LISBON, Portugal (AP) \u2014 Portugal\u2019s new daily COVID-19 cases jumped to more than 14,600 to set a new national record Wednesday, as the country weathers one of the worst pandemic surges in the world.
Health authorities officially reported 14,647 new infections \u2014 about 3,600 more than the previous daily record set four days ago.
The surge shows no sign of easing, with the government and health experts predicting it will peak next week.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital and in intensive care also rose to new record highs, with 5,493 and 681, respectively.
The pandemic has gained momentum in Portugal since Christmas, when restrictions on gatherings and movement were eased for four days.
Portugal has the highest seven-day average rate in the world of new cases per 100,000 population and the second-highest rate of new deaths, according to data collated through Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University.
Overall, the country of 10.3 million people has 581,605 confirmed cases, and 9,465 confirmed deaths.
In another worry for Portuguese authorities, a study by the country\u2019s leading disease control agency said a new variant of the virus first identified in southeast England could represent 60% of new COVID-19 cases in Portugal within two weeks.
The study by the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Institute of Health, based on data collected since Dec. 1, was published Tuesday.
The surge is pushing the public health system, especially hospitals, to the limit of its capacity, and the government is scrambling to keep pace.
The assistant secretary of state for health, Ant\u00f3nio Lacerda Sales, said the system is at full stretch.
\u201cWe are doing everything in our power to increase the system\u2019s capacity,\u201d he told reporters.
A field hospital with 58 beds was due to open later Wednesday in the capital, on the grounds of the Lisbon University campus.
To further relieve pressure on hospitals, authorities are opening more temporary medical installations at sites outside the health sector.
The government said Wednesday facilities in such places as hotels, university residences and church premises will soon have 2,300 beds where patients can be kept under observation.
Meanwhile, authorities launched a program of rapid COVID-19 tests at schools in hardest-hit areas amid a severe surge in cases.
Portugal is in lockdown, but the government is reluctant to close schools. It says that if schools close there are children who won\u2019t get proper meals, who have no computer, no access to the Internet, and who don\u2019t have their own room at home and get no help with their studies.
Some teachers are unhappy about the policy, however, and are pressing for a national school closure.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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U.S. stocks are rising again Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, climbing toward records on stronger-than-expected earnings reports and continued optimism that an economic recovery is on the way.","byline":"Mark Lennihan","hireswidth":5400,"hiresheight":3171,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/34/634802d4-1e83-577b-a372-47854118e856/600848f9a1dce.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1879","height":"1103","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/34/634802d4-1e83-577b-a372-47854118e856/600848f99e0d7.image.jpg?resize=1879%2C1103"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"59","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/34/634802d4-1e83-577b-a372-47854118e856/600848f99e0d7.image.jpg?resize=100%2C59"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"176","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/34/634802d4-1e83-577b-a372-47854118e856/600848f99e0d7.image.jpg?resize=300%2C176"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"601","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/34/634802d4-1e83-577b-a372-47854118e856/600848f99e0d7.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C601"}}}],"revision":18,"commentID":"7e76dc17-9976-5b2f-97de-cdf51d611461","body":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 U.S. stocks are rallying to records Wednesday on stronger-than-expected earnings reports and continued optimism that new leadership in Washington will mean more support for the struggling economy.
The S&P 500 was 1.1% higher at 3,842.03 in morning trading, topping its record closing level of 3,824.68 set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 221 points, or 0.7%, at 31,151, as of 10:42 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.8% higher.
Joe Biden will take the oath of office to become U.S. president later in the day, and he has a flurry of executive actions at the ready. He has also pitched a plan to pump $1.9 trillion more into the struggling economy, hoping to act quickly as his Democratic party takes control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
The hope on Wall Street is that such stimulus will help carry the economy until later this year, when more widespread COVID-19 vaccinations get daily life closer to normal. Such hopes have helped stocks and Treasury yields rise, even as the worsening pandemic digs a deeper hole for the economy. Spiraling coronavirus counts and deaths have more workers applying for unemployment benefits and shoppers feeling less confident.
The incoming Biden administration is taking control of the White House from Donald Trump, who pointed again on Wednesday to the stock market's level as validation of his work.
Trump's preferred measure is often the Dow Jones Industrial Average, even though the S&P 500 is much more important to most workers' 401(k) accounts. Under Trump, the Dow had an a annualized return of 11.8% from his inauguration until his last day in office, according to Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist for LPL Financial. That's better than any Republican president since Calvin Coolidge during the roaring 1920s, but it's not as good as the returns for Bill Clinton or Barack Obama.
Trump has said in the past that he should get credit for the stock market's gains following his election but before his inauguration. The market got a \u201cTrump bump\u201d then on anticipation of lower tax rates, less regulation on companies and faster economic growth. Much of that did come to fruition, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's response to it upended everything in 2020.
Gains for stocks have also been accelerating since Biden's election, before his inauguration, on hopes that he and Congress can deliver more stimulus for the economy. The bump for stocks between the most recent Election Day and Biden's inauguration is bigger than Trump's bump before his inauguration.
Janet Yellen, Biden\u2019s nominee to be Treasury secretary, told the Senate Finance Committee during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the incoming administration would focus on winning quick passage of its $1.9 trillion plan.
\u201cMore must be done,\u201d Yellen said. \u201cWithout further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now \u2014 and long-term scarring of the economy later.\u201d
A better-than-expected start to earnings reporting season is also helping to lift the market Wednesday. Analysts came in with low expectations, forecasting the big companies in the S&P 500 will report a fourth straight drop in earnings per share because of the damage from the pandemic. But the vast majority of the earliest reports have managed to top forecasts.
Netflix jumped 14.2% for one of the market\u2019s biggest gains after it said it ended last year with more than 200 million subscribers for the first time. It also said it made more in revenue during the end of 2020 than analysts expected, though its earnings fell short of forecasts. Business is good enough for the company that it says it likely doesn\u2019t need to borrow anymore to cover its day-to-day operations.
Morgan Stanley initially rose after reporting much stronger earnings for the latest quarter than Wall Street had forecast, though its gain sputtered as the morning progressed. It was up 0.3%. A boom in young companies selling their stock for the first time helped Morgan Stanley get more business, and it booked more revenue from trading.
Companies will need to meet the market's expectations \u2014 including for a huge rebound in profit growth through 2021 \u2014 to validate the big runs for their stock prices during 2020, even as their profits plummeted. Stocks of several companies slipped on Wednesday, even though they reported stronger profits than expected. Procter & Gamble fell 1.4%, for example.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.09% from 1.07% late Tuesday.
