GRAND ISLAND&nbsp; — Nebraska State Troopers have arrested three people after locating numerous controlled substances during traffic stops on Wednesday.

Wednesday morning, at approximately 10:40 a.m. C.T., a trooper observed a Jeep Cherokee fail to stop at a stop sign as it exited Interstate 80 at the Waco interchange, at mile marker 360. During the traffic stop, the trooper detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed 82 pounds of marijuana, nearly 3 pounds of THC wax, and 9 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.

The driver, Amy Taylor, 58, of Sacramento, California, and passenger, Damian Taylor, 22, of Charlotte, North Carolina, were both arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession of a controlled substance, and possession with intent to deliver. Both were lodged in York County Jail.

Wednesday afternoon, at approximately 2:10 p.m. M.T., a trooper observed a Honda Element fail to maintain its lane while traveling on Highway 30, near Roscoe. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the presence of a controlled substance inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed 12 pounds of THC concentrate, nearly 3 pounds of marijuana, approximately 100 THC edibles, and more than 20 controlled pills.

The driver, Kathryn Wenzel, 27, of Los Angeles, California, was arrested for possession of multiple controlled substances, possession of marijuana – more than one pound, and possession with intent to deliver. She was lodged in Keith County Jail.

GRAND ISLAND&nbsp; — Nebraska State Troopers have arrested three people after locating numerous controlled substances during traffic stops on Wednesday.Wednesday morning, at approximately 10:40 a.m. C.T., a trooper observed a Jeep Cherokee fail to stop at a stop sign as it exited Interstate 80 at the Waco interchange, at mile marker 360. During the traffic stop, the trooper detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed 82 pounds of marijuana, nearly 3 pounds of THC wax, and 9 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.The driver, Amy Taylor, 58, of Sacramento, California, and passenger, Damian Taylor, 22, of Charlotte, North Carolina, were both arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession of a controlled substance, and possession with intent to deliver. Both were lodged in York County Jail.Wednesday afternoon, at approximately 2:10 p.m. M.T., a trooper observed a Honda Element fail to maintain its lane while traveling on Highway 30, near Roscoe. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the presence of a controlled substance inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed 12 pounds of THC concentrate, nearly 3 pounds of marijuana, approximately 100 THC edibles, and more than 20 controlled pills.The driver, Kathryn Wenzel, 27, of Los Angeles, California, was arrested for possession of multiple controlled substances, possession of marijuana – more than one pound, and possession with intent to deliver. She was lodged in Keith County Jail.

Troopers find controlled substances in multiple traffic stops

By DAVID A. LIEB and GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press

Tens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have put President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates affecting private companies on hold. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Georgia stayed a vaccine mandate for employers of companies that contract with the federal government. That follows similar nationwide suspensions of Biden administration mandates for employees of larger private companies and certain health care workers.

The courts are responding to lawsuits brought by Republican-led states, businesses and other opponents. Numerous other legal challenges are pending, some involving groups of states and others filed by states acting alone.

The rulings have led vaccine mandates to be halted at some large employers. They include Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, the three largest state universities in Kansas and the city of Phoenix. Two large aircraft parts makers in Wichita also suspended their vaccination deadlines.

Despite other legal challenges, separate Biden administration vaccine mandates for federal government employees and the military remain in effect, as do mask requirements for airline passengers and people using public transportation.

The legal cases concern whether the federal government can force employers to require vaccinations. Courts have generally been accepting of requirements that businesses and universities have put in place on their own.

<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-onedose-pop-5yr">More than four-fifths of adults nationwide already have received at least one dose&nbsp;</a>of a COVID-19 vaccine. But Biden contends his various workforce vaccine mandates are an important step to drive up vaccination rates and containing the virus outbreak, which has killed more than 790,000 people in the U.S.

Opponents have taken a three-tiered approach to challenging the requirements. In lawsuits, they contend the vaccine mandates were imposed without proper public comment, were not authorized by Congress and infringe on states' rights to regulate public health matters.

“The reasoning across the cases is basically the same, which is that these statutes don’t give the president or the agency in question the authority to issue the mandates," said Gregory Magarian, a constitutional law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

The Biden administration contends its rule-making authority is firm and supersedes any state policies prohibiting vaccine requirements. Recent experience shows that such mandates generally prompt people to get vaccinated: By the time a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-business-travel-99b820492135ceeaf23e51b834d6ab79">Biden requirement for federal workers to be vaccinated&nbsp;</a>took effect last month, 92% had received at least their first dose of the shot.

Following is a rundown of some of Biden's most sweeping vaccine requirements and the status of the legal fights over them.

What it would do: Under&nbsp;<a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23643.pdf">a rule published by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration&nbsp;</a>on Nov. 5, businesses with 100 or more workers are to require employees to be vaccinated. If they are not, they would need to be tested weekly and wear masks while working, with exceptions for those who work alone or mostly outdoors. The rule was to go into effect Jan. 4. The requirement would affect businesses with a cumulative 84 million employees, and OSHA projected it could save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations over six months.

Who’s challenging it: The requirement is being challenged by 27 Republican-led state governments plus conservative and business groups and some individual businesses. The states mostly filed lawsuits in groups, though Indiana challenged it alone. Their arguments include that it’s the job of states, not the federal government, to deal with public health measures. The Biden administration maintains that the measure is legal. Some labor unions also contested the rule, though not for the same reasons as the Republicans and business group. They say it doesn't go far enough to protect workers.

Where it stands: The rule is on hold. A day after states challenged the rule, a panel of three&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/appeals-court-stays-vaccine-mandate-coronavirus-biden-b235b6fa858bd23b02ab5f9c009428db">judges in the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked it</a>. At first, it was a temporary suspension, then a more permanent one. The legal challenges originally were filed in various U.S. appeals courts. The cases subsequently were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-us-supreme-court-business-health-62a918becbcd80a77fbc12ca56dd14ad">consolidated&nbsp;</a>into a court that was selected at random, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

What’s next: The Biden administration is asking the 6th Circuit to set aside the order from the 5th Circuit and allow the vaccine requirement. In the meantime, OSHA has suspended implementation of the rule. Groups that are suing want the questions decided by all the judges on the 6th Circuit rather than a panel of just some of them.

What it would do:: Under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-issues-emergency-regulation-requiring-covid-19-vaccination-health-care">a rule published by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid</a>&nbsp;on Nov. 5, a wide range of health care providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding were to require workers to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. The rule would affect more than 17 million workers in about 76,000 health care facilities and home health care providers.

Who's challenging it: The rule was challenged in four separate lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, mostly in groups. Florida and Texas mounted their own challenges. The states argued that there were no grounds for an emergency rule, that CMS had no clear legal authority to issue the mandate and that the rule infringes on states' responsibilities.

Where it stands: The rule is on hold.&nbsp;<a href="https://hosted.ap.org/semissourian/article/2d05c688115e139b034ec4a497140c3b/e710c221e0648cfa24346c36e60e6ae9">A Missouri-based federal judge issued a preliminary injunction</a>&nbsp;Nov. 29 barring its enforcement in 10 states that had originally sued. The next day, a Louisiana-based federal judge also issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement in the rest of the states.

What's next: Both court rulings are being appealed by the Biden administration. The case filed in Missouri is being considered by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case filed in Louisiana, which was brought by a coalition of 14 states, is being considered by the 5th Circuit. So far, there's been no move to consolidate the challenges in a single court.

What would it do: Under an executive order issued by Biden on Sept. 9, contractors and subcontractors for the federal government are required to comply with workplace safety guidelines developed by a federal task force. That task force&nbsp;<a href="https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/downloads/Guidance%20for%20Federal%20Contractors_Safer%20Federal%20Workforce%20Task%20Force_20211110.pdf">subsequently issued guidelines</a>&nbsp;requiring that new, renewed or extended contracts include a clause requiring employees to be fully vaccinated Jan. 18. That meant those receiving a two-dose vaccine must get their second shot by Jan. 4. There are limited exceptions for medical or religions reasons. The requirements could apply to millions of employees.

Who's challenging it: The guidelines have been challenged through more than a dozen lawsuits, including seven brought by Republican-led states or coalitions of states. The arguments are similar to those against other vaccine mandates, asserting the Biden administration exceeded the procurement rule-making powers granted by Congress, infringed on states' responsibilities and didn't properly gather public comment.

