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TAYLORSVILLE, Utah The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially signaled the start of construction for its upcoming temple in Taylorsville during a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday morning.

The temple will be built on a 7.5-acre site at 2603 W 4700 S. The plans for the temple call for a three-story, 70,000-square foot structure with a center spire.

Local COVID-19 restrictions prohibited a large-scale gathering, but church leaders hosted "local leaders representing the communities in the temple district along Utahs Jordan River corridor, including Kearns, West Valley City, Taylorsville, Bennion, Murray and Cottonwood," a news release from the Latter-day Saint church said.

Latter-day Saint Church president Russell M. Nelson first announced the temple in October 2019. Utah currently has 17 operating temples and several others either announced or under construction.

"In addition to Taylorsville, temples have been announced in Lindon, Syracuse, Tooele Valley and Washington County (Red Cliffs). Temples in Layton, Orem and Saratoga Springs are currently under construction," the news release said.

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OTTAWA Lines of vehicles snaked around the Ottawa Fire Station on North Agner Street, as the public turned out Sunday in droves to help SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Parish with its annual fall festival.

Due to COVID and also with our construction, we have very little space in there with the classrooms, were spreading everyone out, said co-organizer Pat Maag We just couldnt do our big meals, and with us bringing in so many people inside and with the COVID, we decided to go this route this year.

The festival turned into a carry-out dinner only event, featuring chicken and pork chop dinners.

Organizers prepared 2,000 meals for the event; 1,500 of those were chicken and 500 were pork chop dinners. It was a change from its traditional meal of roasted beef, dressing, mashed potatoes and homemade noodles, served family-style.

This is what brings us together. We have people that come from all over. We have people who come from Toledo, Maag said. They like how we make the dressing from scratch. We have the noodles, just the whole homestyle meal, Maag said.

Instead, Sundays meal included chicken or pork chops, au gratin potatoes, green beans, a roll and cookies donated by parishioners.

Even without COVID-19 looming, it might have been difficult to hold the annual fall festival at the school because of the construction.

Theyre adding eight new classrooms and a gymnasium. As far as we know, theyre right on target, and we hope to be in (the new building) at the beginning of the school year for next year, said Jan Karhoff, co-organizer of the fall parish festival.

The Ottawa Fire Station #100 was ideally suited to handle the traffic generated by the event.

Without the fire department this year, we would not have been able to pull this meal off. They opened their facility to us, which was awesome and theyre all helping, said Karhoff.

Usually, the event brings in $28,000. This year theyre hoping for close to $25,000.

The money raised from the carry-out meals will go to the general fund of the parish to help both the school and church.

This is a fundraiser weve always done, and we typically didnt want to give it up, Karhoff said. It would be a huge hit if we didnt have it. So with our new pastor Father Scott (Kramer), we sat down, had a meeting with him and said if we did nothing, we made nothing. If we did something, we would bring in something. So we decided to run with it.

Construction at SS. Peter & Paul School and the coronavirus pandemic helped push the annual fall parish festival into a pork chop and chicken carryout at the Ottawa Fire Department.

Hundreds of people came out to the Ottawa Fire Station to support SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Parish on Sunday. Instead of the usual fall parish festival with a sit-down dinner, organizers held a chicken and pork chop carry-out to help raise money for the church.

Reach Sam Shriver at 567-242-0409.

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Catholic carry-out brings out the masses - LimaOhio.com

COVINGTON, Ga. Preliminary plans for more than 300 new apartments and 153 new lots in two single-family subdivisions have gained Newton County Planning Commission approval.

Planning commission members also voted on Oct. 27 to recommend the county board of commissioners approve a new daycare center inside a church near the site of the new Eastside High School on Ga. Hwy. 142.

The new apartments will be in a new complex named Cobblestone on a site adjacent to the new Ginn Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram dealership on Access Road west of Covington.

The planning commission on Oct. 27 approved a concept plan for the complex with 318 units in 11 buildings on a 35-acre site at 3655 Fairview Road.

The site is undeveloped despite being zoned to allow multi-family development for almost 40 years, according to planning officials. Other neighboring developments include Silver Ridge Farms subdivision, a single-family residential development, on the south side; other single-family residential uses on the west side; and undeveloped land on the east side.

It will have frontage on a proposed new road called Cobblestone Lane and access to Fairview Road and Access Road, according to a staff report.

One-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are planned, along with a clubhouse, fitness center, car wash area and dog park, said Chris Harrell of Summit Engineering Consultants.

Apartment sizes will range from 650 square feet for a one-bedroom unit, to 1,000 square feet for a three-bedroom unit, Monthly rents will range from $1,100 to $1,500 and will not be government subsidized, he said.

"These will be renters by choice," Harrell said.

Zoning requirements include 50-foot buffer areas between the complex and adjacent properties.

In other action at the Oct. 27 meeting, the planning commission voted to recommend the Newton County Board of Commissioners approve a conditional use permit for a daycare center inside Covington Christian Church at 141 Highway 142.

The nonprofit Living Grace will operate the facility from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, said applicant Lisa Madaris of Jackson, Georgia.

She said the facility will accommodate between 30 and 50 children up to age 13.

The planning commission can approve daycare centers with six or fewer children but only makes a recommendation on a conditional use permit if more children are planned. The county commission gives final approval and will consider it at its December meeting, staff members said.

Also at the Oct. 27 meeting, county planning commissioners voted to approve a preliminary plat for a fifth phase of Riverwalk Farms subdivision on Dearing Road near Covington's southeast city limits.

The plan includes 134 lots on 51 acres and has been revised from an earlier configuration to create a third entrance to the development, said Richard Cooper of Atlanta-based The Pacific Group.

Cooper said Riverwalk has been developed in phases since 2002 and includes 450 homes. The 51 acres in the fifth phase is the last undeveloped part, he said.

Homes are planned to be around 1,550 square feet each, he said.

County planning commissioners also approved a preliminary plat for Rocky Chase subdivision off Rocky Plains Road near the Yellow River in southern Newton County.

Rocky Chase's plan calls for 19 lots on a 21-acre site already partially developed as part of a subdivision in 2005 before its construction was abandoned by an earlier developer, the planning staff told commissioners.

John Wayne Maddox, representing the new developer, said homes would be a maximum of 1,550 square feet.

"I don't think people will buy bigger houses there," Maddox said.

He said the surrounding area includes two scrap yards and a trailer park.

Development Services Director Judy Johnson said the planning commission is not scheduled to meet again until January when it likely will see plans for a new truck plaza at I-20 and Ga. Hwy. 11 near Social Circle.

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Ron Westercamp arrived at his polling place on Tuesday about 45 minutes before the polls opened. A blue camping chair in hand, he staked out a spot on the sidewalk, chatting with other voters as he sat down, prepared to wait as long as it would take to cast his vote in person.

Quickly, the line behind him grewto about 300 people, stretching through the parking lot and onto a residential street behind Ankeny First United Methodist Church.