In European stock markets, the German DAX returned 0.8%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.6%. The FTSE 100 added 0.3% in London.
In Asia, Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%. Main urban areas in Japan, including Tokyo, are under a state of emergency, with evening dining at restaurants discouraged. Critics say that\u2019s not enough, as deaths related to COVID-19 have been rising. A vaccine rollout has not begun in Japan.
Other Asian markets were stronger. South Korea\u2019s Kospi rose 0.7%, Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng gained 1.1% and stocks in Shanghai rose 0.5%.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.
"}, {"id":"e297681c-b0cb-51c3-994c-15e890ccd6b3","type":"article","starttime":"1611157668","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T08:47:48-07:00","lastupdated":"1611160026","priority":0,"sections":[{"business":"business"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"UnitedHealth overcomes pandemic hit and tops 4Q expectations","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_e297681c-b0cb-51c3-994c-15e890ccd6b3.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/business/unitedhealth-overcomes-pandemic-hit-and-tops-4q-expectations/article_e297681c-b0cb-51c3-994c-15e890ccd6b3.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/6d755ee070b480d175f8def278dbf2ca","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":1,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"byline":"By TOM MURPHY\nAP Health Writer","prologue":"UnitedHealth\u2019s fourth-quarter earnings tumbled as costs from COVID-19 hit the health insurance provider, but results still easily beat expectations. Health care use rebounded in the final quarter of 2020 after the global pandemic kept people away from doctor offices and surgery centers when it first spread earlier last year.","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["business","earnings surprises","earnings","financial performance","corporate news","health insurance providers","insurance industry","financial services","coronavirus","infectious diseases","diseases and conditions","health","lung disease","earnings reports","2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic","earnings estimates"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"images":[{"id":"6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6","description":"FILE - This Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows a portion of the UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s campus in Minnetonka, Minn. UnitedHealth has debuted a lower-than-expected 2021 earnings forecast partly because of COVID-19\u2019s still-foggy impact on the health care system. The nation\u2019s largest health insurance provider said Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that it expects to take a hit from treatment and testing costs tied to the ongoing pandemic.","byline":"Jim Mone","hireswidth":3915,"hiresheight":2583,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/b0/6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6/60081be30e75f.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1772","height":"1169","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/b0/6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6/60081be30c33a.image.jpg?resize=1772%2C1169"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"66","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/b0/6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6/60081be30c33a.image.jpg?resize=100%2C66"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"198","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/b0/6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6/60081be30c33a.image.jpg?resize=300%2C198"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"676","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/b0/6b007747-39a8-5cd9-b4d3-5ff6bf0babe6/60081be30c33a.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C676"}}}],"revision":6,"commentID":"e297681c-b0cb-51c3-994c-15e890ccd6b3","body":"UnitedHealth\u2019s fourth-quarter earnings tumbled as costs from COVID-19 hit the health insurance provider, but results still easily beat expectations.
Health care use rebounded in the final quarter of 2020 after the global pandemic kept people away from doctor offices and surgery centers when it first spread earlier last year.
UnitedHealth also said Wednesday that its insurance business spent more in the quarter covering claims for COVID-19 testing and treatment. They accounted for 11% of all care activity, not counting prescriptions. That's up from 6% in the third quarter.
Medical costs, by far the company\u2019s largest expense, jumped 7% to more than $42 billion in the fourth quarter.
Overall net income for UnitedHealth Group Inc. fell more than 37% in the fourth quarter to $2.21 billion, and adjusted earnings totaled $2.52 per share.
That topped the average analyst forecast for earnings of $2.39 per share, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research.
Total revenue climbed more than 7% to $65.47 billion, also surpassing analyst forecasts.
The results generated little surprise on Wall Street after UnitedHealth gave analysts an update on its business last month. The quarter turned out \u201cslightly better\u201d than the guidance it provided then, Jefferies analyst David Windley said in a research note.
UnitedHealth had said it expected care use to rebound in the final quarter of 2020, and the company also set aside reserves in the quarter to pay rebates from the lower utilization earlier in the year, which contributed to huge insurer profits.
UnitedHealth runs UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance business that covers more than 48 million people mostly in the United States. Its Optum segment also runs one of the nation\u2019s largest pharmacy benefit management operations as well as a growing number of clinics and urgent care and surgery centers.
Operating earnings from that segment climbed 3% to $3.1 billion in the fourth quarter.
UnitedHealth also reaffirmed on Wednesday its forecast for 2021 adjusted earnings of between $17.75 and $18.25 per share. That includes a per-share hit of about $1.80 due to rising COVID-19 costs as well as procedures that are being put off due to the pandemic. The company's commercial health insurance enrollment also has been hit by high unemployment during the pandemic.
Analysts expect, on average, adjusted earnings to total $18.20 per share, according to FactSet.
Shares of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. slipped less than 1% to $350.42 in mid-morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average \u2014 of which UnitedHealth is a component\u2014 rose slightly.
UnitedHealth\u2019s share price is about 5% below the all-time high mark of $367.95 that it reached last November, according to FactSet.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter: @thpmurphy
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014
A portion of this story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNH
"}, {"id":"7d1c4e2e-2ce1-58d2-b936-2a84a2130faa","type":"article","starttime":"1611157204","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T08:40:04-07:00","lastupdated":"1611158625","priority":0,"sections":[{"world":"news/world"},{"business":"business"},{"government-and-politics":"news/national/government-and-politics"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"Dutch propose curfew to rein in virus; will ban more flights","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/news/world/article_7d1c4e2e-2ce1-58d2-b936-2a84a2130faa.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/news/world/dutch-propose-curfew-to-rein-in-virus-will-ban-more-flights/article_7d1c4e2e-2ce1-58d2-b936-2a84a2130faa.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/3766a48f38b748e7f509c9f13a86336e","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":3,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"byline":"By MIKE CORDER\nAssociated Press","prologue":"THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) \u2014 The Dutch government wants to impose a curfew as part of beefed-up restrictions to rein in the spread of a new more contagious virus variant that already accounts for at least one in 10 Dutch infections. 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The Dutch government said Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, that it wants to impose a curfew as part of beefed-up restrictions to rein in the spread of new more contagious variants of the coronavirus that already accounts for at least one in every 10 Dutch infections.","byline":"Peter Dejong","hireswidth":6240,"hiresheight":4160,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/97/6973406f-a3f0-554b-8540-5d63e7886db0/600837edb665c.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1763","height":"1175","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/97/6973406f-a3f0-554b-8540-5d63e7886db0/600837edb15ac.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"67","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/97/6973406f-a3f0-554b-8540-5d63e7886db0/600837edb15ac.image.jpg?resize=100%2C67"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"200","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/97/6973406f-a3f0-554b-8540-5d63e7886db0/600837edb15ac.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"682","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/97/6973406f-a3f0-554b-8540-5d63e7886db0/600837edb15ac.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C682"}}}],"revision":11,"commentID":"7d1c4e2e-2ce1-58d2-b936-2a84a2130faa","body":"THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) \u2014 The Dutch government wants to impose a curfew as part of beefed-up restrictions to rein in the spread of a new more contagious virus variant that already accounts for at least one in 10 Dutch infections.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Wednesday that his government also will ban flights from the U.K., South Africa and South America beginning Saturday for a month.
