Feb 24, 2021
AP MORNING WIRE
Good morning. In today's AP Morning Wire:
- Capitol defenders cite missed 'war' intelligence for deadly siege.
- US execs say big jump due on vaccine supply; Global vaccination push.
- No charges against Rochester officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death.
- Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from papal visit.
- Tiger Woods faces hard recovery from serious injuries in car crash.
TAMER FAKAHANY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR – GLOBAL NEWS COORDINATION, LONDON
The Rundown
AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK
US Capitol defenders cite missed intelligence — that extremists could commit 'war' — for deadly Jan. 6 breach and siege
Officials in charge of U.S. Capitol security during last month's deadly insurrection have testified to Congress, blaming missed intelligence that extremists could commit “war” in Washington for their failure to anticipate the violent mob.
The invaders stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, interrupting the certification of Joe Biden's election victory over Donald Trump. Then-president Trump had urged them to protest the certification at a rally just minutes earlier.
The officials, including the former chief of the Capitol Police, pointed fingers at other federal agencies — and each other — for their failure to defend the building as Trump supporters overwhelmed security barriers, broke windows and doors and sent lawmakers fleeing from the House and Senate chambers. Mary Clare Jalonick, Michael Balsamo and Lisa Mascaro report.
Five people died as a result of the riot, including a Capitol Police officer and a woman who was shot as she tried to enter the House chamber when lawmakers were still inside.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who resigned under pressure immediately after the attack, and the other officials said they had expected the protests to be like two pro-Trump events in late 2020 that were far less violent. Sund said he hadn’t seen an FBI report that warned of potential violence from extremists citing online posts about a “war."
VIDEO: Ex-Capitol Police chief says he didn't see 'war' report.
VIDEO: Capitol Police officer says Jan 6 'worst of the worst.'
VIDEO: Security officials disagree on Capitol riot help.
VIDEO: U.S. Capitol security examined after attack.
AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER
US drug executives say big jump in vaccine supply is coming soon; Vaccinations surge around the world
COVID-19 vaccine makers told the U.S. Congress to expect a big jump in the delivery of doses over the coming month, and the companies insist they will be able to provide enough shots for most Americans to get inoculated by summer.
By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have sent the U.S. government 220 million vaccine doses, up from the roughly 75 million shipped so far, Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neergaard report.
That’s not counting a third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, which is expected to get a green light from U.S. regulators soon.
State health officials say demand for inoculations still vastly outstrips the limited weekly shipments sent by the federal government.
Asia Vaccines: Many nations in the Asia-Pacific region are rolling out the first shots for COVID-19 this week. South Korea’s top health experts warned that vaccines will not bring the disease to a quick end and called for continued vigilance in social distancing and mask wearing. South Korea prepares to give its first shots on Friday. In Australia, two elderly people received higher-than-prescribed doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Thailand received the first 200,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine, while in Malaysia, the prime minister got the first injection.
More from Around the World:
- Ukraine has received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine, 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca from India. The delivery raises hopes in a nation where the pandemic has strained a struggling medical system.
- Senegal launched its vaccination campaign in the capital, Dakar, where the health minister was the first to receive a jab of the Sinopharm vaccine. The West African nation received 200,000 doses of the vaccine from China.
- The World Bank has threatened to suspend financing for vaccines in Lebanon over violations by members of parliament and others that it said were inoculated without registering in advance.
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Britain will use its presidency of the Group of Seven economic powers to push for an internationally recognized system of vaccine passports that could allow world travel to resume.
One Good Thing: In 200 stories over this pandemic-ridden year, the AP has celebrated selfless people who have given of themselves in trying times. The stories have warmed hearts of readers around the world. But we've also heard from the people spotlighted in the series — launched last March as “One Good Thing” — who say their lives have been profoundly affected by the attention.
AP PHOTO/TED SHAFFREY
No charges against Rochester officers involved in Daniel Prude's death; Memorials, lawsuit mark anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery's shooting death
Police officers who put a hood over the head of Daniel Prude, a mentally distraught Black man, then pressed his naked, handcuffed body against the pavement until he stopped breathing will not face criminal charges after a grand jury declined to indict them.
The 41-year-old's death last March sparked nightly protests in Rochester, New York, after the video was released nearly six months later.
