of a Biden presidency is expected to warm up the chill between Ottawa and Washington under the Trump administration.

Trump drove a turbulent NAFTA renegotiation, an undertaking marked by U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and counter-measures from the Trudeau government on American goods. There were even choice words at the executive level. (Trudeaus hot mic moment at a NATO conference led Trump to call him two-faced.)

While the Biden White House is destined to be more neighborly, some Canadians worry the president-elects agenda could hurt cross-border business. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Biden are aligned on a lot of things, like climate policies. But there are trouble spots such as Bidens pledge to kill the Keystone XL project and his Buy American vows.

Biden and Trudeau have shared very few public moments together. But back in December 2016, a few weeks after Trumps election win, Trudeau hosted then-Vice President Biden for a state dinner on a snowy night in Ottawa. The guest list included former Canadian prime ministers. Biden gave a speech that touched on his own ties to Canada and his personal connection in the 1970s with Trudeaus father, who was prime minister at the time.

The day after the dinner, Biden stuck around to attend a round table with Indigenous leaders and provincial premiers where they talked at length about climate change and clean energy the two places where Canada and the U.S. are expected to start rekindling their relationship. At the round table, Biden called climate change the most consequential issue of our generation and argued the countries could grow their economies while bringing down emissions. He also made the case that Canada and the U.S. could determine their own energy futures and help shape energy trends around the world.

Nightly asks you: Every December, the news media reflects on the lives we lost this year, and 2020 has been especially deadly. Tell us who youll miss the most a family member, a civic leader, a celebrity and how youll remember them. Send us your answers in our form, and well publish select responses next week.

PADILLA RISING? Sen. Dianne Feinstein publicly threw her weight behind California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Sen. Kamala Harris soon-to-be-vacant seat, signaling that Padilla remains a favorite of the Democratic establishment, Andrew Desiderio and Jeremy B. White write. Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a replacement for Harris when she resigns to take on her vice presidential duties.

I have given him my support. I did that quite a while ago. He worked for me at one point, so I know him, Feinstein said in an interview. And my sense is that hes going to represent California very well.

BRITAIN GOES FIRST For once, the U.K. really was world-beating. Boris Johnson will be delighted that British regulators were first over the line in approving a Covid-19 vaccine, delivering global headlines and a welcome bit of good news after a bruising parliamentary rebellion against domestic coronavirus restrictions, Charlie Cooper and Emilio Casalicchio write.

Nearly 1 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be delivered to the U.K. for use from next week. By the end of the year, several hundred thousands more will have been sent to Britain, which has ordered 40 million doses of this vaccine, plus more than 300 million doses of other candidates that have not yet received regulatory approval, including 100 million of the Oxford-produced AstraZeneca vaccine.

For a country whose record on Covid-19 has been among the worst in the Western world, being at the forefront of the global rollout of vaccines has a welcome feel of redemption for Johnsons government. The prime minister himself was uncharacteristically muted in his celebrations, calling the regulatory approval unquestionably good news but by no means the end of the story and cautioning citizens, during his weekly question session in the House of Commons, not get their hopes up too soon over how quickly the two-dose vaccine could be rolled out.

A SETBACK FOR BABES FREQUENT FLYER MILES Your pet peacock may soon not be allowed to fly the friendly skies with you anymore, now that the Transportation Department is tightening rules on emotional support animals after a series of high-profile incidents on board airplanes, Stephanie Beasley and Evan Semones write.

Today, DOT said it will no longer consider animal companions used by travelers on commercial flights for emotional support as service animals, opening the door for airlines to ban them outright. Passengers who wish to bring their emotional support animals with them when they travel will likely now have to check them as baggage or leave them at home entirely.

The new rule, which updates the definition of a service animal to a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, was issued following a litany of complaints from airlines and flight attendants alike about people bringing unusual animals including pigs, gerbils, turtles and birds, among others on board that they said were for emotional support.

A message from AARP:

SENIORS DEMAND ACTION

It is an outrage that more than 94,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19, representing 40% of all COVID-19 deaths nationwide, even though nursing home residents make up less than one percent of the U.S. population. Cases are spiking across the country once again and Congress must act now to help save lives in these facilities.

Congress must ensure residents and staff have regular and prioritized testing and personal protective equipment (PPE), that facilities are adequately staffed and that residents have access to virtual visits with their loved ones. Additionally, Congress must make sure taxpayer dollars going to nursing homes are spent only on items directly related to resident care, COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

Tell Congress to act now to protect the residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. aarp.org/nursinghomes

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Something Trump and Biden agree on - POLITICO - Politico

At the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate meeting on October 11, students met to discuss plans for an SGA restructure. A restructure has been discussed for several years, but recent events such as the pandemic and cabinet member resignations have made it apparent to a group of senators that now would be the best time to initiate a restructure.