With Rutte's administration in caretaker mode since resigning last week, it will have to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the 8:30 p.m.-to-4:30 a.m. curfew before it can be enforced. A debate is expected Thursday and Rutte appealed for support, saying \u201cwe are at a crucial moment for our security, for our national public health.\u201d
Rutte's four-party coalition resigned Friday over a scandal involving thousands of parents wrongly being labeled fraudsters by the country\u2019s tax office. It remains in office until a new coalition is formed following a March 17 general election.
If parliament approves the curfew, the Netherlands would join other European Union countries that have told people to stay home after dark, including Belgium, France, Italy, Greece and parts of Germany.
\u201cIt's a tough measure,\u201d Rutte said. \u201cNobody wants a curfew; nobody is cheering this.\u201d
The Netherlands has been in a tough lockdown for a month and will remain that way until at least Feb. 9, but the government says a slow decrease in the number of infections and the threat posed by new variants have forced it to take tougher action.
Rutte said the number of visitors people are allowed at home will now be cut from two to one at a time, and the number of people allowed to attend funerals will be halved from the current 100.
The Dutch public health institute announced Tuesday that new infections decreased 21.5% over the past week to 38,776 as the lockdown that began in mid-December began to bear fruit. But at the same time, it warned that the new, more transmissible virus variant that led to a sharp spike in infections in the U.K. and Ireland is expected to make up at least half of all new Dutch COVID-19 cases by mid-February.
The Netherlands has counted 13,264 deaths in the pandemic, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the government also is extending the space between the two doses of vaccines from three weeks to six weeks as a way of speeding up the number of people getting their first shot. The Netherlands was the last European Union country to begin vaccinations and so far only 100,000 people have received their first shot.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
Follow all of AP\u2019s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
"}, {"id":"32a07a13-d482-54e2-88f8-e4f596969c58","type":"article","starttime":"1611156899","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T08:34:59-07:00","lastupdated":"1611160345","priority":0,"sections":[{"business":"business"},{"world":"news/world"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"Work on Keystone XL pipeline suspended ahead of Biden action","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_32a07a13-d482-54e2-88f8-e4f596969c58.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/business/work-on-keystone-xl-pipeline-suspended-ahead-of-biden-action/article_32a07a13-d482-54e2-88f8-e4f596969c58.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/2fbcce48372f5c29c3ae6f6f93907a6d","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":0,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"byline":"By ROB GILLIES\nAssociated Press","prologue":"TORONTO (AP) \u2014 The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline said Wednesday it has suspended work on the pipeline in in anticipation of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden revoking its permit. Biden\u2019s Day One plans included moving to revoke a presidential permit for the pipeline. The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline would carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["general news","business","environment and nature","government and politics","energy industry","oil and gas industry","coastlines and beaches","energy and utilities regulation","industry regulation","government business and finance","government regulations","oil and gas transportation"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"revision":4,"commentID":"32a07a13-d482-54e2-88f8-e4f596969c58","body":"TORONTO (AP) \u2014 The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline said Wednesday it has suspended work on the pipeline in in anticipation of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden revoking its permit.
Biden\u2019s Day One plans included moving to revoke a presidential permit for the pipeline.
The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline would carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
\u201cTC Energy will review the decision, assess its implications, and consider its options. However, as a result of the expected revocation of the Presidential Permit, advancement of the project will be suspended,\u201d the Calgary, Alberta-based company said in a statement.
First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and curbing the fossil fuel emissions that are causing climate change. The Obama administration rejected it, but President Donald Trump revived it and has been a strong supporter. Construction already started.
Canadian officials tried to make the case for the pipeline to the incoming Biden administration. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised Keystone XL as a top priority when he spoke with Biden in a phone call in November. The project is meant to expand critical oil exports for Canada, which has the third-largest oil reserves in the world.
Jason Kenney, premier of the oil-rich province of Alberta, said late Tuesday he urged Trudeau to tell Biden that \u201crescinding the Keystone XL border crossing permit would damage the Canada-US bilateral relationship.\u201d
Trudeau and Biden are politically aligned and there are expectations for a return to normal relations after four years of Trump, but the pipeline is an early irritant as Biden has long said he would cancel it.
Trudeau has tried to balance the oil industry\u2019s desire for more pipelines with environmentalists\u2019 concerns. He canceled one major pipeline to the Pacific coast from oil-rich Alberta, but approved another and instituted a national carbon tax.
"}, {"id":"cc426676-2fd6-5033-8e94-81b18201c9da","type":"article","starttime":"1611156508","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T08:28:28-07:00","lastupdated":"1611157575","priority":0,"sections":[{"business":"business"},{"world":"news/world"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"Turkish pilots, official face 12 years jail for Ghosn flight","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_cc426676-2fd6-5033-8e94-81b18201c9da.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/business/turkish-pilots-official-face-12-years-jail-for-ghosn-flight/article_cc426676-2fd6-5033-8e94-81b18201c9da.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/d8b27af5a171c4218eff422a5a2e7658","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":3,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"byline":"By MEHMET GUZEL and SUZAN FRASER\nAssociated Press","prologue":"ISTANBUL (AP) \u2014 Turkish prosecutors on Wednesday sought the maximum possible 12 years in prison each for a Turkish private airline official and two pilots accused of smuggling the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman out of Japan, Turkey\u2019s state news agency reported. In the third hearing in the trial of seven people over Carlos Ghosn\u2019s dramatic escape in 2019, prosecutors also requested that the court acquits two other pilots of the charge of \u201cillegally smuggling a migrant,\u201d Anadolu Agency said. They recommended instead that the two \u2014 who flew him from Istanbul to Beirut \u2014 be tried on charges of failing to report a crime.","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["general news","business","passenger airlines","airlines","transportation and shipping","industrial products and services","legal proceedings","law and order","human trafficking","smuggling","crime","corporate crime","corporate news"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"images":[{"id":"366874d7-5fbf-55f0-b076-d37a990152b4","description":"A security official checks people's IDs before the third hearing in the trial of Carlos Ghosn, former Nissan Motor Co. chairman, in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. 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In the third hearing in the trial of seven people over Carlos Ghosn\u2019s dramatic escape in 2019, prosecutors also requested that the court acquits two other pilots of the charge of \u201cillegally smuggling a migrant,\u201d Anadolu Agency said. They recommended instead that the two \u2014 who flew him from Istanbul to Beirut \u2014 be tried on charges of failing to report a crime.
