COACH ABUSE; MALE RAPE
Chicago Blackhawks settle lawsuit with Kyle Beach
By JAY COHEN

 The names of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, left, are displayed on the Stanley Cup in the lobby of the United Center during an NHL hockey news conference on June 11, 2013 in Chicago. Representatives for the Blackhawks and a former player who is suing the team over how it handled his allegations of sexual assault against an assistant coach were meeting with a mediator Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021 for the first time in hopes of resolving the case.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks and a former player who said he was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach have settled a lawsuit that eviscerated the franchise’s once-sterling reputation and shook up the NHL, bringing questions about the sport’s culture back to the forefront.

The confidential settlement was announced after the sides met Wednesday with a mediator for the first time. Former first-round pick Kyle Beach and Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz, the son of team owner Rocky Wirtz, participated in the Zoom session.

“The Blackhawks hope that this resolution will bring some measure of peace and closure for Mr. Beach,” the team said in a statement attributed to Rocky and Danny Wirtz, and Susan Loggans, Beach’s attorney.

“As for the Blackhawks organization, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that, going forward, this team will be a beacon for professionalism, respect and integrity in our community. We remain grateful for the trust and support of the Blackhawks community, and we promise to continue working every day to earn and maintain that trust.”

Loggans also is part of a second lawsuit filed in May by a former high school student whom Brad Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan. That suit is still pending, but the sides plan to meet again in the future to discuss a resolution.

The Blackhawks said as late as mid-May that Beach’s allegations lacked merit. B ut an independent review, commissioned by the team and released in October, showed the organization badly mishandled Beach’s allegations that he was assaulted by Aldrich during the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup run. Aldrich told investigators the encounter was consensual.

According to the report by Jenner & Block, the encounter between Beach, then a 20-year-old minor leaguer called up in case the Blackhawks needed help in the playoffs, and Aldrich, then 27, occurred on May 8 or 9 in 2010.

Beach told investigators that Aldrich, a video coach at the time, threatened him with a souvenir baseball bat before forcibly performing oral sex on him and masturbating on the player’s back, allegations that he also detailed in his lawsuit.

About two weeks later, on May 23, 2010, right after Chicago advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, general manager Stan Bowman, top hockey executive Al MacIsaac, team president John McDonough, executive vice president Jay Blunk and assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff met with coach Joel Quenneville and mental skills coach Jim Gary to discuss the allegations.

Former federal prosecutor Reid Schar, who led the investigation, said accounts of the meeting “vary significantly.” But there was no evidence that anything was done about the accusations before McDonough contacted the team’s director of human resources on June 14 — a delay that violated the franchise’s sexual harassment policy, according to Schar.

During those three weeks, Aldrich continued to work for and travel with the team. Schar said Aldrich also “made an unwanted sexual advance” toward a 22-year-old Blackhawks intern.

Bowman resigned in the wake of the independent review, and MacIsaac also departed the organization. McDonough, Blunk and Gary were already out of the NHL by the time the report was published.

Quenneville and Cheveldayoff met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Quenneville then resigned as Florida Panthers coach, but Cheveldayoff remained in his position as Winnipeg general manager. The league also fined Chicago $2 million.

Loggans and representatives for the Blackhawks held settlement talks in early November, meeting for about an hour. She said after those discussions that “each side had different viewpoints.”

The investigation commissioned by the team found no evidence that Rocky or Danny Wirtz were aware of the allegations before Beach’s lawsuit was brought to their attention ahead of its filing. Danny Wirtz in October said he had instructed team attorneys to seek “a fair resolution consistent with the totality of the circumstances.”

Blackhawks sexual assault scandal, explained: GM Stan Bowman steps aside, full timeline of 2010 incident

Jackie Spiegel 

Content warning: This story contains details about alleged sexual assault.

The Blackhawks announced on Oct. 26 the results of an independent investigation following allegations of sexual assault by a former player and the subsequent coverup by team officials.

"It is clear the organization and its executives at that time did not live up to our own standards or values in handling these disturbing incidents," a letter to the community from the Blackhawks read. "We deeply regret the harm caused to John Doe and the other individuals who were affected and the failure to promptly respond. As an organization, we extend our profound apologies to the individuals who suffered from these experiences. We must — and will — do better."

On a Zoom call with reporters, team owner Rocky Wirtz, CEO Danny Wirtz and former federal prosecutor Reid Schar, who ran the investigation with his law firm Jenner & Block LLP, made statements that provided information and the results of the findings from the investigation.