Where it stands: The rule is on hold. A federal judge in Georgia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-business-augusta-684571e6fb81014caed440c66e2b7fa2">issued a ruling Dec. 7</a>&nbsp;prohibiting enforcement of the requirement for contractors nationally. The ruling came a week after a judge in Kentucky barred enforcement of the requirement in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

What's next: Legal challenges pending in several other states could lead to additional rulings on requests for injunctions. The Kentucky or Georgia rulings also could be appealed.

A quick consolidation of the federal contractor lawsuits appears unlikely.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1630439593928.png" alt="The Biden administration contends its rule-making authority is firm-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The Biden administration contends its rule-making authority is firm-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID A. LIEB and GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated PressTens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have put President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates affecting private companies on hold. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Georgia stayed a vaccine mandate for employers of companies that contract with the federal government. That follows similar nationwide suspensions of Biden administration mandates for employees of larger private companies and certain health care workers.The courts are responding to lawsuits brought by Republican-led states, businesses and other opponents. Numerous other legal challenges are pending, some involving groups of states and others filed by states acting alone.The rulings have led vaccine mandates to be halted at some large employers. They include Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, the three largest state universities in Kansas and the city of Phoenix. Two large aircraft parts makers in Wichita also suspended their vaccination deadlines.Despite other legal challenges, separate Biden administration vaccine mandates for federal government employees and the military remain in effect, as do mask requirements for airline passengers and people using public transportation.The legal cases concern whether the federal government can force employers to require vaccinations. Courts have generally been accepting of requirements that businesses and universities have put in place on their own.<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-onedose-pop-5yr">More than four-fifths of adults nationwide already have received at least one dose&nbsp;</a>of a COVID-19 vaccine. But Biden contends his various workforce vaccine mandates are an important step to drive up vaccination rates and containing the virus outbreak, which has killed more than 790,000 people in the U.S.Opponents have taken a three-tiered approach to challenging the requirements. In lawsuits, they contend the vaccine mandates were imposed without proper public comment, were not authorized by Congress and infringe on states' rights to regulate public health matters.“The reasoning across the cases is basically the same, which is that these statutes don’t give the president or the agency in question the authority to issue the mandates," said Gregory Magarian, a constitutional law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.The Biden administration contends its rule-making authority is firm and supersedes any state policies prohibiting vaccine requirements. Recent experience shows that such mandates generally prompt people to get vaccinated: By the time a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-business-travel-99b820492135ceeaf23e51b834d6ab79">Biden requirement for federal workers to be vaccinated&nbsp;</a>took effect last month, 92% had received at least their first dose of the shot.Following is a rundown of some of Biden's most sweeping vaccine requirements and the status of the legal fights over them.LARGE BUSINESS MANDATEWhat it would do: Under&nbsp;<a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2021-23643.pdf">a rule published by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration&nbsp;</a>on Nov. 5, businesses with 100 or more workers are to require employees to be vaccinated. If they are not, they would need to be tested weekly and wear masks while working, with exceptions for those who work alone or mostly outdoors. The rule was to go into effect Jan. 4. The requirement would affect businesses with a cumulative 84 million employees, and OSHA projected it could save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations over six months.Who’s challenging it: The requirement is being challenged by 27 Republican-led state governments plus conservative and business groups and some individual businesses. The states mostly filed lawsuits in groups, though Indiana challenged it alone. Their arguments include that it’s the job of states, not the federal government, to deal with public health measures. The Biden administration maintains that the measure is legal. Some labor unions also contested the rule, though not for the same reasons as the Republicans and business group. They say it doesn't go far enough to protect workers.Where it stands: The rule is on hold. A day after states challenged the rule, a panel of three&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/appeals-court-stays-vaccine-mandate-coronavirus-biden-b235b6fa858bd23b02ab5f9c009428db">judges in the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked it</a>. At first, it was a temporary suspension, then a more permanent one. The legal challenges originally were filed in various U.S. appeals courts. The cases subsequently were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-us-supreme-court-business-health-62a918becbcd80a77fbc12ca56dd14ad">consolidated&nbsp;</a>into a court that was selected at random, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.What’s next: The Biden administration is asking the 6th Circuit to set aside the order from the 5th Circuit and allow the vaccine requirement. In the meantime, OSHA has suspended implementation of the rule. Groups that are suing want the questions decided by all the judges on the 6th Circuit rather than a panel of just some of them.HEALTH WORKER MANDATEWhat it would do:: Under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-issues-emergency-regulation-requiring-covid-19-vaccination-health-care">a rule published by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid</a>&nbsp;on Nov. 5, a wide range of health care providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding were to require workers to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. The rule would affect more than 17 million workers in about 76,000 health care facilities and home health care providers.Who's challenging it: The rule was challenged in four separate lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, mostly in groups. Florida and Texas mounted their own challenges. The states argued that there were no grounds for an emergency rule, that CMS had no clear legal authority to issue the mandate and that the rule infringes on states' responsibilities.Where it stands: The rule is on hold.&nbsp;<a href="https://hosted.ap.org/semissourian/article/2d05c688115e139b034ec4a497140c3b/e710c221e0648cfa24346c36e60e6ae9">A Missouri-based federal judge issued a preliminary injunction</a>&nbsp;Nov. 29 barring its enforcement in 10 states that had originally sued. The next day, a Louisiana-based federal judge also issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement in the rest of the states.What's next: Both court rulings are being appealed by the Biden administration. The case filed in Missouri is being considered by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case filed in Louisiana, which was brought by a coalition of 14 states, is being considered by the 5th Circuit. So far, there's been no move to consolidate the challenges in a single court.FEDERAL CONTRACTOR MANDATEWhat would it do: Under an executive order issued by Biden on Sept. 9, contractors and subcontractors for the federal government are required to comply with workplace safety guidelines developed by a federal task force. That task force&nbsp;<a href="https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/downloads/Guidance%20for%20Federal%20Contractors_Safer%20Federal%20Workforce%20Task%20Force_20211110.pdf">subsequently issued guidelines</a>&nbsp;requiring that new, renewed or extended contracts include a clause requiring employees to be fully vaccinated Jan. 18. That meant those receiving a two-dose vaccine must get their second shot by Jan. 4. There are limited exceptions for medical or religions reasons. The requirements could apply to millions of employees.Who's challenging it: The guidelines have been challenged through more than a dozen lawsuits, including seven brought by Republican-led states or coalitions of states. The arguments are similar to those against other vaccine mandates, asserting the Biden administration exceeded the procurement rule-making powers granted by Congress, infringed on states' responsibilities and didn't properly gather public comment.Where it stands: The rule is on hold. A federal judge in Georgia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-business-augusta-684571e6fb81014caed440c66e2b7fa2">issued a ruling Dec. 7</a>&nbsp;prohibiting enforcement of the requirement for contractors nationally. The ruling came a week after a judge in Kentucky barred enforcement of the requirement in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.What's next: Legal challenges pending in several other states could lead to additional rulings on requests for injunctions. The Kentucky or Georgia rulings also could be appealed.A quick consolidation of the federal contractor lawsuits appears unlikely.

Workers across U.S. are in limbo over Biden's vaccine mandate

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE, Associated Press

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, ruling that 16- and 17-year-olds can get a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine.

The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the worrisome new omicron variant.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it’s been six months since their last shot.

There's one more step: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must formally recommend the boosters for this age group and a decision is expected soon.

The Pfizer vaccine is the only option in the U.S. for anyone younger than 18, either for initial vaccination or for use as a booster. It’s not yet clear if or when teens younger than 16 might need a third Pfizer dose.

Vaccinations for children as young as 5 just began last month, using special low-dose Pfizer shots. By this week, about 5 million 5- to 11-year-olds had gotten a first dose.

The extra-contagious delta variant is causing nearly all COVID-19 infections in the U.S., and in much of the world. It’s not yet clear how vaccines will hold up against the new and markedly different omicron mutant. But there’s strong evidence that boosters offer a jump in protection against delta-caused infections, currently the biggest threat.

Complicating the decision to extend boosters to 16- and 17-year-olds is that the Pfizer shot -- and a similar vaccine made by Moderna -- have been linked to a rare side effect. Called myocarditis, it’s a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys.

Health officials in Israel, which already gives boosters to teens, have said the side effect continues to be rare with third doses.