The SGA was first founded in the late 1990s as a replacement for the previous governing body, the Student Council. Discussions about restructuring the SGA have been ongoing for years, but never met with significant progress. Instead, various minor changes have been made to the general structure of the SGA, such as including the VPAA as a part of the cabinet, and a change to the constitution.

Concerns about the current system stem from a variety of issues. Initially, concerns were focused primarily on the method of student representation. As is, the SGA has representatives elected by class year; an alternative system has been proposed which includes representation based on major or department in order to better represent all students. More recently, senators have raised concerns about the lack of representation on the basis of identity, experience, and other areas.

In addition to this, the current system places advocacy for 3,700+ students on the backs of only 6 students, the cabinet members. While the SGA was not intended to have cabinet members as its only point of contact between administrators and students, it serves as an easy one size fits all solution for admins that need to work with a student in relation to student organizations.

According to E.J. Hannah, who recently acceded to the position of SGA president, By presenting six students as the main points of contact for both student and admin concerns, there is so much room for error With that, it becomes much harder for senators to work with the Cabinet, and for either parties to work with administration, despite everyone having the same goal of providing the best experience at Stevens possible.

In the wake of the recent resignations, it has become increasingly clear to some senators that there is an element of risk associated with putting so much responsibility and power on such a small set of students.

Previous concerns also included rebranding the SGA in order to make it more accessible to more students. These stemmed from a desire to increase student involvement in the SGA and ensure that it was representing the student body as best as possible. However, previous attempts to restructure the SGA were met with logistical difficulties. In order to pass a constitutional change, of the undergraduate student body has to vote on the change, and of those voting have to approve of the change. Regardless of each students opinion on the validity of the changes, this constitutes polling around 1200 students, with at least 800 votes in favor of the change. It is difficult to get feedback from so many students during a normal semester; this has been compounded by the pandemic as outreach and involvement is even more difficult.

After having a series of meetings, senators decided on a short list of qualities that a restructured SGA should have. These include:

As of October 22, the restructure is still in the planning phase. Several different structures have been proposed so far, including a Three Pillars model, which involves having multiple committees, each with their own President elected by the student body, and a parliamentary-style system where power is more widely distributed among the senate. The oldest of these is a proposal by former Senator Mark Krupinski20 from the spring of 2019, which involves having one president and multiple vice presidents in control of various committees.

Moving forward, senators involved in the process will be working on the restructure outside of meetings. While progress is being made, there are still certain challenges that need to be overcome before a restructuring can be finalized. In order to be successful, a restructuring needs to be official, which requires a large amount of student involvement to occur. In addition, the restructure needs to have the support of the administration in order to be effective in the upcoming semesters. Early signs seem to indicate that the administration will be supportive, but it is still too early to tell whether it will find widespread support or not. The new system will also need to consolidate its paradoxical role as both student advocator and rule-enforcer.

At the meetings, senators also decided that in order to ensure that the rest of the community stays involved in the process, the results of the restructure meetings will be provided during the discussion section of the standard SGA meetings. These sections will also be longer, in order to allow for a more detailed discussion on the topic. Plans to survey the student body for feedback were discussed, but it is unclear when a survey would be created or distributed.

Read more from the original source:
Student Government Association begins planning restructure - The Stute

Southern Cross Health Insurance paid out nearly $1 billion in claims in the year to June and New Zealanders hips and knees were responsible for the biggest part of the bill.

Health insurance coverage has been increasing in recent years, from 1.35 million lives covered in December 2016 to 1.41 million in December 2019.

Southern Cross said it funded more than 1800 knee replacement surgeries in its most recent financial year, at a cost of $47.9 million and more than 1900 hip replacement surgeries, worth a combined $45m.

Hip replacements were the most expensive category of claim for both genders but colonoscopies ranked second for men and knee replacements second for women.

READ MORE:* Health insurer Southern Cross charts course for clearing surgery backlog* NZ's most expensive health insurance claims: Knee, hip replacements top the list* Sunburn and fishing hooks in the mouth are summer dangers for dogs

Women also claimed $21.8m for hysterectomies and $14.1m for endometriosis treatment while men claimed $12.5m for spinal fusion surgery and $18.8m for skin lesion excisions.

Children claimed a combined $5.2m for surgical removal of teeth and $4.8m for tonsillectomies.

Southern Cross Health Insurance chief medical officer Stephen Child said it showed insurance playing a role in helping New Zealanders access the treatment they required.

HUSH NAIDOO/UNSPLASH

Health insurance coverage has been increasing in recent years.

While the public health system does a fantastic job looking after acute urgent medical issues, health insurance gives Kiwis access to elective surgical procedures and specialist consultations when they need it and choice about where they receive it, he said.