The report, a detailed 107-page document that was delivered to the Wirtz's on Monday, describes the incidents that occurred in 2010 and the lack of an investigation by the Blackhawks organization.

On Wednesday, Kyle Beach came forward as "John Doe" and spoke to TSN's Rick Westhead in an emotional 27-minute interview.

"Just a great feeling of relief and vindication, and it was no longer my word against everybody else’s," he said. "Because a lot of things were made public, a lot of people were interviewed, and I really felt like there was a lot of lies told in the media. And it was very special and important to me to have that truth come out yesterday."
What are the allegations?

On May 7, 2021, an unnamed former Blackhawks player (referred to as John Doe 1) filed a lawsuit in an Illinois court against the organization. The filing alleges the Blackhawks ignored the player and a teammate's disclosure of then video coach Brad Aldrich's sexual assault in 2010.

"This entire man’s life has been destroyed," Susan Loggans, the former player's attorney, told Chicago public radio station WBEZ in June. "These professional athletes have to function at the top of their game at all times in order to be competitive, and these things are really debilitating."

TSN's Rick Westhead reported, the filing alleges Aldrich was watching pornography and performed a sexual act in front of him without his consent in May of 2010. Aldrich then sent inappropriate text messages and threatened the player "physically, financially and emotionally" if he did not participate. An amended complaint from July 2021 goes into further detail regarding the incident and noted he tried to leave but Aldrich blocked his way and threatened the player with a souvenir baseball bat.

According to TSN, in May 2010, two players also told then-skills coach Paul Vincent of inappropriate behavior by Aldrich who then asked Jim Gary, the team's mental skills coach, to follow up. Per the lawsuit, John Doe 1 told Gary what occurred.

"On or about May 2010, plaintiff, John Doe, began seeing Gary for counseling services after he was sexually assaulted by a team employee," the statement of claim says, per Westhead. "Prior to the sexual assault on John Doe, defendant was made aware that the same team employee had sexually assaulted a teammate of John Doe."

Gary allegedly convinced the former player "that the sexual assault was his fault, that he was culpable for what had happened, [and had] made mistakes during his encounter with the perpetrator and permitted the sexual assault to occur."

Per TSN, Vincent, a former police officer in Massachusetts, met with then-Blackhawks president John McDonough, vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, GM Stan Bowman and Gary before the Western Conference final in San Jose, Calif., to discuss what he was told. According to Vincent, he asked them to contact Chicago law enforcement but they declined.
Who is Brad Aldrich?

Aldrich was hired in July 2008 and served as the video coach with the Blackhawks during the team's Stanley Cup season in 2010.

He left the organization that summer and went on to work and volunteer with USA Hockey, the University of Notre Dame, Miami University (OH) and Houghton High School. Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Houghton, Mich. of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student. He was sentenced in 2014 to nine months in jail and five years of probation.

The former student, who played on the high school hockey team, is listed as John Doe 2 and is also suing the Blackhawks citing they provided positive references for Aldrich.

Per The Associated Press, Miami University (OH) also opened an investigation in June. Aldrich was the director of hockey operations at the school but resigned in 2012 "under suspicion of unwanted touching of a male adult." In September, the school released its findings and concluded that he sexually assaulted two men in the fall of 2012.
What did the Blackhawks investigation reveal?

Over the course of a four-month-long investigation, 139 witnesses were interviewed including 21 current and former Blackhawks players and players from the AHL affiliate in Rockford, 14 members of the 2009-10 Blackhawks roster and five of the nine "Black Aces" or practice players called up during the 2010 playoffs, John Doe 1 and Brad Aldrich.
Who is John Doe?

While his identity is anonymous, the investigation notes that John Doe 1 (named as John Doe further) was a 20-year-old prospect who was called up during the playoffs to serve as a "Black Ace." A "Black Ace" is a player brought up during the postseason to practice with the team and be ready to play in the case of an injury, suspension, or any other reason that rostered player cannot play.
When did the assault occur?

Per interviews with both John Doe and Aldrich, both concur that a sexual encounter did occur on either May 8 or 9, 2010. The exact date is unknown but based on timelines regarding the team's travel plans around the playoffs, this is the date the investigation pinpointed. Aldrich claims the encounter was consensual while John Doe says it was "entirely non-consensual."
What occurred on the night of the assault?