A U.S. study this week offered additional reassurance. Researchers from children’s hospitals around the country checked medical records and found the rare side effect usually is mild and people recover quickly, while COVID-19 itself can cause more serious heart inflammation. The research was published Monday in the journal Circulation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637329411498.png" alt="Drive through vaccine event this fall in Lawerence -photo Lawrence-Douglas County. Public Health" />
 <figcaption>Drive through vaccine event this fall in Lawerence -photo Lawrence-Douglas County. Public Health</figcaption>
 </figure>By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE, Associated PressThe U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, ruling that 16- and 17-year-olds can get a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine.The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the worrisome new omicron variant.On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it’s been six months since their last shot.There's one more step: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must formally recommend the boosters for this age group and a decision is expected soon.The Pfizer vaccine is the only option in the U.S. for anyone younger than 18, either for initial vaccination or for use as a booster. It’s not yet clear if or when teens younger than 16 might need a third Pfizer dose.Vaccinations for children as young as 5 just began last month, using special low-dose Pfizer shots. By this week, about 5 million 5- to 11-year-olds had gotten a first dose.The extra-contagious delta variant is causing nearly all COVID-19 infections in the U.S., and in much of the world. It’s not yet clear how vaccines will hold up against the new and markedly different omicron mutant. But there’s strong evidence that boosters offer a jump in protection against delta-caused infections, currently the biggest threat.Complicating the decision to extend boosters to 16- and 17-year-olds is that the Pfizer shot -- and a similar vaccine made by Moderna -- have been linked to a rare side effect. Called myocarditis, it’s a type of heart inflammation seen mostly in younger men and teen boys.Health officials in Israel, which already gives boosters to teens, have said the side effect continues to be rare with third doses.A U.S. study this week offered additional reassurance. Researchers from children’s hospitals around the country checked medical records and found the rare side effect usually is mild and people recover quickly, while COVID-19 itself can cause more serious heart inflammation. The research was published Monday in the journal Circulation.

FDA expands Pfizer COVID booster, opens extra dose to age 16

AP - Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises has rejected a takeover offer from the Alden Global Capital hedge fund that is one of the largest newspaper owners in the country with a reputation for intense cost cuts and layoffs. 

Lee said Thursday that its board unanimously rejected Alden’s offer to buy the company for $24 per share or about $141 million because it “grossly undervalues” Lee. 

Also Thursday, Lee reported $5.3 million fiscal fourth-quarter profit this year, rebounding from a $1.3 million loss a year ago, as the number of digital-only subscribers at the company grew 65% to 402,000.

AP - Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises has rejected a takeover offer from the Alden Global Capital hedge fund that is one of the largest newspaper owners in the country with a reputation for intense cost cuts and layoffs. Lee said Thursday that its board unanimously rejected Alden’s offer to buy the company for $24 per share or about $141 million because it “grossly undervalues” Lee. Also Thursday, Lee reported $5.3 million fiscal fourth-quarter profit this year, rebounding from a $1.3 million loss a year ago, as the number of digital-only subscribers at the company grew 65% to 402,000.

Lee Enterprises rejects takeover bid from Alden hedge fund

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that&nbsp;businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.

The vote was 52-48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take the measure up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-health-lawsuits-2d05c688115e139b034ec4a497140c3b">should the rule go into effect</a>.

“Every so often Washington D.C. does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”

Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.

Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets2" target="_blank">suspended as the litigation unfolds.</a>

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.

“Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn’t believe science. Or 500 years ago when they were sure the Earth was flat,” Schumer said.

Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.

“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.

Some argued that the mandate may even contribute to people not getting vaccinated.

“I think, actually, the mandate has made it worse in terms of hardening people who don’t want to be told what to do by the government,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said a telephone town hall she recently held with constituents made clear they are concerned about keeping their a job if the mandate goes into effect.

“If you look at my state, 40% of my state’s workforce stands to lose their job under this mandate,” Capito said. “It will be a killer to our economy.”

In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.

“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?”

The White House released a statement earlier this week stating that Biden’s advisers would recommend he veto the resolution in the unlikely event it makes it to his desk.

“The president wants to see Americans back on the job, and Americans back at work should not face risk from those who are not vaccinated and who refuse to be tested,” the White House said.

Deaths in the United States stemming from COVID-19 are running close to 1,600 a day on average. The overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the pandemic could soon reach 800,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639053472760.png" alt="Kansas Senator Roger Marshall joined Sen. Mike Braun to lead other Republican senators pushing for rollback of Biden vaccine mandate for businesses-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Senator Roger Marshall joined Sen. Mike Braun to lead other Republican senators pushing for rollback of Biden vaccine mandate for businesses-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that&nbsp;businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.The vote was 52-48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take the measure up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-health-lawsuits-2d05c688115e139b034ec4a497140c3b">should the rule go into effect</a>.“Every so often Washington D.C. does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets2" target="_blank">suspended as the litigation unfolds.</a>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.“Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn’t believe science. Or 500 years ago when they were sure the Earth was flat,” Schumer said.Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.Some argued that the mandate may even contribute to people not getting vaccinated.“I think, actually, the mandate has made it worse in terms of hardening people who don’t want to be told what to do by the government,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said a telephone town hall she recently held with constituents made clear they are concerned about keeping their a job if the mandate goes into effect.“If you look at my state, 40% of my state’s workforce stands to lose their job under this mandate,” Capito said. “It will be a killer to our economy.”In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?”The White House released a statement earlier this week stating that Biden’s advisers would recommend he veto the resolution in the unlikely event it makes it to his desk.“The president wants to see Americans back on the job, and Americans back at work should not face risk from those who are not vaccinated and who refuse to be tested,” the White House said.Deaths in the United States stemming from COVID-19 are running close to 1,600 a day on average. The overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the pandemic could soon reach 800,000.

With Dem votes, Senate kills Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for impersonating a federal officer.

 The U.S. Attorney's Office for Nebraska says in a news release that 56-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in prison after he was found guilty in September of four counts of impersonating a federal officer. 

Prosecutors say Ostdiek went to several places in Omaha between October 2016 and January 2017 claiming to be a postal inspector or postmaster general. 

Prosecutors say that in September 2020, Ostdiek also went to several businesses and a home claiming to be a U.S. marshal.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for impersonating a federal officer. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Nebraska says in a news release that 56-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Ostdiek was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in prison after he was found guilty in September of four counts of impersonating a federal officer. Prosecutors say Ostdiek went to several places in Omaha between October 2016 and January 2017 claiming to be a postal inspector or postmaster general. Prosecutors say that in September 2020, Ostdiek also went to several businesses and a home claiming to be a U.S. marshal.

Nebraska man gets prison for impersonating federal officer

Pfizer said Wednesday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-can-i-protect-myself-from-omicron-variant-c4e5662a36708a594c454b171ab93bd0">new omicron variant</a>&nbsp;even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that while two doses may not be protective enough to prevent infection, lab tests showed a booster increased by 25-fold people’s levels of virus-fighting antibodies against the omicron variant.

Blood samples taken a month after a booster showed people harbored levels of omicron-neutralizing antibodies that were similar to amounts proven protective against earlier variants after two doses.

Scientists don’t yet know how big a threat the omicron variant really is. Currently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-southern-africa-pandemics-2a445501cff8d0354fabcf493418365e">the extra-contagious delta variant&nbsp;</a>is responsible for most of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and other countries.

But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-ec296f982f7342c29fa89f96e09db93a">omicron variant</a>, discovered late last month, carries an unusually large number of mutations and scientists are racing to learn how easily it spreads, whether it causes illness that is more serious or milder than other coronavirus types — and how much it might evade the protection of prior vaccinations.

Pfizer’s findings, announced in a press release, are preliminary and haven’t yet undergone scientific review. But they’re the first from a vaccine maker examining whether the booster doses that health authorities are urging people to get may indeed make an important difference.

Scientists have speculated that the high jump in antibodies that comes with a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines might be enough to counter any decrease in effectiveness.

Pfizer and BioNTech already are working to create an omicron-specific vaccine in case it’s needed.

Antibody levels predict how well a vaccine may prevent infection with the coronavirus but they are just one layer of the immune system’s defenses. Pfizer said two doses of the vaccine should still protect against severe disease, because the mutations in omicron don’t appear to hamper one of those other defenses, T cells that fight the virus after infection sets in.

“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is maximized with a third dose of our vaccine,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.