Delivering their final opinion on the case, the prosecutors also demanded that charges against two flight attendants be dropped. The trial was adjourned until Feb. 24, when the court in Istanbul could deliver verdicts.
Ghosn, 66, who was arrested over financial misconduct allegations in Tokyo in 2018, skipped bail while awaiting trial there. He was flown by pilots Noyan Pasin and Bahri Kutlu Somek from Osaka to Istanbul on a private plane and then transferred onto another plane for Beirut, where he arrived Dec. 30, 2019. He is believed to have been smuggled inside a large, foam-covered music box.
All four pilots and two flight attendants have denied involvement in the plans to help Ghosn flee, insisting that they did not know that he was aboard the flights.
During the opening hearing, airline official Okan Kosemen claimed he was made aware that Ghosn was on the plane to Istanbul only after it landed. He admitted helping smuggle Ghosn onto the second, Beirut-bound plane, but claimed he was threatened and feared for his family\u2019s safety.
Turkish airline company MNG Jet has admitted that two of its planes were used illegally in Ghosn\u2019s escape, flying him to Istanbul, and then to Beirut. The company said its employee had admitted to falsifying flight records so that Ghosn\u2019s name didn\u2019t appear on them.
Ghosn, who has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, led Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades. He is wanted on charges of breach of trust in misusing company assets for personal gain, and violating securities laws in not fully disclosing his compensation.
He has said that he fled because he could not expect a fair trial in Japan. Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan.
In addition to his trial in Japan, the businessman is facing a number of legal challenges in France, including tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of company assets while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance.
\u2014\u2014
Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.
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Falsehoods suffused his farewell remarks Wednesday morning and the night before, though he was spot on with this: \u201cWe were not a regular administration.\u201d","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["government and politics","business","misinformation","media","government budgets","government finance","government business and finance","2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic","united states government transition","national taxes","government taxation and revenue","national governments","economy","veterans","veterans affairs","military affairs","military and defense","labor economy","coronavirus","infectious diseases","diseases and conditions","health","lung disease","immunizations","public health","pharmaceutical manufacturing","health care industry","international trade","employment figures","leading economic indicators","covid-19 vaccine rollout","unemployment","labor issues","social issues","social affairs","government transitions","2021 united states capitol riot","tax reform","economic growth"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"images":[{"id":"7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d","description":"President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.","byline":"Manuel Balce Ceneta","hireswidth":2392,"hiresheight":1595,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/43/7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d/60084683d98f1.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1763","height":"1176","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/43/7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d/60084683d810d.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1176"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"67","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/43/7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d/60084683d810d.image.jpg?resize=100%2C67"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"200","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/43/7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d/60084683d810d.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"683","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/43/7437052e-162a-5a91-9967-3e690c195c3d/60084683d810d.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C683"}}},{"id":"df3beff8-0283-5d7a-a646-ff601934d4c2","description":"People watch as Marine One with President Donald Trump on board departs on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. 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Falsehoods suffused his farewell remarks Wednesday morning and the night before, though he was spot on with this: \u201cWe were not a regular administration.\u201d
As well, in noting Americans were \u201chorrified\u201d by the storming of the Capitol this month, he brushed past the encouragement he had given to the mob in advance and his praise of the attackers as \u201cvery special\u201d people while they were still ransacking the seat of power.
A look at some of his statements to well-wishers at Joint Base Andrews en route to Florida on Wednesday and in his videotaped address Tuesday:
COVID-19
TRUMP: \u201cWe got the vaccine developed in nine months instead of nine years or five years or 10 years, a long time. It was supposed to take a long time. ... We have two out, we have another one coming almost immediately.\u201d \u2014 remarks Wednesday before leaving Washington.
TRUMP: \u201cAnother administration would have taken three, four, five, maybe even up to 10 years to develop a vaccine. We did in nine months.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: Actually, the administration didn\u2019t develop any vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies did. And one of the two U.S. companies that have come out with vaccines now in use did not take development money from the government.
Trump\u2019s contention that a vaccine would have taken years under a different administration stretches credulity. COVID-19 vaccines were indeed remarkably fast, but other countries have been developing them, too. A vaccine for the coronavirus is not a singular achievement of the United States, much less the Trump administration.
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer developed its vaccine in partnership with Germany\u2019s BioNTech, eschewing federal money for development, though benefitting from an advance commitment from Washington to buy large quantities if the vaccine succeeded. A vaccine by Moderna, from the U.S., is also in widespread use.
But Britain\u2019s AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is being administered in several countries, and vaccines from China and Russia are also in limited use. More than a dozen potential vaccines are in late stages of testing worldwide.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TRUMP: \u201cWe passed VA Choice.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: No, he did not get the Choice program passed. President Barack Obama did. Trump expanded it. The program allows veterans to get medical care outside the Veterans Affairs system under certain conditions. Trump has tried to take credit for Obama's achievement scores of times.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TAXES
TRUMP: \"We also got tax cuts, the largest tax cut and reform in the history of our country by far.\" \u2014 remarks Wednesday.
TRUMP: \u201cWe passed the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: His tax cuts are not close to the biggest in U.S. history.
It\u2019s a $1.5 trillion tax cut over 10 years. As a share of the total economy, a tax cut of that size ranks 12th, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. President Ronald Reagan\u2019s 1981 cut is the biggest, followed by the 1945 rollback of taxes that had financed World War II.