At the time, the Blackhawks were playing the Canucks during the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Aldrich invited John Doe over telling him "he had the power to get John Doe onto the Blackhawks' roster" before turning on pornography. John Doe stated "that Aldrich threatened John Doe by telling John Doe he needed to act like he enjoyed the sexual encounter or John Doe would never play in the NHL 'or walk' again" and then forcibly performed sexual acts before threatening him again. Again, it should be noted that Aldrich said the encounter was consensual.
When were the Blackhawks informed and what steps did they take?

May 12-19, 2010

While in San Jose during the Western Conference finals, John Doe tells Paul Vincent, the Blackhawks skating coach, what occurred. Vincent, however, recalls hearing rumors from Nick Boynton and then approached John Doe and another player, revealed to be Black Ace 1 mentioned below.

May 23, 2010

Al MacIsaac, senior director of hockey administration, is informed by an employee that "there may have been a sexual encounter involving Aldrich and John Doe." MacIsaac tells Gary to speak with John Doe who provided limited details which included that Aldrich was pressuring the young prospect to have sex with him or his career would be harmed.

Sometime between May 12-19, John Doe told a fellow "Black Ace" (Black Ace 1) that "Aldrich tried to touch him." When contacted for the investigation, he did not recall the conversation but did remember John Doe speaking with Gary about it.

Later in the day, the Blackhawks eliminated the Sharks from the playoffs in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. One hour after, a meeting took place with the following senior managers:
President John McDonough
Senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac
General Manager Stan Bowman
Executive Vice President Jay Blunk
Assistant General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff
Head coach Joel Quenneville
Mental skills coach and team counselor Jim Gary

Per the report, all men recall being told there was an incident. Gary remembers stating Aldrich was threatening John Doe's career but none recalled being told the exact nature of what occurred. Others in the meeting recall Gary stating Aldrich tried to "get under the sheets" with John Doe.

From the report, it seemed there was more concern for the on-ice product than what occurred off the ice:


Bowman recalled that during the meeting, McDonough and Quenneville made comments about the challenge of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and a desire to focus on the team and the playoffs. Several years later, MacIsaac, in discussing the situation between Aldrich and John Doe with another Blackhawks employee, stated that McDonough did not want any negative publicity during the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bowman recalled that McDonough said he would handle things; however, as noted there was no evidence anything was actually done until after the playoffs. At 9:06 p.m., Gary and Bowman spoke by phone and Bowman informed him that they "will pursue this" and bring it to "an ending."

It should be noted that the report did not find Vincent's statements above regarding contacting management as accurate.

June 9, 2010

The Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup.

June 10, 2010

Aldrich made sexual advances towards and physically touches a 22-year-old intern as the team celebrated the championship.

June 14, 2010

McDonough informs human resources regarding the allegations of Aldrich and the May 23 meeting. Per the report, the director of human resources noted: "McDonough said it was decided that the group would not alert Human Resources or do anything about the incident during the playoffs so as not to disturb team chemistry."

June 16, 2010

When meeting with the director of human resources, and upon hearing the allegations, Aldrich did not confirm nor deny what occurred. He is given an option to either undergo an investigation or resign. He chooses to resign. He is given a severance, playoff bonus, have his name engraved on the Cup, have a day with the Stanley Cup, was given a championship ring and was at the banner-raising ceremony.

September 2013

The director of human resources is contacted by the Houghton Police Department during their investigation into Aldrich on suspicion of criminal sexual assault. She recalled informing the police that he resigned but could not provide more information without a subpoena.

2021

After the court filings in May 2021, the Blackhawks announced internally in late June the hiring of a former federal prosecutor, Reid Schar, to lead an "independent investigation" into the allegations. During the subsequent investigation, it is also revealed that Aldrich sent inappropriate text messages to Black Ace 1.
What are the results of the investigation?

Per the investigation, and as noted above, the organization waited three weeks between learning of the incident and taking any action. That action was Aldrich resigning.

As stated in the investigation:


As a result, the Blackhawks’ own sexual harassment policy—which required investigation of all reports of sexual harassment to be conducted "promptly and thoroughly"—was violated. The failure to promptly and thoroughly investigate the matter and the decision to take no action from May 23 to June 14 had consequences. During that period, Aldrich continued to work with and travel with the team.

Aldrich engaged in an unwanted sexual advance on a Blackhawks intern—physically grabbing the intern in a sexual manner. And Aldrich continued to participate in team activities and celebrations, in the presence of John Doe. Even after the allegations were finally reported to the Director of Human Resources, still no investigation occurred, and Aldrich was permitted to resign his position and to continue participating in Stanley Cup victory events.