Despite the surging COVID-19 pandemic, the story was the same throughout Polk County and across Iowa on Election Day, as voters lined up early to cast their ballots in an election that already had set statewide early voting records.In Council Bluffs, a 2-hour wait was reported at one polling station.

Within 2hoursTuesday,32,344 voters had cast ballots in person in Polk County, according to auditor Jamie Fitzgerald.

By 3:30 p.m. the number had reached 80,000.

A final statewide count was not due until late Tuesday, but Secretary of State Paul Pate said he expected a record turnout.

Precinct worker Terri Gideon of Indianola lays out I Voted stickers at the Annett Nature Center in Indianola on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

One Des Moines precinct captain said voting officials hadtold herit wouldn't be a busy day since so many people already had voted early. Instead, Sherry Folwell said, Tuesday broughtlong lines, a lot of newly registeredvotersand a vote-counting machine that broke down twice before noon because itsballot feeder was off-kilter.

"This is 2020 nothing is normal," she said.

Westercamp, 67, said he expected there to be a line, which is why he showed up early he needed to get voting out of the way before reporting to his jobas an appliance repairman. The Trump supportersaid there was no question he would cast his ballot in person this year, as he has every year.

"That's the way I've always done it," he said. "And I feel like it's more secure."

Other Iowans who voted in person voiced similar sentiments, saying they wanted to be there in person to see their votes fed into the automated counting machinesamid national concerns that mail-in ballots would not arrive in time to be counted if at all. President Donald Trump himself had discouraged mail-in voting, citing unverified reports of voter fraud, while former Vice President Joe Biden has encouraged Americans to vote however they feel comfortable.

Witnessing their vote being counted was of such importance to Traci Richison and Dawn Garrett that, when thevote counterat First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines went down,they decided to wait an hour and 10 minutes for it to be fixed so they could personallyfeed their ballots into the machine.

Voters line up to cast ballots at the Jester Park Outdoor Recreation & Wellness Center in Granger, Iowa, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.(Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)

Poll workers directed voters to place their ballots ina box, and said the votes would be recorded once the machine was workingagain.ButRichisonandGarrett wanted to do it themselves.

"I just feel like I want to make sure that it's in there. You know, you're skeptical,"Richison said."And I'd just much rather wait for it to get fixed so I know that it's fed and counted."

"I completely agree," Garrett added. "I mean, this is an important election and I don't want to leave it up to chance."

Danielle Baumler, 23, waited about 45 minutes in an estimated 100-person line at Lutheran Church of Hope in Ankeny before checking in to vote. She arrived right as the polls opened at 7 a.m.

"I came in expecting to wait an hour or 2hours, so it'sgoing faster than I thought it was going to," she said.

Baumler, who is in the middle of wedding planning, said she was too busy to cast a vote early.She said that with her wedding scheduled later this month, she's been paying attention to the rising COVID-19 cases in Iowa, but felt confident voting in person was safe, givenU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

Mask wearing in the line, which stretched throughout the parking lot, was sporadic. Masks were not required in Iowa polling places on Election Day, and Baumler herself was not wearing one.

Precinct captain Emilee Stripe wipes down a table at the West Des Moines law enforcement center on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

Poll workers were supposed to sanitize voting stations between each use,and hand sanitizer was provided near ballot counting machines and the "I Voted"stickers.

That proved to be a problem in some precincts, where the sanitizer gunkedup machines. In some instances, machines were rejecting ballots that had too much hand sanitizer on them a problemthe CDC warned about in its votingguidance.

Most voters the Des Moines Register surveyed said they felt safe in the lines, where voters generally maintained safe social distance.

But James Welty said once he was inside his precinct at the Fort Des Moines United Methodist Church on Des Moines' south side, all spacing went out the window. He said about 25 people waiting for a voting booth to open were "jammed into a very tight space."

He described the situation as "super spreader to the max."

But for some, the pandemic was the No. 1 reason to show up and vote. Chloe Gamble, a 29-year-old Des Moines resident who voted for Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, said she lost two jobs on the same day, March 17, when Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered businesses across the state to shut down in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.She had worked in the hospitality industry and at a podiatry clinic, but now is struggling to make ends meet.

Chloe Gamble after voting Tuesday afternoon at Polk County River Place.(Photo: Rood, Lee)

"For me, it's primarily about the handling of the coronavirus. The lack of a second stimulus bill has really impacted my life and the lives of many of my friends," she said.

"People out there just need help."

Radenko Stanisk, a retired construction worker who came to Iowa from Bosnia 23 years ago,said he decided to vote for Trump this year after supporting Democrats in the past.

Although people complain about the pandemic, Stanisk said, the country and the economy had been on a better track with Trump.

"I voted for (President Barack) Obama, and he didn't help the middle class," he said. "In fact,I paid a penalty because I had no health insurance when I was a construction worker."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259. Follow her on Twitter @KimNorvellDMR.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her atlrood@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at@leeroodor on Facebook atFacebook.com/readerswatchdog.

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This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own.

It can often be difficult to know when is the right time to update your home in New Jersey. Deciding if and when to renovate comes down to two points: making improvements for comfort and upgrading to get ready for a sale.

Whether you're getting ready to sell or plan on living in your home for another ten years, it pays to do smart renovations and upgrades. But where do you start? Focus on these areas when you're planning to remodel:

Here are the top 5 projects that can boost the value of your home:

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1. Exterior Updates

Upgrades to the exterior can improve your home's curbside appeal to potential buyers. You can enhance the outside of your home with these projects:

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To increase home resale value call a HomeAdvisor remodel contractor in New Jersey.

2. Increase Interior Space to Add Value

Expanding usable living space is a good way to boost the value of your home. You can add space by finishing the basement to use as a family or fitness room, playroom for the kids, or as an office.

3. Refinish Wood Flooring

Today's flooring trend is all about wood. But if you don't take care of your wood floors they can make your home look out of date and uncared for. Refinishing your wood flooring is an easy way to brighten up your home and add value. For this project, consider hiring an experienced professional to do the job right. You can expect to pay around $1,800 to hire a flooring contractor.

4. Give Kitchen Cabinets a Makeover

If a full remodel isn't in your budget, you can still give your kitchen a makeover by refacing the cabinets. Using the existing cabinets and frame, doors and drawers can be updated without being replaced. For an average cost of about $7,400 your kitchen can go from boring to an exciting new look that appeals to buyers.

5. Add a Fireplace

A smart remodel is to add a fireplace to your home. When you put your home on the market, prospective buyers will love the charm and warmth that a fireplace adds to any room. Depending on the size and style of fireplace you want, expect to pay around $2,100 for this home addition.

It's easy to boost the resale value of your home with smart projects. For help call a HomeAdvisor remodeling contractor in New Jersey.

This Patch article is sponsored by HomeAdvisor.

This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own.

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Vermonters have spoken and Im so humbled to earn your support once again.

Your faith and trust in me is the greatest honor of my life and I will continue to work every single day to make the lives of Vermonters better, our economy stronger and our state more affordable for families and businesses.

As you know, were facing some of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. This global pandemic has impacted all of us in so many ways. Our way of life has been disrupted, theres a lot of uncertainty and far too many lives and livelihoods have been lost.

