Feb 3, 2021
AP MORNING WIRE
Good morning. In today's AP Morning Wire:
- President Biden says GOP virus aid too small, Democrats push on.
- After coup, Myanmar's military junta plans probe of last year's election.
- WHO team visits Wuhan lab at center of virus origins speculation.
- Moscow court orders Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny to prison.
TAMER FAKAHANY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR – GLOBAL NEWS COORDINATION, LONDON
The Rundown
AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI
Biden, Yellen say GOP virus aid too small, Democrats push on; House Democrats make case for Trump impeachment conviction; he denies charges
President Joe Biden panned a Republican alternative to his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan as insufficient.
Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Senate Democrats on a private call to take bold action to address the pandemic and economic crisis, Lisa Mascaro and Josh Boak report.
Senate Democrats marshaled their slim majority to vote, 50-49, on a first step toward approving Biden’s plan with or without Republican votes. The procedural vote launches a lengthy budget process toward passage by March.
Biden told Republican senators he's unwilling to settle on too small a coronavirus aid package after meeting for two hours over their slimmed-down $618 billion proposal.
Immigration: Biden signed a second spate of orders to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies, demonstrating the powers of the White House and its limitations without support from Congress. His orders on family separation, border security and legal immigration bring to nine the number of executive actions on immigration during his first two weeks in office.
Trump Impeachment: House Democrats say the Senate should convict Donald Trump of impeachment and bar him from office because he endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol last month. Trump's lawyers deny that he incited rioters and call the upcoming Senate trial unconstitutional. Both sides filed legal briefs ahead of next week's trial, Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick report.
Capitol Officer Killed: The president and the first lady were among those who paid their respects to slain Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick as he lay in honor in the U.S. Capitol. Sicknick's colleagues and the lawmakers he protected are honoring him for his actions during the violent attack on Congress that cost him his life. The officer was injured when a mob besieged the Capitol, on Jan. 6, dying the next day.
Capitol Minority Concerns: Civil rights groups and communities of color are watching warily for any moves to expand law enforcement power as federal officials grapple with how to confront the security threat posed by domestic extremists after the deadly siege of the Capitol. They say their communities have felt the brunt of security scrutiny over the last two decades and they fear new tools meant to target right-wing extremism or white nationalists risk harming Muslims, Black Americans and other groups.
It underscores the complexity of the national debate on how to balance protecting First Amendment freedom of speech rights with law enforcement’s need to prevent extremist violence before it occurs, Noreen Nasir and Eric Tucker report.
AP PHOTO/THEIN ZAW
After seizing power in coup, Myanmar's military junta plans probe of last year's election; Aung San Suu Kyi detained again — without her old support
Myanmar’s new leader said the military government plans an investigation into alleged fraud in last year’s election and will prioritize the COVID-19 outbreak and the economy.
A state-run newspaper said Gen. Min Aung Hlaing announced the moves at the first meeting of his new government after Monday's coup. The military had said one reason for ousting the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi was because it failed to properly investigate voter fraud allegations.
But the country's Union Election Commission four days before the military takeover had declared there were no significant problems with the vote.
The Lady and the Generals: After Myanmar’s military pulled off a well-choreographed coup, the country’s civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, found herself back where she was just over a decade ago — under house arrest. But this time, her standoff with the generals comes after she has bitterly disappointed many once-staunch supporters by cozying up to the country’s generals. Leaders in the West are still denouncing her detention — but they no longer view her as the paragon of democratic leadership, Robin McDowell, Margie Mason and Grant Peck report.
Bangladesh Rohingya: Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in exile have condemned the military coup in their homeland, saying it makes them more fearful to return. A brutal crackdown by the Burmese military in 2017 forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. It has hosted them in crowded refugee camps, and is eager to begin sending them back to Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Several attempts at repatriation have failed because the Rohingya refused to go, fearing more violence. Refugees say they are more afraid now that the military is in complete control, Julhas Alam reports from Bangladesh.
The China Factor: Before the coup, relations between Myanmar and China already were complicated by Chinese investments in its infrastructure and the Myanmar military’s campaigns along their shared border, Elaine Kurtenbach reports. Analysts say that even if China played no role at all in ousting Suu Kyi, Beijing is likely to gain still greater sway over the country. That's even more likely if the U.S. and other Western governments try to punish the new military regime through sanctions.
EXPLAINER: When it comes to Myanmar, also known as Burma, a lot is contained in a name. The military upended years of quasi-democratic rule in Myanmar this week in a coup. But where exactly did the coup happen? Was it in Myanmar, as the country is officially called these days? Or was it in Burma, the name used for generations and the one that Washington continues to use? The answer is complicated. Because when it comes to Myanmar, almost everything is political, including language. Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim report.
AP PHOTO/PAVEL GOLOVKIN
WHO team visits Wuhan virus lab at center of virus origins speculation; Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine appears safe, effective; US boosts vaccine allotments, financing for virus costs
World Health Organization investigators have visited a research center in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has extensive virus samples, leading to unproven allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community, Emily Wang Fujiyama reports from Wuhan.
China has strongly denied that possibility and has promoted also unproven theories that the virus may have originated elsewhere. The WHO team that includes experts from 10 nations has already visited hospitals, research institutes and a traditional wet food market tied to the original outbreak.