The investigation did not reveal any recommendations provided for future employment by the Blackhawks. Records from USA Hockey, Miami University and Houghton found no evidence of references and Aldrich was hired at the high school as a volunteer through the recommendation of a family member.

On Oct. 26, Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz announced that Stan Bowman "stepped aside" as the team's GM. Current vice president of hockey strategy and analytics Kyle Davidson will take over as the interim GM as the team searches for new hockey operations leadership.

"We and he ultimately accept that in his first year as general manager, he made a mistake alongside our other senior executives at the time and did not take adequate action in 2010," Wirtz said before adding that none of the other executives involved in the response will be with the organization moving forward. Al MacIsaac and Bowman were the only ones still with the team as of Oct. 26.


Joel Quenneville is currently the Panthers head coach and Kevin Cheveldayoff is the Jets general manager. Quenneville denied over the summer any knowledge while Cheveldayoff released a statement via the Jets:

"I had no knowledge of any allegations involving Mr. Aldrich until asked if I was aware of anything just prior to the conclusion of his employment with the Chicago Blackhawks. After confirming that I had no prior knowledge of anything, I had no further involvement," the statement said.

In light of the investigation, the NHL announced the Blackhawks have been fined $2 million "for the organization’s inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling of matters related to former video coach Brad Aldrich’s employment with the Club and ultimate departure in 2010. Half of that will go towards organizations in and around Chicago that provide counseling and training for, and support and assistance to, survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse.

Danny Wirtz, during his remarks, said: "John Doe deserves better from the Blackhawks and while we believe we have a strong legal defense, I've instructed our lawyers to see if we can reach a fair resolution consistent with the totality of the circumstances."

Tuesday night, USA Hockey also announced that Bowman has stepped aside as the team's general manager for the 2022 Olympics.

Kyle Beach decided to sue the Blackhawks, claiming that the organization did nothing when he raised allegations of sexual assault. Beach's attorney, Susan Loggans, confirmed the suit on Nov. 23. According to ESPN's reporting, Beach is seeking an excess of $50,000 from the team, but the exact amount was not specified.

On Nov. 30, the Blackhawks filed a motion to dismiss Beach's lawsuit. According to TSN's Rick Westhead, the organization is arguing that the statute of limitations had expired before the suit was filed. The team said a mediation session is scheduled for Dec. 15 to try to settle the lawsuit.

The team and Beach's lawyer, Susan Loggans, jointly announced Dec. 15 that they had reached a confidential settlement of the suit.

"The Blackhawks hope that this resolution will bring some measure of peace and closure for Mr. Beach. As for the Blackhawks organization, we remain steadfast in our commitmemt to ensure that, going forward, this team will be a beacon for professionalism, respect and integrity in our community," the statement said in part.

 
What's next for Joel Quenneville, Kevin Cheveldayoff?

Speaking to Westhead, Beach was adamant that Quenneville knew what occurred:

"Now in statements that came out in the release, Stan Bowman has quoted Joel Quenneville saying — and this is not a quote, this is my words — saying that the playoffs, the Stanley Cup playoffs and trying to win a Stanley Cup was more important than sexual assault. And I can’t believe that. As a human being, I cannot believe that, and I cannot accept that.

"I’ve witnessed meetings, right after I reported it to James Gary, that were held in Joel Quenneville’s office. There’s absolutely no way that he can deny knowing it and there’s absolutely no way that Stan Bowman would make up a quote like that, to somebody who served his organization and his team so well."

Quenneville was allowed to coach the Panthers on Wednesday night against the Bruins. He was scheduled to meet with Bettman in New York on Thursday. Cheveldayoff was originally scheduled to meet with the commissioner on Monday but the meeting was moved up to Friday.

"The NHL is inclusive, The NHL includes everybody, and they let me down and they’ve let down others as well," Beach said. "But they continue to try and protect their name over the health and the well-being of the people who put their lives on the line every day to make the NHL what it is. I hope through and through that Gary Bettman takes this seriously and that he does his due diligence, that he talks to not only them, but Stan Bowman, John McDonough, and anybody else that has information to offer before he makes his decision. Because they already let me down, they wouldn’t investigate for me, so why would they now?"

MORE: Full timeline of Joel Quenneville's involvement in 2010 scandal

On Thursday, following the meeting with Bettman, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Panthers general manager Bill Zito and Panthers president and CEO Matthew Caldwell, Quenneville tendered his resignation.