Im proud of how Vermonters have stepped up and met the moment. Its because of you your hard work, your compassion for others and your commitment to community that Vermont has led the nation.

But, as Ive said many times, we cannot let our guard down. And as we enter the winter months, we must remain vigilant. If we do, Im confident well continue to lead the nation and more importantly, keep our loved ones safe, our kids in school and emerge from this pandemic faster and stronger than any other state.

As well as thanking you, I want to thank my entire team, who have been instrumental in leading the states response from my staff and cabinet, to our health experts and the dedicated public servants throughout state government. Theyve worked incredibly hard on the front lines of this fight for more than eight months. Each one of them has my deepest respect and appreciation, and Im fortunate to have them by my side as we begin another term.

I ran for governor because I believe Vermont can build a stronger and more diverse economy, be more affordable for families and businesses, and create more opportunities for our kids. And I believe the best way to have the resources to take care of those in need, protect our environment and address climate change is to grow the economy in all 251 communities and all 14 counties in Vermont not just in a few.

On my very first day in office, almost four years ago, I signed an executive order outlining my strategic goals to grow the economy, make Vermont more affordable, and protect the most vulnerable. And while weve made progress, I know there is still so much more to do.

I want to assure you, even as we face and fight this virus, these priorities will be just as important during my next term as they were in my first, and they will continue to guide my team as we rebuild and recover from the pandemic.

But perhaps even more importantly, we must heal our country because we simply cannot go on like this.

Our nation is hurting, not just from COVID-19, but because of another virus that has infected the hearts and minds of too many Americans: That of hate, fear and division.

We must confront this with the same force and energy were putting toward the coronavirus. And heres how: First, lets be better, kinder and more understanding; lets listen to and learn from one another; and lets prioritize our common humanity, our love of family and our concern for their health and welfare.

Right now, were seeing a political system that defines anyone you disagree with as the enemy. The truth is, disagreeing about taxes, fees, regulations and programs, or which candidate to support these things dont make us enemies. A healthy democracy requires passionate debate, but it needs to be civil.

When they become nasty, personal and, even worse, violent, thats when our real enemies those who dont believe in core American values gain ground. Because they use the distraction to fan the embers of hate, fear and division.

Weve got to rise above them to move America forward. All of us moderates, conservatives, and liberals; Republicans, independents, and Democrats can succeed if we work together.

Dont misunderstand me. Im not saying to avoid heated debate because as I said, debate is healthy. But in order to solve problems and help people, we must find common ground and then work from there.

Just as Vermont has been a leader in our response to the pandemic, I believe we can lead the way in this regard as well.

We can be better role models and treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve, especially when we disagree. We can prove that our strength is in the diversity of our people and opinions and show that by listening to and learning from each other, we can achieve equal rights, equal justice, equal opportunity and a more perfect union.

So today even though we dont know the outcome of many races as Vermonters and as Americans, lets come together and rise above the hate, fear and division so we can emerge from this difficult time in our history as a stronger, more united, and more compassionate nation than ever before.

Thank you again for your faith and trust in me. Ill continue to do my very best for all Vermonters.

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Vermont can show America how to heal its divisions - Bennington Banner

FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, AUTHOR, SENIOR FELLOW AT STANFORD, GEN. H.R. MCMASTER:

In this episode ofIntelligence Matters, host Michael Morell interviews General H.R. McMaster. A Senior Fellow at both Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and its Graduate School of Business. A career U.S. Army officer and National Security Adviser to President Trump, he is also the author of his newly released book titled Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. General McMaster passes along advice on how the next president should handle relations with North Koreas Kim Jong-un, gives his insights on the effectiveness of our handling of Russia, and shares his passion for helping those in Venezuela.

HIGHLIGHTS:

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INTELLIGENCE MATTERS: GUEST GEN. H.R. MCMASTER

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PRODUCER: ARIANA FREEMAN

MICHAEL MORRELL: General McMaster, welcome to Intelligence Matters. It is an honor to have you on the show.

GEN. MCMASTER: Hey Michael, the honors mine is great to be with you.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Let me start with a couple of points for our listeners. First, I want to congratulate you on your new book, Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. Ive read it. Its terrific. I think its a must read for anyone interested in national security. And I actually see it as a reference book for understanding the key issues. And I see myself pulling it down off the shelf from time to time. When Im thinking about something, I want to have to talk about something, when Im writing something. I think its a very important contribution to the literature on the threats and challenges we face as a nation. So thank you. Thank you very much for writing it.

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, Michael, thanks so much. I mean it, somebody with your background, experience and knowledge to to endorse it like that. That means a lot to me that you judge it to have been worthwhile. Thank you.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Second, having you with us to talk about your book is a perfect way for us to kick off what is for us, going to be a new series on the key national security issues facing the United States. The series, which were going to work very hard to be nonpartisan, will run between the election and the inauguration. And finally, I should mention to my listeners that this episode is going to run the day after the election, but that you and I are taping it the Friday before the election. So you and I have no idea whats going to happen on Election Day. So people should just know that as theyre as theyre listening to our conversation. And I think thats actually a good thing for our conversation, because what I want to do at the end of the day is get your sense of what is going to face the president who is sworn in on January 20th, no matter who that person happens to be.

MICHAEL MORRELL: H.R. before we get to the individual issues that I want to walk through with you, Id love to ask you why you decided to write the book that you did. You obviously could have written a very different kind of book. And Im sure that there were publishers who were encouraging you to do that. But you chose not to do that. You chose to write a very serious look at the threats and challenges that face us as a nation. Why did you take the route that you did?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, Michael, thank you. I served in the Army for thirty four years. So as I transitioned to what is my only second career in my adult life, I made out probably quite predictably, a mission statement for myself. And that was in my second career to try to deepen our understanding of the most crucial challenges we face as a way to better inform the American people about foreign policy and national security issues, and with the hope that if we learn more about these challenges that we face, we can demand better. Demand a better foreign policy from our elected leaders. But then also, I hope that the book and the work that Im doing around the book will help bring Americans back together. Right. Because I dont think any of these issues should be partisan in nature. What Im hoping for is that a deeper understanding of these challenges we face. And I think what should be our common commitment to try to build a better future for generations to come will help bring our country back together, at least around foreign policy and national security issues.

MICHAEL MORRELL: H.R., what are the main themes of the book? What do you want readers to walk away remembering?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, what are the themes that runs through the book is this idea of strategic narcissism. I think this is one of the reasons why our competence, our ability to compete, at least in the post-Cold War period, has been significantly diminished. And by strategic narcissism, I mean, our tendency to define the world only in relation to us and then to assume that what we decide to do or decide not to do is decisive to achieving a favorable outcome. And of course, you know, Michael, with your long experience with intelligence, this is flawed because its self-referential and it doesnt acknowledge, you know, the degree to which others have agency and influence and authorship over the future. So the book is then an argument, an argument for cultivating with my friend and great historian Zachary Shore has termed strategic empathy. And this is an effort, an effort to understand better what drives and constrains the other. Especially adversaries, rivals and enemies and what drives and constrains the other often times is ideology and emotion and aspirations. So the theme in the book that also is important is an effort to understand how the recent past produced the present as the first step in making a projection into the future. So the book is an argument for the understanding of history and appreciation for the complex causality of events and a focus on understanding these crucial challenges were facing from the perspective from the perspective of others.