Russia Vaccine: Russian scientists say the Sputnik V vaccine appears safe and effective against COVID-19. That's according to early results of an advanced study published in The Lancet. The news is a boost for the shot that is increasingly being purchased by countries around the world who are desperate to stop the devastation caused by the pandemic. Researchers say their study involved about 20,000 people and showed the vaccine was about 91% effective.
Scientists not linked to the research acknowledged that the quick rollout of the Russian vaccine was criticized for appearing to cut corners. But they said it was now clear that Sputnik V is another effective shot to use in fighting the pandemic, Maria Cheng and Dara Litvinova report.
- Mexico approved Sputnik V following the publication of early results, making it the third vaccine to receive emergency approval in Mexico. The regulating agency approved the Pfizer vaccine in December and AstraZeneca’s in January.
U.S. Schools: Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year. The debate is pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated. In Chicago, there’s so much rancor that teachers are on the brink of striking. In California, a frustrated Gov. Gavin Newsom implored schools to find a way to reopen. In Cincinnati, some students have returned to their classrooms after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns, Holly Ramer and Michael Kunzelman report.
Malawi Surge: The southern African country faces a virus resurgence that is overwhelming: a presidential residence and a national stadium have been turned into field hospitals to save lives. President Lazarus Chakwera, just six months in office, lost two Cabinet ministers to COVID-19 in January amid a surge that led him to declare a state of national disaster. Chakwera declared three days of national mourning over the deaths of the ministers and his government ordered a raft of new measures to stem the spread of the virus in a country with a poor health system, Gregory Gondwe reports.
Captain Tom: The World War II veteran who walked into the hearts of a nation in lockdown as he shuffled up and down his garden to raise money for British health care workers has died after testing positive for COVID-19. Capt. Tom Moore was 100. Captain Tom, as he became known as he cheered the country in a dark time, set out to raise 1,000 pounds for Britain’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps of his backyard. But his quest went viral and donations poured in from as far away as the United States and Japan, raising 33 million pounds ($40 million). Danica Kirka has his moving story.
- Authorities have begun testing residents house-by-house in some communities in England as they try to snuff out a new virus variant before it reduces the success of Britain's nationwide vaccination program. They want to reach 80,000 people in eight areas after the variant first identified in South Africa was found spreading in the country.
- The pressure is on Portugal’s government after almost two weeks at the top of the world rankings of daily new infections and deaths by size of population. Recent missteps include mixed government messages on mask types and online teaching.
- The Palestinian Authority has administered its first known vaccinations after receiving 5,000 Moderna doses from Israel. These will go to front-line Palestinian medical workers.
MOSCOW CITY COURT VIA AP
Russia; Alexei Navalny
A Moscow court has ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison for more than 2 1/2 years for violating the terms of his probation while he was recuperating in Germany from a nerve-agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.
The ruling ignited protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg and there will almost certainly be more in the weeks ahead as the Kremlin battles with a burgeoning protest movement. Massive pro-Navalny protests have erupted across Russia's vast expanse over the past two weekends in which thousands have been arrested.
Navalny, the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, denounced the proceedings as a vain attempt by the Kremlin to scare millions of Russians into submission,
Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov report from Moscow.
The prison sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that he has rejected as fabricated. The 44-year-old Navalny was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from his five-month convalescence in Germany from the attack, which he has blamed on the Kremlin. Russian authorities deny any involvement.
Navalny attributed his arrest to Putin’s “fear and hatred," saying the Russian leader will go down in history as a “poisoner.” He added, “I have deeply offended him simply by surviving the assassination attempt that he ordered.”
“The aim of this hearing is to scare a great number of people,” Navalny said. “You can't jail the entire country."
Other Top Stories
Two FBI agents were killed and three wounded while trying to serve a search warrant on a child pornography suspect in Florida. FBI authorities say the suspect also died. The head of the FBI's Miami field office said the suspect opened fire on the agents when they arrived at his home in a Fort Lauderdale suburb. Federal officials believe the man later fatally shot himself, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined.
Hidden away in a dark corner of central Baghdad is the most unlikely of businesses: a bar. Its owner, a Syrian migrant, opened the establishment a few weeks ago as a refuge for a hand-picked clientele that wants to evade the stigma of drinking alcohol in a conservative, Muslim-majority society. He also hopes to put food on the table for his family back home in war-ravaged Syria. But being a barman in Baghdad is a dangerous job these days, and alcohol shops are routinely targeted by disapproving militia. He says “this place is not for everyone” but that he feels a responsibility to protect his workers and clients.
Doctors say a 22-year-old man from New Jersey is recovering after receiving a rare face and hands transplant. Joe DiMeo had the operation in August, two years after he was badly burned in a car accident. Such transplants are extremely rare and have happened only twice before. Experts say the procedure appears to be a success, but it’ll take a while to know for sure. Since the surgery, DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze with his new face and hands. He’ll have to take lifelong medication to avoid rejecting the transplant.
This year, Hollywood’s largely virtual awards season lacks the usual buzz and red-carpet glamour that the Golden Globe Awards annually feasts on. Without any in-person screenings or photo ops with stars, little is known about how the show, set for Feb. 28, will turn out. A first look at the contenders comes today, when nominees for the 78th annual Globes will be announced. But one thing may be a lock: Netflix will land a lot of nominations. Its possible film nominees include “Da 5 Bloods,” “Mank,” “Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" — and it has several TV contenders as well.
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