Pfizer’s announcement had an immediate impact on U.S. markets. Futures that had pointed to a lower open reversed course in seconds and swung solidly to the positive with the Dow jumping almost 200 points.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608677701818.png" alt="A worker at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City prepares doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19 -photo Truman Medical Center" />
 <figcaption>A worker at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City prepares doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19 -photo Truman Medical Center</figcaption>
 </figure>By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated PressPfizer said Wednesday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-can-i-protect-myself-from-omicron-variant-c4e5662a36708a594c454b171ab93bd0">new omicron variant</a>&nbsp;even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective.Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that while two doses may not be protective enough to prevent infection, lab tests showed a booster increased by 25-fold people’s levels of virus-fighting antibodies against the omicron variant.Blood samples taken a month after a booster showed people harbored levels of omicron-neutralizing antibodies that were similar to amounts proven protective against earlier variants after two doses.Scientists don’t yet know how big a threat the omicron variant really is. Currently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-southern-africa-pandemics-2a445501cff8d0354fabcf493418365e">the extra-contagious delta variant&nbsp;</a>is responsible for most of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and other countries.But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-ec296f982f7342c29fa89f96e09db93a">omicron variant</a>, discovered late last month, carries an unusually large number of mutations and scientists are racing to learn how easily it spreads, whether it causes illness that is more serious or milder than other coronavirus types — and how much it might evade the protection of prior vaccinations.Pfizer’s findings, announced in a press release, are preliminary and haven’t yet undergone scientific review. But they’re the first from a vaccine maker examining whether the booster doses that health authorities are urging people to get may indeed make an important difference.Scientists have speculated that the high jump in antibodies that comes with a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines might be enough to counter any decrease in effectiveness.Pfizer and BioNTech already are working to create an omicron-specific vaccine in case it’s needed.Antibody levels predict how well a vaccine may prevent infection with the coronavirus but they are just one layer of the immune system’s defenses. Pfizer said two doses of the vaccine should still protect against severe disease, because the mutations in omicron don’t appear to hamper one of those other defenses, T cells that fight the virus after infection sets in.“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is maximized with a third dose of our vaccine,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.Pfizer’s announcement had an immediate impact on U.S. markets. Futures that had pointed to a lower open reversed course in seconds and swung solidly to the positive with the Dow jumping almost 200 points.___

Pfizer: COVID booster may offer protection against omicron

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded retirement 
plan participants and individual retirement account owners that 
payments, called <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">required minimum distributions</a>, must usually be taken by December 31.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) generally are minimum amounts 
that retirement plan account owners must withdraw annually starting with
 the year they reach 72 or, if later, the year they retire. However, if 
the retirement plan account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner
 of the business sponsoring the retirement plan, the RMDs must begin 
once the account holder is age 72, even if they're still working. RMD 
amounts not timely withdrawn from accounts may be subject to penalties.

Individuals who reached 70 ½ in 2019, (70th birthday was June 30, 2019 or earlier) did not have an RMD due for 2020, but will have to take one by December 31, 2021.

Individuals who reach 72 in 2021 (and their 70th birthday was July 1, 2019 or later) have their first RMD due by April 1, 2022.

The required distribution rules apply to:

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth IRAs</a> do not require distributions while the original owner is alive.

An IRA trustee, or plan administrator, must report the amount of the 
RMD to the IRA owner. An IRA owner, or trustee, must calculate the RMD 
separately for each IRA owned. However, they can choose to withdraw the 
total amount from one or more of the IRAs. In contrast, RMDs required 
from workplace retirement plans must be taken separately from each plan.
 Not taking a required distribution, or not withdrawing enough, could 
mean a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed.

The RMD is based on the taxpayer's life expectancy and their account balance. Often, a trustee will use <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5498">Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information</a>,
 to report the RMD to the recipient. For most taxpayers, life expectancy
 used to calculate the RMD is based on Uniform Lifetime Table III in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-590-b">Publication 590-B, Distributions from IRAs</a>. Individuals can use <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/required-minimum-distribution-worksheets">online worksheets</a> on IRS.gov to figure the RMD.

An IRA owner or beneficiary who received an RMD in 2020 had the 
option of returning it to their account or other qualified plan to avoid
 paying taxes on that distribution. A 2020 RMD that qualified as a 
coronavirus-related distribution may be repaid over a 3-year period or 
have the taxes due on the distribution spread over three years. A 2020 
withdrawal from an inherited IRA could not be repaid to the inherited 
IRA but may be spread over three years for income inclusion.

IRS online tools and publications can help

Taxpayers can find <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">frequently asked questions</a>, forms and instructions and easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded retirement 
plan participants and individual retirement account owners that 
payments, called <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">required minimum distributions</a>, must usually be taken by December 31.Required minimum distributions (RMDs) generally are minimum amounts 
that retirement plan account owners must withdraw annually starting with
 the year they reach 72 or, if later, the year they retire. However, if 
the retirement plan account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner
 of the business sponsoring the retirement plan, the RMDs must begin 
once the account holder is age 72, even if they're still working. RMD 
amounts not timely withdrawn from accounts may be subject to penalties.Individuals who reached 70 ½ in 2019, (70th birthday was June 30, 2019 or earlier) did not have an RMD due for 2020, but will have to take one by December 31, 2021.Individuals who reach 72 in 2021 (and their 70th birthday was July 1, 2019 or later) have their first RMD due by April 1, 2022.The required distribution rules apply to:<ul>
 <li>Owners of traditional Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)</li><li>Owners of traditional Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs</li><li>Owners of Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs</li><li>Participants in various workplace retirement plans, including 401(k), Roth 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans</li>
 </ul><a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth IRAs</a> do not require distributions while the original owner is alive.An IRA trustee, or plan administrator, must report the amount of the 
RMD to the IRA owner. An IRA owner, or trustee, must calculate the RMD 
separately for each IRA owned. However, they can choose to withdraw the 
total amount from one or more of the IRAs. In contrast, RMDs required 
from workplace retirement plans must be taken separately from each plan.
 Not taking a required distribution, or not withdrawing enough, could 
mean a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed.The RMD is based on the taxpayer's life expectancy and their account balance. Often, a trustee will use <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5498">Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information</a>,
 to report the RMD to the recipient. For most taxpayers, life expectancy
 used to calculate the RMD is based on Uniform Lifetime Table III in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-590-b">Publication 590-B, Distributions from IRAs</a>. Individuals can use <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/required-minimum-distribution-worksheets">online worksheets</a> on IRS.gov to figure the RMD.<h2>2020 RMDs</h2>An IRA owner or beneficiary who received an RMD in 2020 had the 
option of returning it to their account or other qualified plan to avoid
 paying taxes on that distribution. A 2020 RMD that qualified as a 
coronavirus-related distribution may be repaid over a 3-year period or 
have the taxes due on the distribution spread over three years. A 2020 
withdrawal from an inherited IRA could not be repaid to the inherited 
IRA but may be spread over three years for income inclusion.<h2>IRS online tools and publications can help</h2>Taxpayers can find <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">frequently asked questions</a>, forms and instructions and easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov.<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">FAQs regarding Required Minimum Distributions</a></li><li><a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras">Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coronavirus-relief-for-retirement-plans-and-iras">Coronavirus Relief for Retirement Plans and IRAs</a></li>
 </ul>

TAX TIME: Most retirees must take required minimum distributions by Dec. 31

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — In a budget address to lawmakers, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has laid out a plan to spend an unprecedented amount of money in raises for state employees, teachers and health care providers, as well as boost infrastructure projects as the state receives billions in federal pandemic relief and sees surging tax revenue.

 Noem blames President Joe Biden for increases in inflation and says state employees, teachers and health care providers need a 6% raise. 

The Republican governor also proposed projects totaling over $1 billion.

 They include funds for housing, emergency responders, daycare facilities and water infrastructure. 

But one Democratic state lawmaker, Sen. Reynold Nesiba, says Noem should be thanking Biden for the federal funding the state has received.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — In a budget address to lawmakers, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has laid out a plan to spend an unprecedented amount of money in raises for state employees, teachers and health care providers, as well as boost infrastructure projects as the state receives billions in federal pandemic relief and sees surging tax revenue. Noem blames President Joe Biden for increases in inflation and says state employees, teachers and health care providers need a 6% raise. The Republican governor also proposed projects totaling over $1 billion. They include funds for housing, emergency responders, daycare facilities and water infrastructure. But one Democratic state lawmaker, Sen. Reynold Nesiba, says Noem should be thanking Biden for the federal funding the state has received.

Noem proposes big salary raises, over $1B in projects

NEW YORK (AP) —A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how concentrated the business of keeping the internet running has become.

The incident at Amazon Web Services mostly affected the eastern U.S., but still impacted everything from airline reservations and auto dealerships to payment apps and video streaming services to Amazon’s own massive e-commerce operation. That included The Associated Press, whose publishing system was inoperable for much of the day, greatly limiting its ability to publish its news report..