MICHAEL MORRELL: You know, thats one of the thats one of the main jobs of the intelligence community. Right? Is to is to give our decision makers the point of view of the other guy. The guy sitting across the table from you, the guy sitting across the battlefield from you. But whats the other guy thinking? What are his constraints? What are his interests? And thats extraordinarily important. Right?

GEN. MCMASTER: Of course, its not a new idea. It goes back to Sun Tzu, but I think its we started to neglect the importance of this, especially in the post-Cold War period, a period that I describe as a period of over optimism. Over optimism that led to complacency and a bit of hubris. And this over optimism was in large measure a set up, I think a set of for significant disappointments in the two thousands disappointments, of course, associated with the mass murder attacks of September 11th, 2001, but also the unanticipated length and difficulty of wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq and, of course, followed by a financial crisis. And so I think it was in the two thousands that this emotional impetus behind our foreign policy shifted from overoptimism to pessimism and from maybe a tendency to under appreciate the risks and costs of action, to a tendency to underappreciate the risks and costs of inaction. And I think that strategic narcissism is the cause, really, in both cases.

MICHAEL MORRELL: You know, the other thing that strikes me when you talk about the importance of history is I always thought sitting in deputies meetings that it would have been incredibly valuable to actually take a few minutes and every deputies meetings or principals meetings to talk about the history of the issue, just to review how you got from point A to point B, and we never did that in multiple administrations in which I served, but I always thought that that would have been really valuable.

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, Michael, youre absolutely right about that. Ill tell you, one of the one of the great gifts I had, I think before earlier my career was the opportunity to read things, study and write history. And the first book I wrote was Dereliction of Duty, which is a story about how and why Vietnam became an American war.

And one of the lessons I learned from the study of that history was that it was important to understand problems and challenges holistically before leaping into action. When I came in as national security adviser, I did my best to at least avoid making the same mistakes and we put in place a principle small group framing session. I know thats a mouthful, but as we developed these strategies for the most crucial challenges we were facing, we began with this framing session that was organized around a five page paper that included only really the description of the challenge. How we got to where we are, a bit of the history of it, and then an inventory of our vital interests that were at stake, view of that challenge through the lens of those vital interests and draft overarching goals and more specific objectives, followed by assumptions.

Assumptions about the degree to which we and like-minded partners have agency or influence over this challenge. Then an inventory of obstacles to progress and opportunities that we could exploit. And thats it. Then we had a discussion about the nature of the challenge. First, the policy coordinating committee, which, you know, are the real workers who are going to work on this project. Theyre listening in. So theyre getting, theyre hearing at the cabinet level, a discussion about the nature of the problem and then a refinement of it. Once that part of the meeting was done, then we shifted to a discussion of what are your ideas? How do we integrate the elements of national power and efforts of like-minded partners to overcome these obstacles and exploit these opportunities? Then they got to hear the Treasury secretary say what we have. We have economic and financial tools available. But those ought to be combined with diplomacy and maybe law enforcement efforts. And then you get this rich discussion that then the policy coordinating committee can really run with. So I think that, I hope thats a process that will be sustained. I dont think my successor hung onto it. It will have to be resurrected at some point if it is deemed as useful by a future national security adviser.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Im Michael Morrell today, we have with us H.R. McMaster, a Senior Fellow at both Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and its Graduate School of Business. A career U.S. Army officer and national security adviser to President Trump. OK, so what Id love to do is go through the individual issues. And what Id like to do is just throw one out, get you to frame it. Whats the threat or challenge that we face? Whats the history? How did we get here? Whats our interest thats at stake? And how do you think we as a nation need to go about dealing with it? Lets start with the big one. Lets start with the big enchilada, China.

GEN. MCMASTER: I think China is a great example of strategic narcissism at work, and especially this assumption that we clung to for too long, that China, having been welcomed into the international order, would play by the rules, would liberalize its economy, and as it prospered, it would liberalize its form of government. Of course, thats not true. Thats not true because we undervalue the degree to which emotions and ideology drive and constrain the Chinese Communist Party. And what I would argue in battlegrounds is that the party is driven mainly by fear, fear of losing its exclusive grip on power and an associated ambition. The ambition to achieve national rejuvenation for China to take center stage in the world again after the tragedy, as they portrayed as the century of humiliation. It is that combination of fear and aspiration that is driving the partys effort to extend and tighten its exclusive grip on power internally.

This is why there are over a million people in concentration camps in Xinjiang and theres a campaign of cultural genocide ongoing.

This is why the party is extending their repressive arm to Hong Kong and perfecting their technologically enabled Orwellian surveillance police state. This is what were seeing and then what is even more troubling, I think, is the parties now effort to export its authoritarian mercantilist model.

Through a number of strategies that aim to create servile relationships with countries and then ultimately through economic means, as well as the growth in the Peoples Liberation Armys capabilities to establish areas of privacy across the new Pacific region that exclude the United States and then it challenged the United States in the free world globally. If China succeeds, I mean, our world will be less free, less prosperous and less safe. So the stakes are high and its past time for us to recognize the need to compete effectively against this this very integrated and pernicious form of aggression that the parties engaged in.

MICHAEL MORRELL: What would an effective China strategy look like to you?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, I think the Trump administration, if it gets credit for anything, should get credit for a fundamental shift in our policy toward China. One that was long overdue and one that I think is fundamentally sound and this is the idea that we have to compete. And it was under the strategy of of cooperation and engagement that the Chinese Communist Party was emboldened. Competition doesnt need to lead to confrontation. In fact, quite the opposite. And I think we have returned to arenas of competition involving countering more effectively Chinas campaign of sustained industrial espionage against us, countering a range of Chinas unfair trade and economic practices, doing so in large measure through effective international cooperation, for example, establishing better standards for infrastructure investment internationally, the law enforcement actions and investigations that have gone on against APT10.

The main hacking arm of the Chinese Communist Party, I think have been very effective as well, combined with sanctions and other actions against the aggressive arms of the party. But really, I think the most important thing for us to do, and I argue this in a chapter battlegrounds entitled Turning Weakness into Strength is to take what the Chinese Communist Party sees as sources of weakness potentially for them and turn those into our greatest strengths. What does the party fear? The party fears that the people, the Chinese people, might want to have a say in how theyre governed so we should strengthen our democratic processes. The party fears rule of law. We should strengthen rule of law in the United States and with countries that are working to strengthen rule of law in their countries, the party fears freedom of press, freedom of the expression. We need to strengthen our authoritative sources of information and recognize that investigative journalism is a great counter to some of these pernicious strategies that the parties are pursuing. So I think that part of it is defensive, but part of it is more introspective and trying to maintain our competitive advantages.