Post-Reagan tax cuts also stand among the historically significant: President George W. Bush\u2019s cuts in the early 2000s and Obama\u2019s renewal of them a decade later.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
ECONOMY
TRUMP: \u201cWe have the greatest economy in the world.\u201d \u2014 remarks Wednesday.
TRUMP: \u201cWe also built the greatest economy in the history of the world.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: No, the numbers show it wasn\u2019t the greatest in U.S. history. And he is the first president since Herbert Hoover in the Depression to leave office with fewer jobs than when he started.
Did the U.S. have the most jobs on record before the pandemic? Sure, the population had grown. The 3.5% unemployment rate before the recession was at a half-century low, but the percentage of people working or searching for jobs was still below a 2000 peak.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer looked at Trump\u2019s economic growth record. Growth under Trump averaged 2.48% annually before the pandemic, only slightly better than the 2.41% gains achieved during Obama\u2019s second term. By contrast, the economic expansion that began in 1982 during Reagan\u2019s presidency averaged 4.2% a year.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TRUMP, on the economy after the pandemic: \u201cIt's a rocket ship up.\u201d \u2014 remarks Wednesday.
THE FACTS: Not so.
There\u2019s been no dramatic, V-shaped economic recovery under Trump. Employers cut jobs during his final December in office. But economists say the additional aid approved in December and the prospect of more from Biden could cause the strongest growth this year in more than two decades.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TRUMP: \"We reignited America\u2019s job creation and achieved record-low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women \u2014 almost everyone. \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: Not an ignition. Job creation actually slowed in 2017, Trump\u2019s first year in office, to about 2 million, compared with nearly 2.5 million in 2016, Obama\u2019s last year in office.
The low unemployment rates refer to a pre-pandemic economy that is no more. The pandemic has cost the U.S. economy 10 million jobs and has made Trump the first president since Hoover to oversee a net loss of jobs. The U.S. has about 2.8 million fewer jobs now than when Trump was inaugurated, and lost 140,000 just in December. And the job losses have fallen disproportionately on Black Americans, Hispanics and women.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TRUMP: \u201cWe rebuilt the American manufacturing base, opened up thousands of new factories, and brought back the beautiful phrase Made in the USA.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: That's a stretch. There are now 60,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S. than when Trump took office. Despite gains before the pandemic, the manufacturing base had not exactly been \u201crebuilt.\u201d
Before the coronavirus, nearly 500,000 manufacturing jobs were added under Trump, somewhat better than the nearly 400,000 gained during Obama\u2019s second term. Still, even before the pandemic, the U.S. had 4.3 million fewer factory jobs than it did in 2001, the year China joined the World Trade Organization and a flood of cheaper imports from that country entered the U.S.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
CAPITOL INSURRECTION
TRUMP: \u201cAll Americans were horrified by the assault on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: That may sum up the reaction of most Americans but it ignores his own part in stirring the anger of his supporters before they staged the violent melee.
For months, Trump falsely claimed the November election was stolen, then invited supporters to Washington and sent them off to the Capitol with the exhortation to \u201cfight like hell.\u201d
With the uprising still underway and the velocity of the attack apparent from video and reports from the scene, Trump released a video telling them \u201cto go home now\u201d while repeating \u201cthis was a fraudulent election\u201d and adding: \u201cWe love you. You're very special.\u201d
The House impeached Trump, accusing him of inciting an insurrection. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump political ally for four years, said Tuesday the Trump supporters were \u201cfed lies\u201d and \u201dprovoked by the president and other powerful people.\"
\u2014\u2014\u2014
MILITARY
TRUMP: \u201cWe rebuilt the United States military.\u201d \u2014 remarks Wednesday.
THE FACTS: That\u2019s an exaggeration.
It\u2019s true that his administration accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, including a respite from what the U.S. military considered to be crippling spending limits under budget sequestration.
But a number of new Pentagon weapons programs, such as the F-35 fighter jet, were started years before the Trump administration. And it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use.
The Air Force\u2019s Minuteman 3 missiles, a key part of the U.S. nuclear force, for instance, have been operating since the early 1970s and the modernization was begun under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
TRUMP: \u201cWe obliterated the ISIS caliphate.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: His suggestion of a 100% defeat is misleading as the Islamic State group still poses a threat.
IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, then lost the last of its land holdings in Syria in March 2019, marking the end of the extremists\u2019 self-declared caliphate. Still, extremist sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks and are believed to be responsible for targeted killings against local officials and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The continued attacks are a sign that the militant group is taking advantage of governments otherwise focused on the pandemic and the ensuing slide into economic chaos. The virus is compounding longtime concerns among security and U.N. experts that the group will stage a comeback.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
CHINA
TRUMP: \u201cWe imposed historic and monumental tariffs on China. ... Our trade relationship was rapidly changing, billions and billions of dollars were pouring into the U.S., but the virus forced us to go in a different direction.\u201d \u2014 address Tuesday.
THE FACTS: That\u2019s a familiar assertion, false to the core.
It\u2019s false to suggest the U.S. never collected tariffs on Chinese goods before he took action. Tariffs on Chinese goods are simply higher in some cases than they were before. It\u2019s also wrong to suggest that the tariffs are being paid by China.
Tariff money coming into the government\u2019s coffers is mainly from U.S. businesses and consumers, not from China. Tariffs are primarily if not entirely a tax paid domestically.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
EDITOR'S NOTE \u2014 A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
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"}, {"id":"d25f015b-d3cf-55e4-85fa-f50ed71f2050","type":"article","starttime":"1611156413","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T08:26:53-07:00","lastupdated":"1611157575","priority":0,"sections":[{"business":"business"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"Morgan Stanley profits rise 48%, helped by strong markets","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_d25f015b-d3cf-55e4-85fa-f50ed71f2050.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/business/morgan-stanley-profits-rise-48-helped-by-strong-markets/article_d25f015b-d3cf-55e4-85fa-f50ed71f2050.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/b351997a0307e8abf7438444ce0abdf7","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":1,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"byline":"By KEN SWEET\nAP Business Writer","prologue":"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Morgan Stanley saw its fourth-quarter profits surge 48% from a year earlier, as the Wall Street bank benefited from the market\u2019s upward swing and investors jubilation for tech stocks and IPOs late last year. The New York-based firm posted a profit $3.39 billion, or $1.81 a share, up from $2.31 billion, or $1.30 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results were significantly better than the $1.30-per-share profit that analysts had expected, according to FactSet.","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["business","earnings estimates","earnings","financial performance","corporate news","earnings surprises","initial public offerings","stock offerings","corporate stock","investment banking and brokerage","banking and credit","financial services"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"images":[{"id":"152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd","description":"FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo, the Morgan Stanley logo is displayed on its Times Square building, in New York. Morgan Stanley saw its fourth-quarter profits surge 48% from a year earlier, as the Wall Street bank benefited from the market\u2019s upward swing and investors jubilation for tech stocks and IPOs late last year.","byline":"Mark Lennihan","hireswidth":3933,"hiresheight":2549,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd/60084ccd0daaa.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1788","height":"1159","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd/60084ccd07e41.image.jpg?resize=1788%2C1159"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"65","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd/60084ccd07e41.image.jpg?resize=100%2C65"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"194","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd/60084ccd07e41.image.jpg?resize=300%2C194"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"664","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/52/152caa6c-4b66-59d2-aaae-cba4ecf871bd/60084ccd07e41.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C664"}}}],"revision":2,"commentID":"d25f015b-d3cf-55e4-85fa-f50ed71f2050","body":"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Morgan Stanley saw its fourth-quarter profits surge 48% from a year earlier, as the Wall Street bank benefited from the market\u2019s upward swing and investors jubilation for tech stocks and IPOs late last year.