"With deep regret and contrition, I announce my resignation as head coach of the Florida Panthers," Quenneville said in a statement. "I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered. My former team the Blackhawks failed Kyle and I own my share of that. I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone."

Cheveldayoff met with Bettman on Friday and the league announced he "was not responsible for the improper decisions made by the Chicago Blackhawks" and would, therefore, not be disciplined.

"While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person," Bettman said in the NHL's announcement. "Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Blackhawks senior leadership team in 2010, and I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the Club’s actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion."

MORE: Gary Bettman on Quenneville, Cheveldayoff and what's next for the NHL

Cheveldayoff spoke to the media Tuesday alongside Jets chairman Mark Chipman. He reiterated multiple times that he did not know the extent of what Beach went through and was under the impression it was "along the lines of harassment — inappropriate texts, unwanted advances." Had he known there was a sexual assault, Cheveldayoff said, he "would like to think that it would have risen to a different level."

Chipman, who was emotional at times and mentioned he has personally witnessed the effects of sexual assault, stressed that the Jets are committed to being involved in change, to getting the NHL to acknowledge the "systemic problems that will require systemic solutions" and improve resources.

"I don't know that anything we're going to say to you today is going to necessarily do that," Chipman said of attempting to regain public trust. "All I can tell you is what I'm committed to and that is being a part of a process that says enough. Enough. And, as I hope you gathered from my opening remarks, this is a subject that is deeply personal to me and it is to Kevin.

"So I don't expect that you aren't and others aren't going to hold us accountable to what we say today. I can't speak for every team, I can't speak for the league and I'm not trying to avoid my responsibility as a member of this league. I can only speak from my heart, in terms of my commitment, our team's commitment to getting this right so that somebody else isn't coming forward months or years from now because we failed them. That's all I can do and that's what my commitment to you and everybody who's listening today."

For the full report, which was released publicly by the Blackhawks, click here.

ANOMALOUS WEATHER
At least 5 dead as Midwest rocked by hurricane-force winds
By MARGERY A. BECK and MARGARET STAFFORD

1 of 12

A sheet of metal is wrapped around the stump of a utility pole near Jefferson, Iowa, on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, after a band of severe weather produced strong wind gusts and reports of tornadoes across much of the state Wednesday night. The storm caused property damage and downed power lines, leaving many Iowans without electricity. (Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register via AP)


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — At least five people died as a powerful and extremely unusual storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm temperatures, spawning hurricane-force winds and possible tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.

In southeastern Minnesota, Olmsted County Sheriff’s Lt. Lee Rossman said a 65-year-old man was killed Wednesday night when a 40-foot tree blew onto him outside his home. In southwestern Kansas, blinding dust kicked up by the storms Wednesday led to two separate crashes that killed three people, Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Mike Racy said. And in eastern Iowa, a semitrailer was struck by high winds and rolled onto its side Wednesday evening, killing the driver, the Iowa State Patrol confirmed.

The storm shifted north of the Great Lakes into Canada on Thursday, with high winds, snow and hazardous conditions continuing in the upper Great Lakes region, the National Weather Service said. More than 190,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity Thursday afternoon in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

At least two tornadoes were confirmed in southern Minnesota on Wednesday, the state’s first twisters on record in December. The small community of Hartland, Minnesota, might have been the hardest hit, with a reported 35 to 40 homes sustaining minor damage and a few businesses severely damaged, Freeborn County Emergency Management Director Rich Hall said. Winds reached at least 110 mph in Hartland, the National Weather Service said.

Losses also included livestock. Dozens of cows were electrocuted at a dairy farm after a power pole landed on a milking barn in Newaygo County, in western Michigan. Tim Butler said his workers at the dairy survived the event, but at least 70 cows died. Dozens survived, but many were “hurt bad,” Butler said.

The destructive weather system developed amid unprecedented warmth for December in the Plains and northern states. That included temperatures that rose to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) across southwestern Wisconsin on Wednesday evening. The Weather Company historian Chris Burt compared the heat to that of a “warm July evening.”

“I can say with some confidence that this event (the heat and tornadoes) is among the most (if not THE most) anomalous weather event ever on record for the Upper Midwest,” Burt wrote in a Facebook post.

The winds knocked down trees, tree limbs and nearly 150 power lines in northern and western Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In the western Michigan village of Fruitport, high winds peeled back a portion of Edgewood Elementary School’s roof, leading officials to close all district schools Thursday.