MICHAEL MORRELL: This is Intelligence Matters. Im Michael Morrell. Were talking with former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. So Russia, how do you think about Russia?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, Russia is a significant threat to us because Putin again, is examining the assumptions of previous policies. Putin is not going to become like the Grinch on Christmas Eve. Right, his heart is not going to get too big as the size gets bigger and hes not going to decide, OK, well maybe the future of Russia does lie more with the West and treat the United States and Europe and others differently. Putin is driven by a sense of honor lost after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He is also driven by this associated desire to restore Russia to national greatness. Hes also cognizant, though, of the fact that he cannot compete with this on our own terms. And so what his theory of victory is, is to drag us all down and then to be the last man standing and the means that hes using to do this. I describe the Chinese approach of cooption, coercion and concealment. And I use alliteration in the Russian chapters as well.

It is a campaign of disruption, disinformation and denial to try to disrupt us, to disrupt our effective governance, to disrupt us economically and to use economic coercion when he can, such as he has done in Europe effectively from time to time and with energy dependence. Then to deny even his most egregious acts, especially the sustained campaign of cyber enabled information warfare against us, which is designed to polarize us, to pit us against each other, to reduce our confidence in who we are as a people and in our democratic institutions and principles and processes. Russia is a dangerous threat for for these reasons. And the best way to counter the first step is to pull the curtain back on this activity, to educate ourselves about it, to be less susceptible to Russian information, to not be our own worst enemies, as I think both political parties in many instances have because they compromise and they compromised our principles to score some partisan political points and in doing so, make themselves vulnerable to Russian disinformation and propaganda.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Then what about raising the cost to him of doing this? Is that an option here in terms of deterring him?

GEN. MCMASTER: Absolutely. This is what I advocated for in battlegrounds is that we have to impose costs on the Kremlin, on Putin, that exceed those that he factors in at the beginning of his decision making process. It was my last day really in an Oval Office meeting, it was the day that President Trump decided to impose significant costs on Russia in response to the attempted poisoning, murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter with with a banned military grade nerve agent and an act that put thousands of UK citizens at risk. And it was at that on that occasion that we expelled you over 60 undeclared intelligence agents that hits Putin where it matters. Because these are agents that were critical to his sustained campaign of subversion against us. And we impose significant costs, additional costs on Russia through sanctions and other actions, the closing of the San Francisco consulate, as you know, Michael, was a major intelligence collection platform for the Russians here in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. So, that was significant and I think that sent a strong message. Now, after Navalnys poisoning, Id like to see us do the same thing, you know, and as hes infiltrating more little green men now into Belarus and as he continues to enable the serial episodes of mass homicide, that is the Syrian civil war, to support Hawthornes way perpetuating violence in Libya.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Im Michael Morell. Were talking with H.R. McMaster, Former National Security Adviser to President Trump and author of the just published book Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. By the way, if you missed any of todays show, you can listen to it as a podcast. Just search Intelligence Matters wherever you get your podcasts. Lets talk about North Korea. Give us your sense on North Korea?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, thanks, Michael. Of course, its important for us to recognize going in right that North Korea is the only communist hereditary dictatorship in the world. And it is the nature of the Kim family regime that we have to take into account when were considering the danger that the regime poses to the world if it does possess the most destructive weapons on Earth. The Kim family regime is driven mainly by this drive to remain in power. It is, of course, known as the hermit kingdom. It is a gulag state that fears any kind of opening to the world. And it is a regime that across now three generations of dictators has been committed to unifying the Korean peninsula under the so-called red banner. And I think as we look at North Koreas pursuit of the most destructive weapons on Earth, we have to be at least open to the possibility that it wants those weapons to coerce the United States off the peninsula as the first step in the forcible reunification of the peninsula. And, of course, that would that would be the form of a destructive war.

GEN. MCMASTER: Its also important, I think, for us to recognize that it is highly unlikely that North Korea wants nuclear weapons just to deter us. North Korea already had a very significant deterrence capability with its conventional weapons. And the fact that its so many thousands of artillery pieces are within the range of of Seoul, South Korea. And then also, I think its important to recognize that every act of aggression on the Korean peninsula since the North invaded the South in June of 1950 has been initiated by the north. The other aspect of this problem, Michael, that is very important to consider is that if North Korea gets the weapon is recognized as a as a nuclear power, like who doesnt get one after that? Right. This Japan starts to have conversation with South Korea. By the way, North Korea never met a weapon it didnt try to sell to somebody excluding its nuclear program until the Israeli Defense Force bombed that facility in 2007. So its very dangerous. I think its dangerous as well because of the ideology that drives this regime. Its a warped ideology. This is the Zushi ideology which has turned deprivation into a sign of virtue and racial superiority. And the North Korean people have gone through generations of brainwashing. So this is a big problem, Michael. I think that the approach that is in place now, the strategy of maximum pressure, its the best course of action. I think we have to test the thesis that maximum pressure can convince Kim Jong un that he is safer without the weapons than he is with them. I think it will be important for whoever is sworn in on January 20th that they recognize that we should not repeat the failed pattern of previous efforts, not allow North Korea to draw us into negotiations with an act of aggression and with the demands of big payoff up front just for the privilege of talking with them. To not again, engage in long, drawn out negotiations that delivers a weak agreement that he immediately breaks again.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Youve said something here that I think is really important, because I think the conventional wisdom is that he wants these weapons for deterrence. Right. That hes worried about us attacking him. But youre arguing that its more than that. That this gets to the heart of what North Korea has always wanted, which is to reunify the peninsula, which I think is a really important point here that changes how you think about how you have to deal with him?

GEN. MCMASTER: This is an argument, Michael, for strategic empathy. Right? To view these complex challenges from the perspective of the other and unless you do that, youre susceptible to mirror imaging. And, of course, my research for the book, Dereliction of Duty, you know that sensitized me to this. It was in the run up to the Vietnam War where some of those who were planning the Vietnam strategy development, the strategy actually referred to the reasonable man theory of English common law and assumed that Ho Chi Minh would respond as the theoretical reasonable man. Would respond without taking into consideration the role that culture and ideology played in driving and constraining the North Vietnamese leadership.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Do you think at the end of the day its possible to convince him that he would be better off, that he would be more secure without these weapons?

GEN. MCMASTER: I do think its possible, and the reason I think its possible because weve never really put maximum pressure on the north. And so we have this opportunity now thanks really to the tremendous work by Ambassador Nikki Haley when she was at the U.N. As you know, Michael, these U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea are unprecedented and reach. The key now, though, is to enforce them. Of course, the key country that needs to enforce them is China. And I think if China doesnt enforce them, if China continues to be complicit with illicit financial flows into and out of the country, to continue to provide energy and other materials to the north that are limited by these sanctions. Then I think its time for us to consider secondary sanctions and maybe on Chinese financial institutions.

GEN. MCMASTER: I think as we see the smuggling of coal and the transshipment of coal and oil and fuel, I think that under Article two, I think the president could use Article two authority to interdict those ships. As you know, Michael, this is something we cant really talk about. There are other means of putting pressure on the north. I think that we havent done it yet. I think we have to at least test the thesis because the alternatives are so bleak of either accepting North Korea as a nuclear power and coping with that threat or a war. Right. That would be very costly, I think its worth pursuing.