Amazon has still said nothing about what, exactly, went wrong. In fact, the company limited its communications Tuesday to terse technical explanations on an AWS dashboard and a brief statement delivered via spokesperson Richard Rocha that acknowledged the outage had affected Amazon’s own warehouse and delivery operation but said the company was “working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues, the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had “mitigated” the underlying problem responsible for the outage, which it did not describe. It took some affected companies hours more to thoroughly check their systems and restart their own services.

Amazon Web Services was formerly run by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos in July. The cloud-service operation is a huge profit center for Amazon. It holds roughly a third of the $152 billion market for cloud services, according to a report by Synergy Research — a larger share than its closest rivals, Microsoft and Google, combined.

To technologist and public data access activist Carl Malamud, the AWS outage highlights how much Big Tech has warped the internet, which was originally designed as a distributed and decentralized network intended to survive mass disasters such as nuclear attack.

“When we put everything in one place, be it Amazon’s cloud or Facebook’s monolith, we’re violating that fundamental principle,” said Malamud, who developed the internet’s first radio station and later put a vital U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission database online. “We saw that when Facebook became the instrument of a massive disinformation campaign, we just saw that today with the Amazon failure.”

Widespread and often lengthy outages resulting from single-point failures appear increasingly common. In June, the behind-the-scenes content distributor Fastly suffered a failure that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/internet-outage-down-fastly-7c607c931faba19584975da74c8fa633">briefly took down dozens of major internet sites</a>&nbsp;including CNN, The New York Times and Britain’s government home page.

Then in October, Facebook — now known as Meta Platforms — blamed a “faulty configuration change” for an hours-long worldwide outage that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/facebook-whatsapp-instagram-outage-8b9d3862ed957029e545182a595fdce1">took down Instagram and WhatsApp</a>&nbsp;in addition to its titular platform.

This time, problems began midmorning on the U.S. East Coast, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik Inc, a network intelligence firm. Netflix was one of the more prominent names affected; Kentik saw a 26% drop in traffic to the streaming service.

Customers trying to book or change trips with Delta Air Lines had trouble connecting to the airline. “Delta is working quickly to restore functionality to our AWS-supported phone lines,” said spokesperson Morgan Durrant. The airline apologized and encouraged customers to use its website or mobile app instead.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said it switched to West Coast servers after some airport-based systems were affected by the outage. Customers were still reporting outages to DownDetector, a popular clearinghouse for user outage reports, more than three hours after they started. Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish said there were no major disruptions to flights.

Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin said the company’s U.S. East Region for dealer services went down. The company has apps that access inventory data, monthly payment calculators, service bulletins and other items. More than 20 apps were affected.

Also according to DownDetector, people trying to use Instacart, Venmo, Kindle, Roku, and Disney+ reported issues. The McDonald’s app was also down. But the airlines American, United, Alaska and JetBlue were unaffected.

Madory said he saw no reason to suspect nefarious activity. He said the recent cluster of major outages reflects how complex the networking industry has become. “More and more these outages end up being the product of automation and centralization of administration,” he said. “This ends up leading to outages that are hard to completely avoid due to operational complexity but are very impactful when they happen.”

It was unclear how, or whether, the outage was affecting the federal government. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in an email response to questions that it was working with Amazon “to understand any potential impacts this outage may have for federal agencies or other partners.”

NEW YORK (AP) —Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, limiting service at many key and popular sites.

The company provides cloud computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press.

<a href="https://status.aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon said in a post</a>&nbsp;an hour after the outage began that it had identified the root cause and was “actively working towards recovery.” It did not disclose more about the cause.

The outage also affected Amazon’s ability to provide updates, it said.

The outage began midmorning on the U.S. East Coast, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik Inc, a network intelligence firm... “AWS is the biggest cloud provider and us-east-1 is their biggest data center, so any disruption there has big impacts to many popular websites and other internet services,” he said.

Madory said he did not believe the outage was anything nefarious. He said a recent cluster of outages at providers that host major websites reflects how the networking industry has evolved. “More and more these outages end up being the product of automation and centralization of administration,” he said. “This ends up leading to outages that are hard to completely avoid due to operational complexity, but are very impactful when they happen.”

Kentik was seeing a 26% drop in traffic to Netflix, among major web-based services affected by the outage, Madory said. According to Down Detector, a clearinghouse for user reports on outages, Delta and Southwest have been affected, but not American, United, Alaska or JetBlue.

People trying to use Instacart, Venmo, Kindle, Roku, and Disney+ have reported issues. The McDonald’s app is also down.

NEW YORK (AP) —A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how concentrated the business of keeping the internet running has become.The incident at Amazon Web Services mostly affected the eastern U.S., but still impacted everything from airline reservations and auto dealerships to payment apps and video streaming services to Amazon’s own massive e-commerce operation. That included The Associated Press, whose publishing system was inoperable for much of the day, greatly limiting its ability to publish its news report..Amazon has still said nothing about what, exactly, went wrong. In fact, the company limited its communications Tuesday to terse technical explanations on an AWS dashboard and a brief statement delivered via spokesperson Richard Rocha that acknowledged the outage had affected Amazon’s own warehouse and delivery operation but said the company was “working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues, the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had “mitigated” the underlying problem responsible for the outage, which it did not describe. It took some affected companies hours more to thoroughly check their systems and restart their own services.Amazon Web Services was formerly run by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos in July. The cloud-service operation is a huge profit center for Amazon. It holds roughly a third of the $152 billion market for cloud services, according to a report by Synergy Research — a larger share than its closest rivals, Microsoft and Google, combined.To technologist and public data access activist Carl Malamud, the AWS outage highlights how much Big Tech has warped the internet, which was originally designed as a distributed and decentralized network intended to survive mass disasters such as nuclear attack.“When we put everything in one place, be it Amazon’s cloud or Facebook’s monolith, we’re violating that fundamental principle,” said Malamud, who developed the internet’s first radio station and later put a vital U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission database online. “We saw that when Facebook became the instrument of a massive disinformation campaign, we just saw that today with the Amazon failure.”Widespread and often lengthy outages resulting from single-point failures appear increasingly common. In June, the behind-the-scenes content distributor Fastly suffered a failure that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/internet-outage-down-fastly-7c607c931faba19584975da74c8fa633">briefly took down dozens of major internet sites</a>&nbsp;including CNN, The New York Times and Britain’s government home page.Then in October, Facebook — now known as Meta Platforms — blamed a “faulty configuration change” for an hours-long worldwide outage that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/facebook-whatsapp-instagram-outage-8b9d3862ed957029e545182a595fdce1">took down Instagram and WhatsApp</a>&nbsp;in addition to its titular platform.This time, problems began midmorning on the U.S. East Coast, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik Inc, a network intelligence firm. Netflix was one of the more prominent names affected; Kentik saw a 26% drop in traffic to the streaming service.Customers trying to book or change trips with Delta Air Lines had trouble connecting to the airline. “Delta is working quickly to restore functionality to our AWS-supported phone lines,” said spokesperson Morgan Durrant. The airline apologized and encouraged customers to use its website or mobile app instead.Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said it switched to West Coast servers after some airport-based systems were affected by the outage. Customers were still reporting outages to DownDetector, a popular clearinghouse for user outage reports, more than three hours after they started. Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish said there were no major disruptions to flights.Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin said the company’s U.S. East Region for dealer services went down. The company has apps that access inventory data, monthly payment calculators, service bulletins and other items. More than 20 apps were affected.Also according to DownDetector, people trying to use Instacart, Venmo, Kindle, Roku, and Disney+ reported issues. The McDonald’s app was also down. But the airlines American, United, Alaska and JetBlue were unaffected.Madory said he saw no reason to suspect nefarious activity. He said the recent cluster of major outages reflects how complex the networking industry has become. “More and more these outages end up being the product of automation and centralization of administration,” he said. “This ends up leading to outages that are hard to completely avoid due to operational complexity but are very impactful when they happen.”It was unclear how, or whether, the outage was affecting the federal government. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in an email response to questions that it was working with Amazon “to understand any potential impacts this outage may have for federal agencies or other partners.”NEW YORK (AP) —Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, limiting service at many key and popular sites.The company provides cloud computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press.<a href="https://status.aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon said in a post</a>&nbsp;an hour after the outage began that it had identified the root cause and was “actively working towards recovery.” It did not disclose more about the cause.The outage also affected Amazon’s ability to provide updates, it said.The outage began midmorning on the U.S. East Coast, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik Inc, a network intelligence firm... “AWS is the biggest cloud provider and us-east-1 is their biggest data center, so any disruption there has big impacts to many popular websites and other internet services,” he said.Madory said he did not believe the outage was anything nefarious. He said a recent cluster of outages at providers that host major websites reflects how the networking industry has evolved. “More and more these outages end up being the product of automation and centralization of administration,” he said. “This ends up leading to outages that are hard to completely avoid due to operational complexity, but are very impactful when they happen.”Kentik was seeing a 26% drop in traffic to Netflix, among major web-based services affected by the outage, Madory said. According to Down Detector, a clearinghouse for user reports on outages, Delta and Southwest have been affected, but not American, United, Alaska or JetBlue.People trying to use Instacart, Venmo, Kindle, Roku, and Disney+ have reported issues. The McDonald’s app is also down.