There were more than 20 tornado reports Wednesday in the Plains states, scattered mostly through eastern Nebraska and Iowa, based on preliminary reports to the Storm Prediction Center. The storm system led to the most reports of hurricane-force wind gusts — 75 mph (120 kph) or higher — on any day in the U.S. since 2004, the center said.

“To have this number of damaging wind storms at one time would be unusual anytime of year,” said Brian Barjenbruch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, Nebraska. “But to have this happen in December is really abnormal.”

The governors of Kansas and Iowa declared states of emergency.

The system came on the heels of devastating tornadoes last weekend that cut a path through states including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky, killing more than 85 people.

On Wednesday, there were at least 59 reports of hurricane-force wind gusts regionwide, which exceeded the 53 recorded on Aug. 10, 2020, when a rare derecho wind storm struck Iowa, the Storm Prediction Center said. The destruction on Wednesday, however, was far less severe than from last year’s derecho, which caused billions of dollars of damage.

The winds also whipped up dust that reduced visibility to zero in parts of Kansas and caused at least four semitrailers to blow over, leading officials to temporarily close much of Interstate 70, as well as all state highways in nine northwestern Kansas counties.

Kansas deployed helicopters and other firefighting equipment to help smother at least a dozen wind-fueled wildfires in western and central counties, officials said Thursday.

That dust and smoke was carried north by the storm and concentrated over parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, causing a dramatic drop in air quality in those areas late Wednesday. That spawned a glut of calls to already-taxed emergency dispatchers from people reporting the smell of smoke.

The system blew into the Plains from Colorado, sending gale-force winds across a swath from New Mexico to Minnesota, Wisconsin and upper Michigan. The weather service recorded a gust of 107 mph (172 kph) Wednesday morning at Lamar, Colorado, and gusts of 100 mph in Russell, Kansas.

Scientists say extreme weather events and warmer temperatures are more likely to occur with human-caused climate change. However, scientifically attributing a storm system to global warming requires specific analysis and computer simulations that take time, haven’t been done and sometimes show no clear connection.

“I think we also need to stop asking the question of whether or not this event was caused by climate change,” said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini. “We need to be asking, `To what extent did climate change play a role and how likely was this event to occur in the absence of climate change?’”

The unusually warm temperatures on Wednesday were due in part to record high ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, which wouldn’t have happened without global warming, said Jeff Masters, a Yale Climate Connections meteorologist who cofounded Weather Underground.

Stafford reported from Liberty, Missouri.

Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Ken Miller in Oklahoma City; Terry Wallace in Dallas; Seth Borenstein in Washington D.C.; Jim Anderson in Denver and Grant Schulte in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

ROE REMAINS THE LAW

US regulators lift in-person restrictions on abortion pill
By MATTHEW PERRONE

This Sept. 22, 2010 file photo shows bottles of abortion pills at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 loosened some restrictions on the pill mifepristone, allowing it to be dispensed by more pharmacies. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently removed a major obstacle for women seeking abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that they pick up the medication in person.

Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through the mail. FDA officials said a scientific review supported broadening access, including no longer limiting dispensing to a small number of specialty clinics and doctor’s offices.

But prescribers will still need to undergo certification and training. Additionally, the agency said dispensing pharmacies will have to be certified.

The decision is the latest shift in the polarized legal battle over medication abortion, which has only intensified amid the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is certain to spur legal challenges and more restrictions in Republican-led states.

Earlier this year the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person requirement because of the pandemic. Under Thursday’s decision, the agency permanently dropped the 20-year-old rule, which has long been opposed by medical societies, including the American Medical Association, which say the restriction offers no clear benefit to patients.

The FDA’s latest scientific review stems from a 2017 lawsuit led by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the agency’s restrictions block or delay medical care, especially for people in low-income and rural communities.

The ACLU hailed the elimination of the strictest requirements but said regulators should have gone further and allowed prescribing by any physician and broader pharmacy dispensing. Abortion opponents said the FDA decision would result in more drug-related side effects and complications for women.

Physicians who prescribe the drug, mifepristone, will have to certify that they can provide emergency care to deal with potential adverse effects, including excessive bleeding, FDA officials said Thursday.

The change still means many more doctors will be able to write prescriptions and American women will be able to fill their orders at far more pharmacies, including via online and mail-order services.

The effect will vary by state. More than a dozen Republican-led states have passed measures that limit access to the pills, including outlawing delivery by mail.