MICHAEL MORRELL: We still have more to discuss with General McMaster and well be right back with our final segment.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Were back with more intelligence matters, Im Michael Morrell. Our guest is H.R. McMaster, Senior Fellow at both Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and its Graduate School of Business. So, sir, let me ask you about another tough one, Iran.

GEN. MCMASTER: On Iran, what I tell the story of in Battlegrounds, Michael, is we have to view the problem of Iran with two fundamental considerations foremost in our minds. The first is the ideology of the revolution and how that drives Iranian leadership and the Iranian leadership is the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. We have this fantasy I think that the reformers, the Republicans, within Iraq are going to prevail. They lost, the revolutionaries are in charge. The hardliners are in charge. And whenever they put this forward, the shop window of Minister Zarif, their Foreign Minister or President Rouhani, thats all youre getting is the shop window. That ideology is it drives the Iranian regime to continue its four decade long proxy war against the Great Satan, the United States, the little Satan, Israel, the Arab monarchies and the West broadly. And so we have to consider the ideology of the regime and and this 40 year long proxy war.

GEN. MCMASTER: What I argue for in the book is to force the Iranian regime to make a choice. You can either be treated like a normal nation or you can continue to wage this proxy war, to support terrorist organizations and keep the Middle East enmeshed in this perpetual state of sectarian civil war. The choice is yours, and to impose that choice, I think what we should not do is lift the arms embargo to the regime. What we should not do is lift any of the sanctions. In fact, we should impose the costs on the regime to constrain the resources they have available to continue their proxy wars against us, but then also ultimately maybe to convince the Iranian people. That they ought to have a government in place and Im not talking about like a 2003 regime change, but a government in place that shifts away from its permanent hostility to the United States, Israel and the West. I think thats the only path that I see forward. I think our policies ought to aim to effect that change in the regimes permanent hostility. And until it does any agreement with them, it cant be trusted and any agreement with them that allows them to escape. Making that choice like the Iran nuclear deal did, I think is to our disadvantage.

MICHAEL MORRELL: So you dont see the regime changing policy on its own. Do you think that has to be forced internally by the Iranian people? Is that fair?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, Michael, I think on Iran, its important to keep two considerations in mind in crafting a strategy toward Iran. First of all, that its the ideology of the regime that drives their hostile behavior toward us. And we have to recognize that its the Supreme Leader, its the Guardian Council, its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who are in charge. Right. There was a struggle, you know, across the history of Iran since the revolution in 1979 between the Republicans and the revolutionaries. Hey, the revolutionaries won. And and we have to recognize that the second consideration is that this regime has waged a four decade long proxy war against the Great Satan, us, the little Satan, Israel, the Arab monarchies and the West generally. We have to craft our strategy in recognition of this regimes permanent hostility to us. Of course, I think the best way to approach it in the title of the chapter in Battlegrounds is forcing a choice, forcing the regime to make a choice of either being a responsible nation and then being treated as such or suffering the consequences. And this is why I think its very important to keep the arms embargo in place. I think its very important to keep the sanctions in place on the regime to, in the short term, reduce the resources it has available to wage this proxy war and in the long term, hopefully convince the Iranian people to demand a change in the nature of the government such that it ceases as permanent hostility.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Okay, Islamic extremism, its waned a bit in the threat, but its still there. From West Africa, to the Middle East, to South Asia, to Southeast Asia. How do you think about that problem long term?

GEN. MCMASTER: I think the reason that we havent had another attack on the scale of the most devastating terrorist attack in history of September 11th, 2001, is our tremendous intelligence professionals, our diplomats, our military whos been engaged against this threat from jihadist terrorist organizations since 9/11. What Im concerned about, Michael, is that these groups, I think are more dangerous today than they were maybe even on September 10th, 2001. And thats because, of course, those who committed the mass murder attacks against us on 9/11 were the mujahideen alumni of the resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Well, now the al-Qaida alumni, the ISIS alumni, the Lashkar-e-Taiba alumni are orders of magnitude greater and they have access to more and more destructive capabilities. And the reason weve been safe is because weve been engaged and now we have this narrative of ending endless wars and disengaging. Well, I think what Americans need to know is that we are engaged so we can enable others to bear the brunt of this fight. I mean, this disengagement from Afghanistan, I think is a tragedy. The way that weve gone about this, I think we should recognize the sacrifices of our longest war and in particular that 10 of our courageous servicemen, soldiers, gave their lives for our country, our security this year. But we have to also recognize that 30 Afghan soldiers and police a day die defending the freedoms that theyve enjoyed since the defeat of the Taliban in 2001 a removal of the Taliban from power. So I think that we need to make a sustained argument to the American people for engagement with this problem of jihadist terrorism. Because if we dont, Michael, well go back to 1998. Remember when we after the embassy bombings, we fired a few cruise missiles and called it a day. Right, that didnt work out.

MICHAEL MORRELL: The last issue I want to ask you about is Venezuela, which I know you care about. My understanding is that when you arrived at the White House, you were going over the issues and you kind of stumbled on Venezuela and said, hey, you know whats going on there? That doesnt look like were paying attention to this, talk about Venezuela and why its important?

GEN. MCMASTER: Well, its immensely important because this is a humanitarian catastrophe in Venezuela. Its a humanitarian catastrophe thats brought on by an authoritarian regime that is denying the Venezuelan people a say in how theyre governed. When we looked at the problem and the nature of the Maduro regime and the Chavista movement, we concluded that this was, again, a corrupt government that is using criminalized patronage networks to effect control of its people. It uses these motorcycle gangs and militias to overwhelm any kind of opposition. It ended the Constitution. So we said whats should our goal be? Our goal should be to work with others, to work with like-minded countries, to effect a restoration of constitutional rule in Venezuela. And to do that, we felt as if we had to pursue three objectives. One of those objectives would be to try to strengthen the opposition. Right. To help the opposition come together. I think you saw that with the rise of Bolsonaro. You know, who was really from the people. You know, hes not a member of the Caracas Polo Club, for example. I think hes somebody who can gain some traction with those who have been disadvantaged now so significantly under Chvez, and now Maduro.

GEN. MCMASTER: The second objective would be for the people to be able to attribute their grievances back to the government, not to blame the Yankees, you know, for example. And the third related to that would be to try to galvanize really popular support for restoration of constitutional government. I think the measures we put in place were sound. Of course, they have proven inadequate. And I think we thought that economic sanctions would maybe have a significant effect. But the reason they havent had a bigger effect is theres a huge black market, illicit economy thats run by Maduro. He uses that to sustain this criminalized patronage network and these gangs of thugs who really prevent any real opposition from gaining traction. But I think Im proud of what we did in this period of time. We worked very closely with partners, especially in the Western Hemisphere, Mexico, under the foreign minister of the great Luis Videgaray, who was a wonderful partner, took a leading role in much of the work that we did. We tryd to get the Organization of American States and others to do more. But it was really the community of like-minded nations Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Argentina. We worked very closely together on this problem and I think remain committed to trying to effect a restoration of constitutional government in Venezuela.