Major outage at Amazon disrupts businesses across the US

A new Federal Trade Commission <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2021/12/scammers-prefer-gift-cards-not-just-any-card-will-do">data spotlight</a>&nbsp;shows
 that in the first nine months of 2021, consumers reported losing $148 
million in scams where gift cards were used as the form of payment. That
 amount is more than was<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/FraudandIDTheftMaps/FraudbyState"></a> reported in all of 2020.&nbsp;

Nearly 40,000 consumers reported using gift cards to pay a scammer in
 that time frame, according to the spotlight, which draws from fraud 
reports submitted to the FTC by consumers. Most often, consumers 
reported paying scammers who were impersonating large companies or 
government agencies.

One new development noted in the spotlight is the emergence of Target
 gift cards as the most popular choice for scammers in the reports 
received by the FTC. Target gift cards accounted for about $35 million 
in payments to scammers, more than twice as much as any other brand of 
gift cards. The median amount lost when consumers paid with Target gift 
cards, $2,500, was higher than any other brand of card, with nearly a 
third reporting losses of $5,000 or more.

Scammers also instructed consumers to purchase gift cards—regardless 
of the brand of card—from a Target store more often than any other 
location, according to the spotlight.

Since 2018, both the numbers of consumers filing reports in which 
gift cards were the form of payment to scammers and the amount they have
 reported lost have increased steadily. The spotlight also notes that 
consumers’ median reported loss to scammers when they pay with gift 
cards has increased from $700 to $1000.

The FTC has resources for consumers, including information on how to 
contact gift card companies to try to stop payments to scammers at <a href="http://ftc.gov/giftcards">ftc.gov/giftcards</a>.
 The agency also has information for gift card retailers, including 
materials that can be posted in stores and used to train employees at <a href="http://ftc.gov/stopgiftcardscams">ftc.gov/StopGiftCardScams</a>.

The Federal Trade Commission works to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition">promote competition</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">stop deceptive and unfair business practices and scams</a>, and <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">educate consumers</a>. Report fraud, scams, or bad business practices at <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Get consumer advice at <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">consumer.ftc.gov</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/social-media">follow the FTC on social media</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a>, and read the FTC’s <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619632629588.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FTCA new Federal Trade Commission <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2021/12/scammers-prefer-gift-cards-not-just-any-card-will-do">data spotlight</a>&nbsp;shows
 that in the first nine months of 2021, consumers reported losing $148 
million in scams where gift cards were used as the form of payment. That
 amount is more than was<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/FraudandIDTheftMaps/FraudbyState"></a> reported in all of 2020.&nbsp;Nearly 40,000 consumers reported using gift cards to pay a scammer in
 that time frame, according to the spotlight, which draws from fraud 
reports submitted to the FTC by consumers. Most often, consumers 
reported paying scammers who were impersonating large companies or 
government agencies.One new development noted in the spotlight is the emergence of Target
 gift cards as the most popular choice for scammers in the reports 
received by the FTC. Target gift cards accounted for about $35 million 
in payments to scammers, more than twice as much as any other brand of 
gift cards. The median amount lost when consumers paid with Target gift 
cards, $2,500, was higher than any other brand of card, with nearly a 
third reporting losses of $5,000 or more.Scammers also instructed consumers to purchase gift cards—regardless 
of the brand of card—from a Target store more often than any other 
location, according to the spotlight.Since 2018, both the numbers of consumers filing reports in which 
gift cards were the form of payment to scammers and the amount they have
 reported lost have increased steadily. The spotlight also notes that 
consumers’ median reported loss to scammers when they pay with gift 
cards has increased from $700 to $1000.The FTC has resources for consumers, including information on how to 
contact gift card companies to try to stop payments to scammers at <a href="http://ftc.gov/giftcards">ftc.gov/giftcards</a>.
 The agency also has information for gift card retailers, including 
materials that can be posted in stores and used to train employees at <a href="http://ftc.gov/stopgiftcardscams">ftc.gov/StopGiftCardScams</a>.The Federal Trade Commission works to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition">promote competition</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">stop deceptive and unfair business practices and scams</a>, and <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">educate consumers</a>. Report fraud, scams, or bad business practices at <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Get consumer advice at <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/">consumer.ftc.gov</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/social-media">follow the FTC on social media</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a>, and read the FTC’s <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>.

FTC: Major increase in gift cards as scam payment method

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders reached an elaborate deal Tuesday that will allow Democrats to lift the nation’s debt limit without any votes from Republicans, likely averting another last-minute rush to avoid a federal default. Hours later, the House passed legislation overwhelmingly along party lines that kicked off a multi-step process.

Congress approved a $480 billion increase in the nation’s debt limit in October. That’s enough for the Treasury to finance the government’s operations through Dec. 15, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s projection.

But Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-congress-economy-bills-f2b52bc7ff5d1f241ed12e73e382c6b8">have warned</a>&nbsp;they won’t vote for any future debt ceiling increase to ensure the federal government can meet its financial obligations, and instead, the politically unpopular measure would have to be passed entirely by the Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress.

President Joe Biden had called on Republicans to “get out of the way” if they won’t help Democrats shoulder the debt responsibility. But rather than step aside and allow for a quick vote, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has helped engineer an unusual legislative process that will play out over the next several days. Donald Trump, the former president, ridiculed McConnell for allowing any action, showing just how politically toxic the routine act of paying the nation’s bills has become.

“I think this is in the best interest of the country,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “I think it is also in the best interest of Republicans, who feel very strongly that the previous debt ceilings we agreed to when President Trump was here carried us through August. And this current debt ceiling is indeed about the future and not about the past.”

The agreement spelled out in the House bill passed Tuesday establishes the days-long process ahead. In short, it would tuck a provision to fast-track the debt limit process into an unrelated Medicare bill that will prevent payment cuts to doctors and other health care providers. That measure passed the House by a vote of 222-212 with only Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, siding with Democrats in voting for the measure.

“House Republicans can’t support using patients and access to local doctors as leverage to increase the national debt on our children,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.

The measure now goes to the Senate, and if the Medicare bill becomes law, it will open the process for the Senate to raise the debt ceiling through subsequent legislation with a Democrats’ only majority vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., struck an optimistic note that the debt ceiling plan will pass.

“This is a very good outcome for the American people. We will avoid default, which would have been disastrous. Democrats have always said that we were willing to shoulder the load at 50 votes to get this done as long it was not a convoluted or risky process, and Leader McConnell and I have achieved that.”

Key to the agreement is that Democrats will have to vote on a specific amount by which the debt ceiling would be lifted. The amount has not yet been disclosed, but it is sure to be a staggering sum. Republicans want to try to blame Democrats for the nation’s rising debt load and link it to Biden’s $1.85 trillion social and environmental bill.

“To have Democrats raise the debt ceiling and be held politically accountable for racking up more debt is my goal, and this helps us accomplish that,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The increase in the debt ceiling, however, is needed to meet financial obligations accrued by both parties under past legislation. The vast majority of it predates Biden’s presidency.

“This is about meeting obligations that the government has already incurred, largely during the Trump Administration,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic colleagues. “Only three percent of the current debt has been accrued under President Biden.”

Pelosi said that addressing the debt limit will prevent a drastic increase in interest rates for car loans, student debt, mortgages and other types of borrowing for Americans.

The legislation before the House on Tuesday establishes a fast-track process for the days ahead. A subsequent vote will be needed to pass the debt ceiling increase itself. Once the Senate has done so, the House will take up the bill and send it to Biden to be signed into law.

At their private luncheon Thursday, Republican senators sounded off against the plan. Many of them will not support it.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of GOP leadership, said the lunch discussion went about as would be expected — though he said the plan at least allows Republicans to achieve their goal of forcing Democrats to vote on their own to raise the debt ceiling by a specific amount.