The New York-based firm posted a profit $3.39 billion, or $1.81 a share, up from $2.31 billion, or $1.30 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results were significantly better than the $1.30-per-share profit that analysts had expected, according to FactSet.
Like its primary competitor Goldman Sachs, who also saw a massive profit increase, Morgan Stanley saw a surge of revenue in its core investment banking and trading operations.
Investment banking revenues were up 46% from a year earlier, mostly due to higher equity underwriting fees. Morgan Stanley has a large business taking companies public, and several large tech firms went public in the last three months of the year. That was a boon for the firm\u2019s underwriting business.
Trading revenue rose 32%. The stock market steadily moved higher the second half of 2020, which resulted in the stock market hitting several highs along the way. Bond trading revenues were also higher.
Morgan Stanley\u2019s wealth management arm, which the company grew over the last decade to help the firm find steadier sources of profits instead of the boom-bust cycle of markets, also had a strong quarter. Net revenues in the firm were up 24% from a year earlier.
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The world's fourth most populous country started giving COVID-19 vaccine to health workers and public servants last week in the first stage of a plan to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people \u2014 or just over 180 million people.","byline":"Binsar Bakkara","hireswidth":6000,"hiresheight":4086,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b9/0b9087d4-87f6-5535-955c-5aa04d2acbe6/600822d3b9f64.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1744","height":"1188","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b9/0b9087d4-87f6-5535-955c-5aa04d2acbe6/600822d3b5c7f.image.jpg?resize=1744%2C1188"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"68","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b9/0b9087d4-87f6-5535-955c-5aa04d2acbe6/600822d3b5c7f.image.jpg?resize=100%2C68"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"204","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b9/0b9087d4-87f6-5535-955c-5aa04d2acbe6/600822d3b5c7f.image.jpg?resize=300%2C204"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"698","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/b9/0b9087d4-87f6-5535-955c-5aa04d2acbe6/600822d3b5c7f.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C698"}}},{"id":"21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713","description":"Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa addresses European lawmakers during the presentation of the programme of activities of the Portuguese Presidency on a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.","byline":"Francisco Seco","hireswidth":4500,"hiresheight":3000,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/1b/21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713/600846373dc4f.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1763","height":"1175","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/1b/21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713/600846373b6d1.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"67","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/1b/21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713/600846373b6d1.image.jpg?resize=100%2C67"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"200","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/1b/21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713/600846373b6d1.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"682","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/1b/21b43cf4-a2ad-5f63-8588-0decac945713/600846373b6d1.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C682"}}}],"revision":18,"commentID":"1e656d12-2e8f-56dc-84cd-735d6f6d9982","body":"LISBON, Portugal \u2014 Portugal has the highest seven-day average rate of new cases per capita and the second-highest rate of new deaths in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The daily new cases per 100,000 population rose from 51 on Jan. 5 to 98 on Tuesday. The average daily deaths per capita rose from 0.75 to 1.63 during the same period.
Portugal is in lockdown, but the government is reluctant to close schools. Authorities have launched a program of rapid coronavirus tests at schools in the hardest-hit areas of the country. They say if schools close, some children won\u2019t get proper meals, have computer access or help with their studies.
Some teachers are unhappy about the policy, pressing for a national school closure.
The surge is pushing the public health system, especially hospitals, to capacity. The Health Ministry expects to open a field hospital Wednesday with 58 beds on the grounds of the Lisbon University campus. Authorities are opening more temporary medical installations at sites outside the health sector, including hotels, university residences and churches, with 2,300 beds.
Portugal reported 10,455 new confirmed cases and 218 deaths in the last 24 hours. That increased the overall totals to 566,958 cases and 9,246 deaths.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
Ontario's leader asks Biden for 1 million vaccine shots due to Pfizer shortfall for Canada. India to start delivering Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to neighboring countries. Expert panel says both China and the WHO should have acted faster to prevent the pandemic. Surging infections give Spain\u2019s new emergency hospital in Madrid a chance for use. Italy ponders suing Pfizer for vaccine delays.
\u2014\u2014Follow all of AP\u2019s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
\u2014\u2014\u2014
HERE\u2019S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ROME \u2014 Italy\u2019s coronavirus czar is pressing ahead with plans to take legal action against Pfizer after the U.S. pharmaceutical company announced delays in delivering pre-ordered COVID-19 vaccines to Europe.
Domenico Arcuri says in a statement he\u2019s secured unanimous backing from Italy\u2019s regional governors to take civil or criminal action, where possible.
Pfizer confirmed last week it would temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe and Canada while it upgrades production capacity to 2 billion doses per year at its Belgium plant. Arcuri says the delay would amount to a 29% reduction in upcoming deliveries to Italy.
In announcing the impending legal action, Arcuri says: \u201cThe health care of Italian citizens isn\u2019t negotiable.\u201d
So far, Italy has administered more than 1.2 million vaccine shots or 76% of the doses already delivered to Italian regions.
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TORONTO \u2014 Canada won\u2019t be getting any Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines next week and 50% fewer than expected over the next month, officials say, prompting the leader of Canada\u2019s most populous province to ask U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to share a million doses from Pfizer\u2019s Michigan plant.
Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin, who is leading Canada\u2019s logistical rollout and distribution of vaccines, called it a major reduction, but says Pfizer is still expected to meet its contractual obligation to ship four million doses to Canada by the end of March.
U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed last week it would temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe and Canada of its COVID-19 vaccine while it upgrades production capacity at its plant in Puurs, Belgium. Pfizer\u2019s Belgian plant supplies all shots delivered outside the U.S.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, Canada\u2019s most populous province, says he\u2019s angry. He asked Biden to help Canada, noting there\u2019s a Pfizer plant in Michigan.
\u201cOur American friends, help us out,\u201d Ford says. \u201cYou have a new president, no more excuses. Help us out.\u201d
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ROME \u2014 The Vatican has begun offering COVID-19 vaccines to homeless people and says it plans to expand the program in coming days.
A preliminary group of 25 people who live in residences run by the pope\u2019s chief alms-giver received the shots on Wednesday in the Vatican\u2019s auditorium. They joined Pope Francis, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican employees and their families who began receiving the vaccines last week.
The Vatican, as a sovereign city state, arranged for its own vaccine deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech shots. Italy has it\u2019s own vaccine campaign under way but to date the national health care system is prioritizing health care workers and the elderly.
Francis has called for universal availability of the shots, especially for the poor and most vulnerable. He has also said it was ethically necessary to take the vaccine, expressing incredulousness at vaccine and coronavirus skeptics, because \"you\u2019re playing not only with your health but the health of others.\u201d
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NEW DELHI \u2014 India began supplying coronavirus vaccines to its neighboring countries on Wednesday, as the world\u2019s largest vaccine making nation strikes a balance between maintaining enough doses to inoculate its own people and helping developing countries.
India\u2019s Foreign Ministry says the country would send 150,000 shots of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured locally by Serum Institute of India, to Bhutan and 100,000 shots to the Maldives on Wednesday.
Vaccines will be sent to Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and the Seychelles in coming weeks, the ministry says. It added in a statement that regulatory clearances were still awaited from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius.
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WARSAW, Poland \u2013 Poland\u2019s chief medical expert for fighting COVID-19 said Wednesday that the nation\u2019s high rate of deaths from the infection is mostly the result of people aged over 70, with other serious diseases, succumbing to the coronavirus.
According to Professor Andrzej Horban, the current high number of deaths among the elderly is the result of infections from large gatherings during Christmas and New Year's.
The data Wednesday showed almost 7,000 new infections and 443 confirmed deaths. Some 15,000 people remain hospitalized due to COVID-19. A nation of 38 million, Poland has registered nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases and more than 34,000 deaths.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark \u2014 Police in the Norwegian capital are doubling fines for violating coronavirus restrictions, saying not respecting the limit of 10 people for private gatherings can lead organizers being fined 20,000 kroner ($2,326) while participants will be fined 10,000 kroner ($1,163).
\u201cThis increase in fine rates underlines the seriousness of breaking the coronavirus rules. Everyone has a responsibility to take care of infection control,\u201d said Oslo chief prosecutor Beate Brinch Sand.
Earlier this month, Oslo imposed coronavirus tests for all people entering the Scandinavian country from abroad to help stop the spread of the variant detected first in Britain.
Norway also has a nationwide ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and bars to prevent a virus resurgence and it raised fines for those violations, too.
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HONOLULU \u2014 Hawaii\u2019s leaders say limited supply is the main thing constraining distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in the state.
Hawaii received 59,000 doses of the vaccine last week, but expects to get only about 32,000 this week.
Still, Lt. Gov. Josh Green says the state expects to vaccinate everyone in the top priority category by the end of February. That category includes health care workers, long-term care facility residents, people over 75, and teachers and other front-line essential workers.
The federal government is distributing vaccines to each state in accordance with their share of the U.S. population.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
BEIJING \u2014 China\u2019s capital has recorded seven new coronavirus cases amid a lingering outbreak of infections in the country\u2019s north, where a total of 81 additional cases were reported in three provinces Wednesday.
China has recorded a total of 88,557 confirmed cases since the new coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. It has reported 4,635 confirmed deaths related to COVID-19.
China is hoping to vaccinate 50 million people against the coronavirus by the middle of next month. It is also releasing schools early and telling citizens to stay put during the Lunar New Year travel rush that begins in the coming days.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization experts are in quarantine in Wuhan ahead of field visits seeking to shed light on the origins of the coronavirus, which is thought to have jumped to humans from animals, possibly bats.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 Vaccine scarcity is continuing in California as indicators suggest a slowing in the holiday-driven surge that led the state to be the first to top 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases.
San Francisco\u2019s public health department is likely to run out of vaccine Thursday, in part because the state pulled back on administering a batch of Moderna vaccine. Sacramento County is also running short.
Los Angeles County is starting to inoculate those 65 and older despite the scarcity.
But infection indicators are starting to show what the state\u2019s top health official on Tuesday called \u201crays of hope.\u201d
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. \u2014 West Virginia\u2019s speedy coronavirus vaccination drive is facing a roadblock, with state leaders saying they didn\u2019t receive an expected increase in doses this week.
With 99.6% of first doses delivered already administered, officials are clamoring for the federal government to send more vaccine.
Noting that other states have doses unused, Gov. Jim Justice said Tuesday: \u201cWe\u2019ve got them all in people\u2019s arms and we\u2019ve done exactly what we should have done. \u2026 I think performance ought to be rewarded.\u201d
He says the state hasn\u2019t received a promised 25,000 additional doses this week on top of its usual weekly allocation of about 23,000.
West Virginia officials say 7.4% of the state\u2019s 1.78 million people have received at least one of two doses \u2014 the highest rate among the 50 states
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OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 Oklahoma on Tuesday surpassed 3,000 total deaths due to COVID-19.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported an increase of 43 deaths in Oklahoma for a total of 3,037. The department reported 358,374 total cases.
A tally by Johns Hopkins University reports that Oklahoma had the fourth highest number of new cases per capita in the nation with 1,269.19 per 100,000 residents during the past two weeks.
Deputy state health commissioner Keith Reed said Oklahoma has administered 243,807 vaccinations thus far.
The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday voted to extend a mask mandate in the state\u2019s most populous city to March 5. The Tulsa City Council last week extended that city\u2019s mask mandate until April 30.
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WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed 400,000 in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts to be a singular failure.