MICHAEL MORRELL: Youve been fantastic with your time. I just want to ask you two more questions, we have a couple of minutes left, so well need to be quick here.

MICHAEL MORRELL: The first is that in order to deal with all of these problems that youve talked about, you know, we need a healthy national security toolkit. Healthy diplomacy, healthy intelligence capabilities, healthy military capabilities. Whats your assessment sort of overall of where we are with our national security toolkit?

GEN. MCMASTER: I think were in good shape thanks to the extremely dedicated civil servants and military professionals, intelligence professionals who we have across our government. But I think what is needed more than anything is a higher degree of what I argue in Battlegrounds is, strategic competence, and thats the ability to integrate the elements of national power so that theyre applied in a way that are synergistic. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I think at times we get it right, but most often we get it wrong. And our approach to these complex problems is fragmented. Its inconsistent. Its as I mentioned, you know, based on flawed assumptions about the nature of the problem. I think what I would like to see as well these days is even more of a concerted effort to foster multinational cooperation as I write in Battlegrounds. I mean, none of these problems are solvable by any one country. So its very important for us to create the right venues for us to come together. Not only to work on a discrete issue or event together, but really to think about these complex challenges. To frame them together and then to apply our competitive advantages between our like minded countries. So that we do have a synergistic effect and and so that we can build a better future for generations to come.

MICHAEL MORRELL: The last question, I think anybody whos listened to the podcast up to this point is going to think, wow, that is a hard, tough list. I wonder at the end of the day, if youre optimistic or if you are pessimistic that were going to get this right going forward.

GEN. MCMASTER: Michael, Im optimistic about it. Im optimistic about it even as we emerge from this triple crisis. Of the pandemic, the recession associated with it and the divides in our society, laid bare by George Floyds murder and the protests and civil unrest that followed it. I think whats great about our democracy is we are self-correcting. The American people have a say in how theyre governed. They can demand better. And the reason I wrote Battlegrounds is I think if the American people understand these challenges, they will demand a better foreign policy from from our elected leaders. You know, our founders knew that our democracy was going to require continuous nurturing. Its still true today. And I believe that we do have significant problems at home. But we also have to confront these challenges abroad because we know from the COVID-19 pandemic that problems that develop abroad can only be dealt with at an exorbitant price once they reach our shores. So the argument of battlegrounds is an argument for sustained engagement with the world.

MICHAEL MORRELL: The book is Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. The author is H.R. McMaster. General, thank you very much for joining us today.

GEN. MCMASTER: Michael, thank you for the privilege of being with you. And thanks for your service.

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HR McMaster weighs in on North Korea, Russia - WSGW

Former Vice President Joe Biden wrapped up his campaign swing through the Midwest with a socially distant speech in front of just a few dozen people in an airport hanger in Milwaukee, a few hours after President Donald Trump stopped in the battleground state.Biden remarked on the rising number of COVID-19 cases nationally and in Wisconsin specifically, which is facing one of the fastest-growing outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country, and repeated many familiar criticisms of Trump's handling of the pandemic throughout his remarks.

"I know it's hard. More than 225,000 people, I think it's 229[,000] as I speak, have already lost their lives to COVID-19. Two thousand here in Wisconsin. Six hundred here in Milwaukee County. This week, Wisconsin, like other states, set a new record for daily cases. Hospitals are running short on beds. Just had to open a field hospital. That's what we're facing," he said.

"Donald Trump waved the white flag, surrendered to the virus," he continued. "But the American people don't give up. We don't give in. Unlike Donald Trump, we're not gonna surrender to this virus. We are simply not going to surrender."

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden gives a fist bump to Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., as he arrives to speak at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on Oct. 30, 2020, in Milwaukee.

Biden also went after Trump on trade, calling his policy "a disaster" that "decimated" the Wisconsin dairy industry.The candidate said his campaign is taking a different approach to Wisconsin than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

"For a whole lot of reasons, not all of which were her fault, we ended up not taking it too seriously. We thought it was different," Biden said, adding, "I've been here a lot."

This marks Biden's third trip to Wisconsin since the Democratic National Convention, making it his fourth-most-visited state, behind Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida.

Unlike Biden's drive-in rallies on Friday, his remarks in Wisconsin were given in an open-air airport hangar. The event was held at least partially outdoors on a near-freezing Wisconsin evening.

"I'll tell you what, they told me it's gonna be indoors. You're a hardy bunch in Milwaukee," Biden said.

-ABC News' John Verhovek, Beatrice Peterson and Molly Nagle

Continued here:
Election 2020 updates: Trump ends long day rushing through final rally in Minnesota - ABC News

West Norfolk officials have expressed their frustration over the governments plans to introduce a second national lockdown this week.

The proposed new national restrictions will be debated and voted on by MPs on Wednesday.

If approved, the country will be asked to stay at home from Thursday to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus amid rising national cases.

North West Norfolk MP James Wild supported the introduction of the local Covid alert tiered system as the best alternative to a national lockdown.

He said he will be reviewing the evidence and reflecting on constituents views on both sides of the debate ahead of the vote.

Mr Wild said: While it protected the NHS and saved lives, I know how painful and costly the first lockdown was for peoples wellbeing and our economy.

The prime minster and the cabinet have now been advised that due to increasing transmission rates across the country there is a serious risk the NHS will be overwhelmed within weeks.

I am very conscious of the incredible sacrifices people and businesses across North West Norfolk have made to try and control this virus.

Leader of West Norfolk Council Brian Long said he would have liked to see the local tier measures make a difference before a national lockdown was introduced.

I am frustrated we have gone to a national lockdown but I appreciate it has to happen, Mr Long said.

West Norfolk has been doing pretty well but with numbers starting to increase the additional measures reiterate the governments message to get the numbers down.

The council leader emphasised the bottom line behind the lockdown is protecting people from the virus.

And he is confident local businesses will continue to receive the support they need to survive through the governments rescue package.

Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that the furlough scheme will be reintroduced as part of the lockdown measures in which employees will receive 80 per cent of their regular wages.

West Norfolks infection rate as of October 29 stood at 87.9 cases per 100,000 people, after the number of new cases rose from 70 to 133 in the space of a week.

And two new cases were confirmed at Springwood High School today, increasing the total number of cases recorded at the Queensway site since the start of the new academic year to five.

Labour councillor Jo Rust believes the lockdown should have been implemented earlier due to the increase in the transmission rate and number of deaths.

Sir Keir Starmer asked for a circuit breaker weeks ago. It could have been combined with half term which would have taken the pressure off for families, Mrs Rust said.

As it is, we are facing a hard winter of lockdown with no certainty itll actually end on December 2nd.

Mrs Rust believes schools should be shut down with improved IT equipment for home schooling.

The latest lockdown will be less stringent than in March as schools and universities would be able to stay open.

Mrs Rust added: Im glad that the 80 per cent furlough scheme has been retained. However, 80 per cent of a low wage when rents, mortgages and all other costs remain the same is going to push many more families to breaking point.