Increased use of mail-order abortion pills could pose a dilemma for the anti-abortion movement, given that its leaders generally say they don’t favor criminalizing the actions of women seeking abortions and because mail deliveries can be an elusive target for prosecutors.

The latest policy shift comes as advocates on both sides of the abortion debate wait to see whether the conservative Supreme Court will weaken or even overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that guarantees the right to abortion nationwide.

Roe’s demise would likely prompt at least 20 Republican-governed states to impose sweeping bans while perhaps 15 states governed by Democrats would reaffirm support for abortion access. More complicated would be politically divided states, where fights over abortion laws could be ferocious.

Medication abortion has been available in the United States since 2000, when the FDA first approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Taken with a hormone blocker called misoprostol, it constitutes the so-called abortion pill.

About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication — rather than surgery — and that option has become more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time of approval, the FDA imposed limits on how the drug could be distributed, including barring it from regular pharmacies and requiring that all doctors providing the drug undergo special certification. Women were also required to sign a form indicating they understood the medication’s risks. The FDA said Thursday there have been 26 deaths associated with the drug since 2000, though not all of those can be directly attributed to the medication due to underlying health conditions and other factors.

Common drug side effects include cramping, bleeding, nausea, headache and diarrhea. In some cases excess bleeding needs to be stopped with a surgical procedure.

Near the beginning of the outbreak, the FDA waived in-person requirements for virtually all medications, but left them in place for mifepristone.

That triggered a lawsuit from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which successfully overturned the restriction in federal court. The Trump administration then appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which reinstated the requirement in January.

The point became moot — at least temporarily — in April when the FDA said it would not enforce the dispensing limits during the current public health emergency.

“The FDA’s decision will come as a tremendous relief for countless abortion and miscarriage patients,” said Georgeanne Usova, a lawyer with the ACLU. “However, it is disappointing that the FDA fell short of repealing all of its medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone and these remaining obstacles should also be lifted.”

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said the decision “will lead to more lives lost to abortion, and will increase the number of mothers who suffer physical and psychological harm from chemical abortions.”

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Associated Press writer David Crary contributed to this story from New York.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Uncertainty follows court’s rejection of Purdue opioids deal

By GEOFF MULVIHILL

Cheryl Juaire, of Marlborough, Mass., center, leads a protest near the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday, April 12, 2019. A federal judge’s decision to reject a massive opioid settlement with Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma is a victory for those who want to hold the family that owns the company accountable for their role in the nation’s overdose epidemic. It also will delay the billions of dollars that would have gone to communities and addiction treatment centers across the country to address the ongoing toll of drug addiction.

(AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)


A federal judge’s decision to reject a multibillion dollar opioid settlement involving OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is being hailed as a step toward justice by advocates who have long called for greater accountability for the family that owns the company.

But not everyone involved in the arduous settlement process is celebrating, including some advocates who have lost loved ones to the nation’s ongoing — and growing — addiction crisis. The ruling Thursday from New York-based U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon is a blow to those who sought to use billions of dollars from Purdue and from the Sackler family members involved with the company to fight the epidemic.

“It could be dragged out for months, if not years,” said Cheryl Juaire of Massachusetts, who has lost two grown sons to opioid overdoses.

Juaire founded an organization for grieving parents and was a voice for victims on a committee during the Purdue bankruptcy proceedings that led to the settlement vacated this week.

“Every day, 265 people are dying. The attorneys are getting richer because they’ve still got a job to do, and lives are being lost,” she said. “When is somebody going to say, ‘This is all about the lives?’”

Avi Israel also lost a son to opioid addiction, but sees this week’s ruling differently. Like Juaire, he has dedicated his life to fighting addiction, starting Save the Michaels of the World, a group that has helped get 1,200 people in western New York into addiction treatment this year.

He said Thursday’s decision was the right one.

“You could give me all the money in the world; that’s not going to bring my son back,” said Israel, who also sits on a state board that helps distribute money New York brings in from opioid litigation.

Allowing lawsuits to move forward against Sackler family members could have a more long-lasting effect by deterring corporate executives from pushing medications they know could cause harm.

“I want them to know what it feels like for millions of us in this holiday season, when you sit at the table and you stare at an empty chair and you know that all of that could have been avoided,” he said.