The running total of lives lost reported Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University is nearly equal to the number of Americans killed in World II. It is about the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tampa, Florida; or New Orleans. It is equivalent to the sea of humanity that was at Woodstock in 1969.
It is just short of the estimated 409,000 Americans who died in 2019 of strokes, Alzheimer\u2019s, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined.
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PORTLAND, Maine \u2014 Public health authorities in Maine say thousands of doses of coronavirus vaccine exceeded temperature requirements during their shipment to the state.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav Shah says the 4,400 doses of Moderna\u2019s vaccine exceeded the required temperature during their journey to 35 sites in the state. He said the sites have set the vaccine doses aside and will receive replacement doses on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Shah says Operation Warp Speed and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating how and why the error happened.
Maine has had more than 500 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
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MADRID \u2014 Several Spanish regions are tightening restrictions against the steep increase of coronavirus infections, awaiting for a government decision to allow regional curfews as early as 8 p.m.
A meeting on Wednesday is expected to decide on whether to tweak a nationwide emergency state to allow regional governments a stricter response to the country\u2019s third resurgence of contagion. Roughly half of the regions have asked to bring forward the existing limit on a 10 p.m. curfew.
The health ministry recorded Tuesday 34,291 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 404 new confirmed deaths, bringing the confirmed totals since the pandemic began to 2.37 million cases and at least 54,000 deaths.
Central Castilla La Mancha, eastern Valencia and northern Navarra are announcing new closures of bars and restaurants or restrictions to allow only food deliveries or outdoor dining. The western Extremadura region, currently with the country\u2019s highest rate of infection, is further delaying the reopening of schools for 2021 until Jan. 25.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
JERUSALEM \u2014 Israel\u2019s Cabinet on Tuesday extended an existing nationwide lockdown through the end of January as the country contends with a runaway surge in coronavirus cases.
Most schools and nonessential businesses were closed earlier this month for two weeks, with outdoor gatherings restricted to 10 people. Those restrictions were extended until Feb. 1, and people landing in Israel must now present a negative coronavirus test result from at least 72 hours before their arrival.
Although Israel has administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to more than 2 million people, the country of 9 million has seen an infection surge. Israel\u2019s health ministry has reported more than 562,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases and at least 4,049 deaths. The ministry recorded a record-high number of daily infections on Monday, with more than 10,000 new cases.
Israel\u2019s health ministry also announced it is preparing to ramp up its vaccination efforts to 250,000 people per day, including people as young as 40.
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LONDON \u2014 The U.K. has recorded more than 90,000 coronavirus-related deaths, just 10 days after it passed the 80,000 threshold.
Government figures Tuesday show another 1,610 people were reported to have died in the 28 days after testing positive, taking the total to 91,470. The daily increase is the highest daily figure reported since the pandemic began in the U.K.
Figures released Tuesday have been higher throughout the pandemic because of weekend reporting lag effects.
Though the number of people dying is rising on a seven-day average, the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus is declining somewhat after lockdown measures put in place across the U.K.
However, the government recorded another 33,355 people tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, the lowest since Dec. 27.
The U.K., which is Europe\u2019s worst-hit nation with COVID-related deaths, recorded huge increases in cases near the end of the year. Some scientists point to a new variant of the virus first identified around London and the southeast of England.
\u2014\u2014\u2014
"}, {"id":"87bcd064-7809-56dd-8cfa-6d5d2515f2a1","type":"article","starttime":"1611151999","starttime_iso8601":"2021-01-20T07:13:19-07:00","lastupdated":"1611153180","priority":0,"sections":[{"business":"business"},{"national":"news/national"}],"flags":{"ap":"true"},"application":"editorial","title":"US probes complaints that Ford tailgate recall didn't work","url":"http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_87bcd064-7809-56dd-8cfa-6d5d2515f2a1.html","permalink":"https://www.heraldextra.com/business/us-probes-complaints-that-ford-tailgate-recall-didnt-work/article_87bcd064-7809-56dd-8cfa-6d5d2515f2a1.html","canonical":"https://apnews.com/49d692e90328b09dcb3e7ffcf70f4135","relatedAssetCounts":{"article":0,"audio":0,"image":1,"link":0,"vmix":0,"youtube":0,"gallery":0},"prologue":"DETROIT (AP) \u2014 U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that a Ford pickup truck tailgate recall didn't fix the problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 11 complaints that a recall of power tailgates on 300,000 Super Duty pickups failed to rectify the issue. The agency says it also has received reports from Ford about unintended tailgate openings after the recall repairs were made.","supportsComments":false,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["business","general news","automobile recalls","automobile safety","product safety","products and services","corporate news","product recalls"],"internalKeywords":[],"customProperties":{},"presentation":null,"images":[{"id":"e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd","description":"FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2019, file photograph, the company logo shines off the grille of an unsold 2019 F-250 pickup truck at a Ford dealership in Littleton, Colo. Ford Motor Co. posted a stronger-than-expected third-quarter net profit, the company announced Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, as demand for cars and trucks recovered from coronavirus shutdowns and the company sold more high-margin trucks.","byline":"David Zalubowski","hireswidth":5472,"hiresheight":3648,"hiresurl":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/3f/e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd/5ffc992c66934.hires.jpg","presentation":null,"versions":{"full":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1763","height":"1175","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/3f/e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd/5ffc992c641f9.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175"},"100": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"100","height":"67","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/3f/e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd/5ffc992c641f9.image.jpg?resize=100%2C67"},"300": {"type":"image/jpeg","width":"300","height":"200","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/3f/e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd/5ffc992c641f9.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200"},"1024":{"type":"image/jpeg","width":"1024","height":"682","url":"https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/3f/e3fa4b30-7f03-5882-832f-64d9d565f6dd/5ffc992c641f9.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C682"}}}],"revision":3,"commentID":"87bcd064-7809-56dd-8cfa-6d5d2515f2a1","body":"DETROIT (AP) \u2014 U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that a Ford pickup truck tailgate recall didn't fix the problem.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 11 complaints that a recall of power tailgates on 300,000 Super Duty pickups failed to rectify the issue. The agency says it also has received reports from Ford about unintended tailgate openings after the recall repairs were made.
Ford recalled the F-250, F-350 and F-450 trucks in 2019 because the power tailgates could open while being driven. The defect allowed for the potential of unrestrained cargo tumbling from vehicles. The trucks are from the 2017 through 2020 model years.
The agency says it will investigate how often the problem happens and what the safety consequences are. The probe could lead to another recall.
A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from Ford.
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