We saw how many families were struggling to feed their children over half term. As a matter or urgency the government needs to increase its support provision for local councils like our own so we can provide the additional assistance our community will need.

Were facing challenges with how well safely accommodate our rough sleepers, theres an increase in food bank use and the eviction moratorium is over. The government must act now.

West Norfolk councillor Sandra Squire, leader of the Independents at the county council, echoed these sentiments and stated many businesses will not be able to survive the winter months.

She added: I think its a situation where youre damned if you do and damned if you dont. For areas with low infection rates it must seem that theyre almost being punished for what goes on elsewhere.

It concerns me that the last lockdown took weeks to have an affect and that was when schools were closed.

Vulnerable people are being told to limit contact with other people and not go to work if they cant work from home, but they should still send their children to school. There are no easy answers really.

All non-essential retail, entertainment venues and personal care facilities will be forced to close.

Having recently been supported through the governments Culture Recovery Fund, Hunstantons Princess Theatre now faces another setback like many others.

Proprietor Brian Hallard said: We are going to have to worry about it on December 2 because there is nothing we can do right now.

There have been mixed messages. Michael Gove is saying something, then someone else is saying something else.

I will be getting on with maintenance work because there is not a lot else we can do right now.

Swaffham landlord Rob Bartram of the Red Lion pub welcomed the furlough scheme being extended but said there was miscommunication over pub takeaways.

The Market Place site will continue to offer its rooms out to key workers and lorry drivers as they did during the previous lockdown.

Mr Bartram said: Our last electric bills were 6,500. How are we going to survive? I do not know but I personally think we will be alright. I am seeing that some wet-let pubs are giving it up.

Both Mr Bartram and Neal Durose of the White Hart in Lynn believe the decision to allow students to return to schools and universities proved costly.

Mr Bartram said: People are going to be naive and pathetic if they think this will be over by December. The figures are going through the roof through youngsters all over the country.

I am prepared for no family Christmas this year.

Mr Durose added: If Im completely honest, it hasnt come as much of a surprise. It was always going to be obvious that no matter what measure were put in place, the spike in cases was inevitable once the schools and colleges went back.

I know some people will disagree with me but the statistics dont lie. The pubs reopen on July 4: no spike in cases. Eat Out to Help Out throughout August: not many cases. September, the education sector resumes and cases rose exponentially.

You were always going to be safer in the pub than the supermarket but you cant change whats been placed on us.

We are determined to survive and come out the other side stronger and ready to welcome everyone back with open arms.

The Duck Inn at Stanhoe has pledged to offer its services for free throughout November to anyone who needs support.

And the White Hart in Swaffham will also continue to support the vulnerable through its Hart to Homes meal delivery service.

A social media post by the pub said: "From Wednesday night we will close our doors, until then we are very much open for business

"We will miss you all and give our heartfelt thanks for the support you have given us since we reopened."

Elsewhere, it will be business as usual on the pitch for Kings Lynn Town FC as elite sport, including the National League, will be able to continue.

Golf clubs have been lobbying to remain open for members to be able to play during lockdown as they believe it can be done safely as a form of exercise.

Graham Cocker, secretary of Fakenham Golf Club, said: If you can exercise in a park with one person, you can do it on a golf course because you are not going to come up against anyone else through 10 minute intervals.

He said it would be a shame for members not to be able to play having already paid their annual fees. Greenkeepers will continue to maintain the golf course regardless of cost.

Alive West Norfolk has announced its sites will close from the end of the day on Wednesday until further notice in line with government guidance.

A statement says Alive West Norfolk has collected November membership and courses fees already and will also collect payments from those who usually pay their direct debit on the 15th.

December direct debit payments will then not be collected when the sites reopen.

Alive swimming pools will not be closing in December as it stands according to the statement as would normally be the case in normal circumstances for annual maintenance.

The Alive statement added: "We understand it is extremely frustrating that leisure venues are having to close again but the safety and welfare of our customers and staff is paramount. We would like to thank you all for adhering to our Covid processes so well since we returned in July which has kept our sites extremely safe."

Meanwhile, national papers reported this weekend that Prince William had coronavirus while staying in April with the Duchess of Cambridge and his three young children at Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham Estate.

It was reported that he did not want publicity onthe matter as it came shortly after his father, Prince Charles, and PM Boris Johnson had announced they had it and feared he would be stoking public fears of the virus.

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Mixed emotions over national lockdown as local businesses offer help - Lynn News

Many ancient Eastern philosophies have gone mainstream with more and more people interested in them. One such practice is Feng Shui. This ancient pseudoscientific practice has moved from the archives into modern life. It aims to use energy forces to help individuals harmonize with their surroundings. In other words, it channels your energy to bring peace and good vibes in your life and the environment. It deals with the relationship between a human being and their environment. In addition to this, it helps improve mental health. Also Read - Toxic Positivity: Why is it OK not to be Ok?

The idea behind Feng Shui is to have a place that helps your inner self harmonize with your surroundings. A harmonious space will not only be pleasing to the eyes but to the soul as well. And this can help bring inner harmony and reduce stress, anxiety and much more. Here are some ways to incorporate Feng Shui in your home to improve your cognitive health. Also Read - Kundalini Meditation: For total mind, body, soul rejuvenation

Raise your hand if you have a habit of picking things from the market when your home is at full capacity. Youre not alone! While you might want to grab a wall art the moment you see it, but what you dont know is that it can have a negative impact on your mental health. Overcrowding your house with stuff can trigger stress and anxiety. The less clutter around you, the better you will feel. It will bring a sense of balance and help you regain inner peace. Also Read - Signs you're in a toxic workplace and its affecting your health

According to feng shui, the bed should be placed against a solid wall and should not face any doors or mirrors. It is better to choose the bedroom situated on the backside of the house to avoid outside noise. It will bring positive energy and promote better sleep. And several studies over the years have proved that a good nights sleep works wonders for an individuals mental health.

Ever experienced the noise of bustling streets fading away as you take pleasant walks through nature? The ancient principle of Tao refers to the connection of a human being to nature. Inhaling fresh air brings a sense of peace and quiet like no other. Healthy and lush houseplants is a great option to add to your house if you want to follow this lifestyle.

Even studies have shown that indoor plants in the house improves productivity, alleviates stress, improve energy levels and generate happiness. So, let nature help you to decrease anxiety levels and ward off negative feelings.

The teachings of Feng Shui are based on five elements, including fire, wood, earth, water and metal. Using these elements to create your own palette based on the philosophy is believed to do wonders for a person. Using the right colour in your surroundings can enhance mood and can do wonders for your emotions. Therefore, improve your overall mental health.

Try lightening your home by incorporating bright paint, colourful accents and bright lights. Brightening your surroundings acts as a mood enhancer and enlivens your home. This, in turn, lightens the mood and have a positive effect on your mental health.

Published : November 3, 2020 6:48 pm | Updated:November 4, 2020 8:44 am

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5 Ways to incorporate Feng Shui in your home to improve mental health - TheHealthSite