Health insurance allows people swift access to quality treatment when its most needed, he said. Southern Cross Health Insurance funds close to half a million specialist consultations and a quarter of a million surgical procedures in the past year which helps to reduce the burden on the public health system.

Southern Cross Health Insurance has more than 879,000 members.

More:
Hip replacements add to health insurer's bill - Stuff.co.nz

ABB says its new Integritas* industrial battery charger offers single-charger redundancy in a modular, compact, wall-mounted footprint and achieves up to 95.7% efficiency at 50-100% output current.

The wall-mounted system features switch-mode rectifier technology that provides transformer-less, efficient power conversion in a compact footprint, providing true N+1 or N+N redundancy in a single battery charger.

"Ensuring reliable, efficient AC-to-DC power and battery backup is essential in applications such as utility power, oil and gas, and process control to name a few where downtime can be critical," said Mark Lloyd, senior product manager with ABB. "Having reliable, efficient backup power in a single charger with high power density helps ensure these critical applications remain up-and-running while also reducing the footprint of the power equipment needed freeing up valuable floor space."

ABB's versatile industrial battery charger puts out up to 18 kW at 125V DC from a direct, three-phase, 480-volt AC input feed.

New Nebula Controller Improves Charger Management

The industrial battery charger is the first ABB solution to use the company's new Nebula controller, which takes system monitoring, maintenance, and security to a new level.

The Nebula controller makes accessing and reviewing critical information simple, both locally and remotely. The 7 color touchscreen on the front of the charger can display information about active performance, alarms, status updates on input and output, and more.

In addition, the Nebula controller uses Distributed Network Protocol 3 communications. That allows the battery status to be networked with plant-wide distributed control systems or supervisory control and data acquisition systems.

Key Features

Enhanced Capability and Redundancy

The Integritas industrial battery charger features another new product specifically designed for industrial applications the IP040H3R125ATEZ switch-mode rectifier. The new industrial rectifier can convert 480 VAC directly to 125 VDC without a step-down transformer.

In addition, when installed in a 19 cabinet frame, the IP040 industrial rectifiers can provide 150A output current in a 14x 17x 28 space.

Switch-mode rectifier technology helps the industrial battery charger unleash even more performance and design benefits. The rectifiers operate at a higher switching frequency (90-270 kHz) than conventional silicon-controlled rectifiers, which typically operate in the 45-65 Hz range. This technology also helps to reduce the size and weight of the power conversion components, compared to comparable silicon-controlled rectifier-based battery chargers.

AC-DC conversion is also more efficient with switch-mode rectifiers, creating a lower thermal impact, higher power efficiency of up to 95.7%, and improving the life cycle of the unit.

"Employing a modular, expandable rectifier design into a single charger allows for power to be scaled as needed," Lloyd continued. "Using multiple power modules, the charger can be configured for N+1 redundancy to maintain full power output if one power unit fails. The battery charger also can be configured for full N+N redundancy by using multiple mirrored power supplies enabling even greater reliability."

The modular design of the Integritas industrial battery charger allows for critical components to be "hot swapped" for easier repair or replacement, keeping the charging load up during maintenance or replacements and reducing overall maintenance costs.

Read more here:
New Industrial Battery Charger from ABB Improves Reliability - Lift and Access

Graphic by Julia Sanbe.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a giant in the American judicial system. An intellectual and legal powerhouse, she was a great American who should be remembered for her powerful decisions and opinions and fierce advocacy for gender equality and marginalized communities. Her close friendship and extraordinary relationship with her colleague, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, is something I hope many of us are able to draw inspiration from. In this time of hyper-partisanship, when polarized candidates and our political discourse can make us feel so divided, it is so important for us to be able to separate our fervent opinions from our personal relationships. You can be friends with people you disagree with; you should not cancel friends who arent voting the way you are. Sadly, however, it is clear to me that many people in our nation and on our campus cannot grasp the concept that you can respectfully disagree without attacking others character or hurling petty personal attacks.

This idea that Ginsburgs dying wish that President Donald Trump not be permitted to fill her vacant seat on the Supreme Court is somehow binding to the judiciary or to this process is nonsense. We should have respect for Ginsburg and remember her in high esteem as a distinguished jurist, but unelected members of our judiciary are not entitled to dictate how, when or by whom they should be replaced. The Constitution makes no such provision. While it is frowned upon for members of our federal judiciary to time their retirements for political purposes to keep their seat within the same party, it is ostensible that Ginsburg could have retired before the Republicans reclaimed their Senate majority in January 2015. This could have allowed former President Barack Obama to replace her with a younger, similarly progressive activist on the judiciary, but alas, it wasnt so.