The parliamentary machinations struck some House lawmakers as an “absurd” but necessary way to deal with the Senate, where the filibuster rules allow the Republican minority to block action.

“We’re tying ourselves into parliamentary contortions to try to help the Senate deal with this straitjacket they have put themselves into,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders reached an elaborate deal Tuesday that will allow Democrats to lift the nation’s debt limit without any votes from Republicans, likely averting another last-minute rush to avoid a federal default. Hours later, the House passed legislation overwhelmingly along party lines that kicked off a multi-step process.Congress approved a $480 billion increase in the nation’s debt limit in October. That’s enough for the Treasury to finance the government’s operations through Dec. 15, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s projection.But Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-congress-economy-bills-f2b52bc7ff5d1f241ed12e73e382c6b8">have warned</a>&nbsp;they won’t vote for any future debt ceiling increase to ensure the federal government can meet its financial obligations, and instead, the politically unpopular measure would have to be passed entirely by the Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress.President Joe Biden had called on Republicans to “get out of the way” if they won’t help Democrats shoulder the debt responsibility. But rather than step aside and allow for a quick vote, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has helped engineer an unusual legislative process that will play out over the next several days. Donald Trump, the former president, ridiculed McConnell for allowing any action, showing just how politically toxic the routine act of paying the nation’s bills has become.“I think this is in the best interest of the country,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “I think it is also in the best interest of Republicans, who feel very strongly that the previous debt ceilings we agreed to when President Trump was here carried us through August. And this current debt ceiling is indeed about the future and not about the past.”The agreement spelled out in the House bill passed Tuesday establishes the days-long process ahead. In short, it would tuck a provision to fast-track the debt limit process into an unrelated Medicare bill that will prevent payment cuts to doctors and other health care providers. That measure passed the House by a vote of 222-212 with only Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, siding with Democrats in voting for the measure.“House Republicans can’t support using patients and access to local doctors as leverage to increase the national debt on our children,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.The measure now goes to the Senate, and if the Medicare bill becomes law, it will open the process for the Senate to raise the debt ceiling through subsequent legislation with a Democrats’ only majority vote.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., struck an optimistic note that the debt ceiling plan will pass.“This is a very good outcome for the American people. We will avoid default, which would have been disastrous. Democrats have always said that we were willing to shoulder the load at 50 votes to get this done as long it was not a convoluted or risky process, and Leader McConnell and I have achieved that.”Key to the agreement is that Democrats will have to vote on a specific amount by which the debt ceiling would be lifted. The amount has not yet been disclosed, but it is sure to be a staggering sum. Republicans want to try to blame Democrats for the nation’s rising debt load and link it to Biden’s $1.85 trillion social and environmental bill.“To have Democrats raise the debt ceiling and be held politically accountable for racking up more debt is my goal, and this helps us accomplish that,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.The increase in the debt ceiling, however, is needed to meet financial obligations accrued by both parties under past legislation. The vast majority of it predates Biden’s presidency.“This is about meeting obligations that the government has already incurred, largely during the Trump Administration,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic colleagues. “Only three percent of the current debt has been accrued under President Biden.”Pelosi said that addressing the debt limit will prevent a drastic increase in interest rates for car loans, student debt, mortgages and other types of borrowing for Americans.The legislation before the House on Tuesday establishes a fast-track process for the days ahead. A subsequent vote will be needed to pass the debt ceiling increase itself. Once the Senate has done so, the House will take up the bill and send it to Biden to be signed into law.At their private luncheon Thursday, Republican senators sounded off against the plan. Many of them will not support it.Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of GOP leadership, said the lunch discussion went about as would be expected — though he said the plan at least allows Republicans to achieve their goal of forcing Democrats to vote on their own to raise the debt ceiling by a specific amount.The parliamentary machinations struck some House lawmakers as an “absurd” but necessary way to deal with the Senate, where the filibuster rules allow the Republican minority to block action.“We’re tying ourselves into parliamentary contortions to try to help the Senate deal with this straitjacket they have put themselves into,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said.

Congressional leaders reach deal to hike debt limit again

WASHINGTON (AP) – Face to face for two hours, President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin squared off in a secure video call Tuesday as the U.S. president tried to put Moscow on notice that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would bring enormous harm to the Russian economy.

The highly anticipated call between the two leaders came amid growing worries by the U.S. and western allies of a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Putin came into the meeting seeking guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. The Americans and their NATO allies said in advance that Putin’s request was a non-starter.

As the U.S. and Russian presidents conferred, Ukrainian officials grew only more anxious about the tens of thousands of Russia troops that have been deployed near their border.

Just hours before the start of the Biden-Putin video call, Ukrainian officials charged Russia had further escalated the smoldering crisis by sending tanks and snipers to war-torn eastern Ukraine to “provoke return fire” and lay a pretext for the potential invasion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the allegations, redirecting questions to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which hasn’t made any immediate comment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border.

Biden aims to make clear that his administration stands ready to take actions against the Kremlin that would exact “a very real cost” on the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to demand guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. That’s a non-starter for the Americans and their NATO allies.

“We’ve consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that would impose significant and severe harm on the Russian economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday in previewing the meeting. “You can call that a threat. You can call that a fact. You can call that preparation. You can call it whatever you want to call it.”

The leader-to-leader conversation — Biden speaking from the Situation Room, Putin from Moscow — is expected to be one of the toughest of Biden’s presidency and comes at a perilous time. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has massed 70,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has made preparations for a possible invasion early next year.

The U.S. has not determined whether Putin has made a final decision to invade. Still, Biden intends to make clear to the Russian leader that there will be a “very real cost” should Russia proceed with military action, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

Biden was vice president in 2014 when Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and annexed the territory from Ukraine. Aides say the Crimea episode — one of the darker moments for former President Barack Obama on the international stage — looms large as Biden looks at the current smoldering crisis.

The eastward expansion of NATO has from the start been a bone of contention not just with Moscow but also in Washington. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton’s national security team debated the timing of membership invitations to former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Defense Secretary William Perry urged delay in order to keep Russian relations on track. Perry wrote in his memoir that when he lost the internal debate he considered resigning.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited in 1997 and joined in 1999. They were followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since then, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have joined, bringing NATO’s total to 30 nations.

A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country. And no outsider has membership veto power. While there’s little prospect that Ukraine would be invited into the alliance anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t rule it out.

In Washington, Republicans are framing this moment as a key test of Biden’s leadership on the global stage.

Biden vowed as a candidate to reassert American leadership after President Donald Trump’s emphasis on an “America first” foreign policy. But Biden has faced fierce criticism from Republicans who say he’s been ineffective in slowing Iran’s march toward becoming a nuclear power and that the Biden administration has done too little to counter autocratic leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Putin.

“Fellow authoritarians in Beijing and Tehran will be watching how the free world responds,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And President Biden has an opportunity to set the tone when he speaks with Putin.”

Trump, who showed unusual deference to Putin during his presidency, said in a Newsmax interview on Monday that the Biden-Putin conversation would not be a “fair match,” describing it as tantamount to the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots facing a high school football team.

Ahead of the Putin call, Biden on Monday spoke with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to coordinate messaging and potential sanctions.

The White House said in a statement that the leaders called on Russia to “de-escalate tensions” and agreed that diplomacy “is the only way forward to resolve the conflict.”

Ahead of the Biden-Putin faceoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that he and Blinken “agreed to continue joint &amp; concerted action” and expressed his gratitude for the U.S. and allies providing “continued support of our sovereignty &amp; territorial integrity.” Biden himself is expected to speak with Zelenskyy later this week.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression.”

The Kremlin has made clear that Putin planned to seek binding guarantees from Biden precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Biden and aides have indicated no such guarantee is likely, with the president himself saying he “won’t accept anyone’s red line.”

Psaki stressed “NATO member countries decide who is a member of NATO, not Russia. And that is how the process has always been and how it will proceed.”

Still, Putin sees this as a moment to readjust the power dynamic of the U.S.-Russia relationship.

“It is about fundamental principles established 30 years ago for the relations between Russia and the West,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy expert. “Russia demands to revise these principles, the West says there’s no grounds for that. So, it’s impossible to come to an agreement just like that.”

Beyond Ukraine, there are plenty of other thorny issues on the table as well, including cyberattacks and human rights. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S.-Russian relations are overall in “a rather dire state.”