The video shows Prude handcuffed and naked with a spit hood over his head as an officer pushes his face against the ground. The video of Prude’s fatal encounter with officers was initially withheld by police in part because of concerns it would inflame street demonstrations occurring nationwide over George Floyd’s death.
Lawyers for the seven officers suspended over Prude’s death have said they were strictly following training. The county medical examiner, however, listed the death as a homicide. Michael Hill and Carolyn Thompson report.
Ahmaud Arbery's death in Georgia: Family and friends of Ahmaud Arbery marked the anniversary of his slaying in Georgia. Arbery's father led about 100 people last night in a memorial procession to the spot where armed white men chased and shot the 25-year-old Black man on a residential street outside the city of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. Arbery's mother visited his grave before a church vigil. Hours earlier, she filed a civil lawsuit accusing the men charged in her son’s death and local authorities who first responded to the shooting of violating his civil rights.
President Biden tweeted about Arbery's death, saying Americans must commit themselves to making the nation safer for people of color. As the three men await trial on murder charges, their lawyers still insist they committed no crimes. Russ Bynum and Angie Wang report.
AP PHOTO/HADI MIZBAN
Iraq: Papal Visit
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for a boost from Pope Francis' visit
“You’re not alone. There’s someone who is thinking of you, who is with you.”
That is the central message of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq in early March, his first foreign trip since the pandemic and the first ever by a pope to the country, according to the undersecretary of the Vatican’s development office.
Iraq's Christians are hoping that the historic visit by the pontiff will help boost their community's existential struggle to survive, Mariam Fam reports.
The country's Christian population has been dwindling ever since the turmoil that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupation. And it was dealt a near-fatal blow in 2014, when Islamic State group militants overran northern Iraq, site of Iraq's historical Christian heartland.
It was a brutal and murderous rampage — and between that and the long war to drive the extremists out, the area was pulverized. Entire towns of Christians fled IS, most taking refuge in Iraq's Kurdish autonomous zone in the north and some fleeing abroad.
The Vatican and the pope have often insisted on the need to preserve Iraq’s ancient Christian communities and to create the secure economic and social conditions for those who have left to return.
The Vatican for years has helped coordinate Catholic NGOs providing help in Iraq and other countries, including in education, health care and reconstruction. The aid is non-denominational _ Muslims are helped as well as Christians — and the overall hope is that the area's delicate interfaith balance can be strengthened.
The pope’s March 5-8 visit will also have a strong interfaith component.
Other Top Stories
Golf superstar Tiger Woods was seriously injured when his SUV crashed into a median and rolled over several times on a steep road in suburban Los Angeles. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center’s chief medical offer said Woods shattered tibia and fibula bones on his right leg in multiple locations, with additional injuries in the ankle and foot. A statement on his Twitter account says he was awake, responsive and recovering. Authorities had to extricate Woods through the front windshield. They say he's fortunate to be alive. Authorities say there wasn’t evidence Woods was impaired. The crash happened on a sweeping, downhill stretch of road.
Authorities in Ecuador say 62 people have died in riots at prisons in three cities as a result of fights between rival gangs and an escape attempt. Prisons Director Edmundo Moncayo said 800 police officers were trying to regain control of the facilities. He said two groups were trying to cement “criminal leadership within the detention centers” and that the clashes were precipitated by a police search for weapons on Monday. Moncayo said 33 died at the prison in Cuenca in southern Ecuador, 21 in the Pacific coast city of Guayaquil and eight in the central city of Latacunga.
As arrests of dissidents continue during anti-coup protests across Myanmar, experts are concerned that a new generation of political prisoners will begin to fill the country’s prisons. According to activist groups in Myanmar, 696 people have been arrested in relation to the coup. During previous junta rule that began in 1962 and lasted for decades, political prisoners were common, with thousands jailed. When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy took power during a period of democratic reform, many political prisoners were freed. But many were also jailed for political activity during the party’s time in power.
The huge parachute used by NASA's Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message. Systems engineer Ian Clark used a binary code to spell out “Dare Mighty Things” in the orange and white strips of the 70-foot parachute. He also included the GPS coordinates for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Clark said only about six people knew about the encoded message before Thursday's landing. Clark says the fabric pattern was mainly for engineers to know how the parachute was oriented during descent. He said it didn't take long for space fans to figure it out.
We'll leave you with this…
Norwegian museum: Edvard Munch wrote 'can only have been painted by a madman' on 'The Scream' masterpiece
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