Last month, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to fill the vacancy created by the unexpected death of Ginsburg. Barrett grew up in New Orleans, the eldest child of seven, and graduated magna cum laude from Rhodes College with a bachelor of arts in English literature in 1994. She graduated first in her class from Notre Dame Law School in 1997, earning the honor of summa cum laude. She clerked for Scalia and forged a distinguished career in academia at Notre Dame Law prior to her appointment to the federal judiciary in 2017 by Trump. Once confirmed, she will be the fifth woman to ever serve on the high court and the first mother of school-aged children to serve on the Supreme Court.

Barrett is a strong woman who is following that trail pioneered by Ginsburg. She is cognizant of this reality; it is unfortunate that liberals refuse to acknowledge the milestone that Barrett represents. She is a strong woman who has defied the antiquated perceptions of gender roles from the last century just as Ginsburg did; she has forged a family of seven children, two of which she and her husband Jesse adopted from Haiti. Barrett has also pursued an impressive career in academia and now serves as a federal judge. Hearing liberals attack Barretts family by arguing she is a white colonizer, while also rejecting her as a leader or role model for women because she is not sufficiently supportive of the pro-abortion agenda shows how desperate and lowly some have become in our political landscape to decry their political enemies.

Not only have we seen inappropriate and frankly, unbecoming criticism of Barretts family, but we have seen trashy criticisms of her Catholic faith. Clearly, Senate Democrats neglected to realize that the protections for religious freedom under the First Amendment to the Constitution include Catholics. This isnt the first time anti-Catholic phobias have reared their rabid heads into our political discourse in the last century; notably, former President John F. Kennedy combatted similar attacks and accusations that he would be less capable or less qualified because of his faith. If you wish to disagree with someone, disagree on substance, but dont attack their faith. If you are upset that shes pro-life, dont veil your anger that she isnt vociferously pro-abortion behind sad attacks on her religious identity. Weaponizing bigotry to exact a political goal is never appropriate nor admirable. While it would be a sad day if Democrats began a systemic push to alienate Catholics, the GOP would be happy to welcome the faithful with open arms. Clearly, this is no longer Kennedys Democratic party.

Im a Catholic and a Republican (in that order), and I am overjoyed that a brilliant woman like Barrett will be joining the Supreme Court of the United States. Her textualist and originalist approach to interpreting the law understanding the Constitution and other documents as they are written and were understood when adopted is important to preserving stability in our judiciary and critical protection for the rule of law. It shouldnt be a controversial opinion to believe that the law should be interpreted as written and not as what unelected judges want it to mean, based on what is fashionable or well-liked in the time. The onus for amending the Constitution and passing legislation rests outside of the judiciary; sadly, some seem to have missed this lesson from civics class and Schoolhouse Rock. I look forward to Barrett delivering the crucial vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, standing up for the dignity of human life and the rights of all women, born and pre-born. I survived Roe v. Wade, and I am so glad that it wont survive me.

Through her confirmation hearings, Barrett has repeated that she believes the landmark 2015 marriage equality ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, clearly states, There is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. She has consistently reaffirmed that she has never discriminated and would not ever discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community; attempts to suggest otherwise are flailing efforts from politicians lacking a shred of dignity in this process. To the fear-mongering alarmists suggesting that Barrett will attack LGBTQ+ rights, I challenge you to look to Trumps judicial record: Neil Gorsuch, his first Supreme Court nominee an ardent originalist wrote the majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton, where the court held that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

As an aside, this is also the only president to embrace the LGBTQ+ community by acknowledging support for marriage equality from the outset of his presidency, the only president to appoint an openly-LGBTQ+ member to his cabinet, and the only president to present openly-LGBTQ+ nominees for the federal judiciary, but I digress.

This supposition that Barrett is a vigilante on some mission to defraud Americans of their civil rights and liberties, deny folks their healthcare during a global pandemic or impose her dogmatic Catholic ideology on women is a desperate fear-mongering tactic from Senate Democrats uncomfortable with the outcomes of American elections. It is a sad mockery of the judicial confirmation process and an attempt to politicize a nonpartisan branch of government that ensures enduring stability for our society.

As Obama notoriously remarked in 2010, Elections have consequences, you lost, get over it. In 2014, voters elected Republicans to the House and the Senate, putting a check on the final years of Obamas lame duck presidency as they transferred control of the Senate from the Democrats to the Republicans. In 2016, there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court; the President nominated a replacement, Merrick Garland, as was his right; the Senate chose whether and how to act on that nomination, as was theirs. In 2020, a similar process: There was a vacancy on the Supreme Court; the president nominated a replacement, Barrett, as was his right; the Senate chose whether and how to act on that nomination, as is theirs. The difference now in 2020 from 2016 is whether the Senate and president were in ideological agreement with one another; history is clearly on the side of Senate Republicans in filling this vacancy.

Its time to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court.

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The argument for Amy Coney Barrett The Miami Hurricane - The Miami Hurricane