Both the White House and the Kremlin sought in advance to lower expectations for the call. Both sides said they didn’t expect any breakthroughs on Ukraine or the other issues up for discussion, but that just the conversation itself will be progress.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638896999497.png" alt="The highly anticipated call between the two leaders came amid growing worries by the U.S. and western allies of a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.-photo courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The highly anticipated call between the two leaders came amid growing worries by the U.S. and western allies of a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.-photo courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) – Face to face for two hours, President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin squared off in a secure video call Tuesday as the U.S. president tried to put Moscow on notice that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would bring enormous harm to the Russian economy.The highly anticipated call between the two leaders came amid growing worries by the U.S. and western allies of a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Putin came into the meeting seeking guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. The Americans and their NATO allies said in advance that Putin’s request was a non-starter.As the U.S. and Russian presidents conferred, Ukrainian officials grew only more anxious about the tens of thousands of Russia troops that have been deployed near their border.Just hours before the start of the Biden-Putin video call, Ukrainian officials charged Russia had further escalated the smoldering crisis by sending tanks and snipers to war-torn eastern Ukraine to “provoke return fire” and lay a pretext for the potential invasion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the allegations, redirecting questions to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which hasn’t made any immediate comment.----------<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623857775069.png" alt="President Biden and Putin met face-to-face in June-photo White House" />
 <figcaption>President Biden and Putin met face-to-face in June-photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border.Biden aims to make clear that his administration stands ready to take actions against the Kremlin that would exact “a very real cost” on the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to demand guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. That’s a non-starter for the Americans and their NATO allies.“We’ve consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that would impose significant and severe harm on the Russian economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday in previewing the meeting. “You can call that a threat. You can call that a fact. You can call that preparation. You can call it whatever you want to call it.”The leader-to-leader conversation — Biden speaking from the Situation Room, Putin from Moscow — is expected to be one of the toughest of Biden’s presidency and comes at a perilous time. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has massed 70,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has made preparations for a possible invasion early next year.The U.S. has not determined whether Putin has made a final decision to invade. Still, Biden intends to make clear to the Russian leader that there will be a “very real cost” should Russia proceed with military action, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.Biden was vice president in 2014 when Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and annexed the territory from Ukraine. Aides say the Crimea episode — one of the darker moments for former President Barack Obama on the international stage — looms large as Biden looks at the current smoldering crisis.The eastward expansion of NATO has from the start been a bone of contention not just with Moscow but also in Washington. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton’s national security team debated the timing of membership invitations to former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Defense Secretary William Perry urged delay in order to keep Russian relations on track. Perry wrote in his memoir that when he lost the internal debate he considered resigning.Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited in 1997 and joined in 1999. They were followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since then, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have joined, bringing NATO’s total to 30 nations.A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country. And no outsider has membership veto power. While there’s little prospect that Ukraine would be invited into the alliance anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t rule it out.In Washington, Republicans are framing this moment as a key test of Biden’s leadership on the global stage.Biden vowed as a candidate to reassert American leadership after President Donald Trump’s emphasis on an “America first” foreign policy. But Biden has faced fierce criticism from Republicans who say he’s been ineffective in slowing Iran’s march toward becoming a nuclear power and that the Biden administration has done too little to counter autocratic leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Putin.“Fellow authoritarians in Beijing and Tehran will be watching how the free world responds,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And President Biden has an opportunity to set the tone when he speaks with Putin.”Trump, who showed unusual deference to Putin during his presidency, said in a Newsmax interview on Monday that the Biden-Putin conversation would not be a “fair match,” describing it as tantamount to the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots facing a high school football team.Ahead of the Putin call, Biden on Monday spoke with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to coordinate messaging and potential sanctions.The White House said in a statement that the leaders called on Russia to “de-escalate tensions” and agreed that diplomacy “is the only way forward to resolve the conflict.”Ahead of the Biden-Putin faceoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that he and Blinken “agreed to continue joint &amp; concerted action” and expressed his gratitude for the U.S. and allies providing “continued support of our sovereignty &amp; territorial integrity.” Biden himself is expected to speak with Zelenskyy later this week.State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression.”The Kremlin has made clear that Putin planned to seek binding guarantees from Biden precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Biden and aides have indicated no such guarantee is likely, with the president himself saying he “won’t accept anyone’s red line.”Psaki stressed “NATO member countries decide who is a member of NATO, not Russia. And that is how the process has always been and how it will proceed.”Still, Putin sees this as a moment to readjust the power dynamic of the U.S.-Russia relationship.“It is about fundamental principles established 30 years ago for the relations between Russia and the West,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy expert. “Russia demands to revise these principles, the West says there’s no grounds for that. So, it’s impossible to come to an agreement just like that.”Beyond Ukraine, there are plenty of other thorny issues on the table as well, including cyberattacks and human rights. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S.-Russian relations are overall in “a rather dire state.”Both the White House and the Kremlin sought in advance to lower expectations for the call. Both sides said they didn’t expect any breakthroughs on Ukraine or the other issues up for discussion, but that just the conversation itself will be progress.

President Biden-Putin square off in high stakes video call

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today encouraged taxpayers 
to take important actions this month to help them file their federal tax
 returns in 2022, including special steps related to Economic Impact 
Payments and advance Child Tax Credit payments.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today encouraged taxpayers 
to take important actions this month to help them file their federal tax
 returns in 2022, including special steps related to Economic Impact 
Payments and advance Child Tax Credit payments.This is the second in a series of reminders to help taxpayers get ready for the upcoming tax filing season. A <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/steps-to-take-now-to-get-a-jump-on-next-years-taxes">special page</a>, updated and available on IRS.gov, outlines steps taxpayers can take now to make tax filing easier in 2022.Here are some key items for taxpayers to consider before they file next year.<h2>Check on advance Child Tax Credit payments</h2>Families who received advance payments will need to compare the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">advance Child Tax Credit payments</a> that they received in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit that they can properly claim on their 2021 tax return.Taxpayers who received less than the amount for which they're 
eligible will claim a credit for the remaining amount of Child Tax 
Credit on their 2021 tax return. Taxpayers who received more than the 
amount for which they're eligible may need to repay some or all of the 
excess payment when they file.In January 2022, the IRS will send Letter 6419 with the total amount 
of advance Child Tax Credit payments taxpayers received in 2021. People 
should keep this and any other IRS letters about advance Child Tax 
Credit payments with their tax records.See <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-topic-h-reconciling-your-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-on-your-2021-tax-return">Reconciling Your Advance Child Tax Credit Payments on Your 2021 Tax Return</a> for more information.Eligible families who did not get monthly advance payments in 2021 
can still get a lump-sum payment by claiming the Child Tax Credit when 
they file a 2021 federal income tax return next year. This includes 
families who don't normally need to file a return.<h2>Economic Impact Payments and claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit</h2>Individuals who didn't qualify for the third <a href="https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center">Economic Impact Payment</a> or did not receive the full amount may be eligible for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit">Recovery Rebate Credit&nbsp;</a>based
 on their 2021 tax information. They'll need to file a 2021 tax return, 
even if they don't usually file, to claim the credit.Individuals will also need the amount of their third Economic Impact 
Payment and any Plus-Up Payments received to calculate their correct 
2021 Recovery Rebate Credit amount when they file their tax return. 
Ensuring they use the correct payment amounts will help them avoid a 
processing delay that may slow their refund.In early 2022, the IRS will send Letter 6475 that contains the total amount of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/third-economic-impact-payment">third Economic Impact Payment and any Plus-Up Payments</a>
 received. People should keep this and any other IRS letters about their
 stimulus payments with other tax records. Individuals can also log in 
to their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">IRS.gov Online Account</a> to securely access their Economic Impact Payment amounts.See <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit">IRS.gov/rrc</a>&nbsp;for more information.<h2>Charitable deduction changes</h2>Taxpayers who don't itemize deductions may qualify to take a 
charitable deduction of up to $600 for married taxpayers filing joint 
returns and up to $300 for all other filers for cash contributions made 
in 2021 to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search">qualifying organizations</a>. For more information, read <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-526">Publication 526, Charitable Contributions</a>.<h2>Get banked to get ready to direct deposit</h2><a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">Direct deposit</a>&nbsp;gives taxpayers access to their refund faster than a paper check.&nbsp;Those without a bank account can learn how to open an account at an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/getbanked/">FDIC-insured bank</a>&nbsp;or through the National&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/credit-union-locator">Credit Union Locator Tool</a>. Veterans should see the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/banking.asp">Veterans Benefits Banking Program</a>&nbsp;for access to financial services at participating banks.Links to online tools, publications and other helpful resources are available at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/steps-to-take-now-to-get-a-jump-on-next-years-taxes">IRS.gov/getready</a>.