 

Pill Mann" made by Frank Huntley of Worcester, Mass., from his opioid prescription pill bottles, is displayed during a protest by advocates for opioid victims outside the Department of Justice, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Advocates for opioid victims gather around a banner made by artist Fernando Luis Alvarez with the image of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco that reads "DON'T SHIELD THE SACKLER CARTEL!" During a protest outside the Department of Justice, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The contrasting views of justice in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy reflect a complicated case at the center of multiple lawsuits seeking to hold players in the drug industry accountable for the nationwide epidemic of addiction and overdoses. Combined, prescription and illicit versions of the drugs have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades, and it’s gotten worse during the coronavirus pandemic. Federal officials say there were 100,000 overdose deaths in the 12 months that ended in April, the majority of them from opioids.

The Purdue case is the highest-profile, but it’s not the largest opioid settlement in the works. The drug distribution companies AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, plus drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to a settlement worth $26 billion over time. The deal relies on having a critical mass of local governments surrender their right to sue and sign on.

Facing thousands of lawsuits from state and local governments, unions, hospitals and others, Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 as part of an effort to settle the cases. After negotiations and mediation, it reached a deal supported by the overwhelming majority of state and local governments, as well as individuals with claims who voted on it.

The plan calls for Sackler family members to give up ownership of Purdue. The transformed company would continue to make OxyContin, but with profits going to fight the opioid crisis. It also would try to develop low- or no-cost drugs to reverse overdoses and treat addictions. Sackler family members would contribute $4.5 billion over time in cash and charitable assets.

Most of the money would flow to government entities, which would be obligated to use it to fight the crisis and not just to fill their budgets.

“The most important thing to me is that in the plan, every single penny has to be used for the epidemic,” Juaire said.

Because of the advocacy of Juaire and other representatives of victims, a portion of the settlement — $750 million — would go to individual victims and their families. Payments were expected to range from $3,500 to $48,000. That set the Purdue deal apart from other large opioid settlements, where money for individual victims is not included.

But the deal came with one catch that angered many advocates, state attorneys general and others: The Sacklers would be protected from all current and future civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids.

  

Ellen Isaacs, left, and Lee Nuss, center, both from Florida, hold each other and a sing of remembrance of Randall M. Nuss, Lee's husband, during a protest with other advocates for opioid victims outside the Department of Justice, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Nurse practitioner Sarah Thrower, of Holidaysburg, Pa., holds a sign that reads "Sacklers Lie Children Die!!" as she stands with Randy Anderson, of Bold North Recovery and Consulting, on a bullhorn during a protest with advocates for opioid victims outside the Department of Justice, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Under a 2020 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the company pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a deal that would waive most of their $8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures as long as it entered a settlement that would use money to fight the opioid crisis. Members of the Sackler family agreed separately to pay $225 million to settle federal civil claims. There are no indications that criminal charges could emerge against family members, though some activists are pressing officials to file them.

Eight states and the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee, a part of the Department of Justice, objected to the bankruptcy settlement and appealed after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge accepted the deal in September.

Their arguments swayed Judge McMahon. In her ruling, she said bankruptcy law does not give judges the power to accept deals that protect people who are not themselves filing for bankruptcy protection if some parties in the case don’t agree.

The decision “puts a fine point on the idea that there cannot be two systems of justice in this country,” one for the wealthy and one for everyone else,” Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in an interview Friday.

Purdue said it would appeal but that it also would keep trying to find a settlement all parties would accept.

McMahon anticipated an appeal in her ruling: “This opinion will not be the last word on the subject, nor should it be.” She said the issue of third-party releases has hovered over bankruptcy law for decades, with federal circuit courts disagreeing about whether they can be granted.

Jen Trejo, left, from California holds a sign that reads "JAIL TIME FOR THE SACKLERS" in one hand and a photo of her son Christopher in the other who died from opioid addiction at 32, and Kathy Moorehead of Louisville, Ky., holds a sign of P. Ryan Wroblweski, during a protest with other advocates for opioid victims outside the Department of Justice, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The appeal will go to the New York-based U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. It’s expected that whichever side loses will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.

Congress also has considered legislation that would prohibit the kind of protections granted to Sackler family members, but the bill has stalled.

Representatives of the Sackler family have said in court, depositions and congressional hearings that they have not done anything improper and are not responsible for the opioid epidemic. They have not commented on Thursday’s ruling.

The Department of Justice, under different leadership than it was 13 months ago when Purdue pleaded guilty, praised McMahon’s decision.

“The bankruptcy court did not have the authority to deprive victims of the opioid crisis of their right to sue the Sackler family,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

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Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s sweeping opioid settlement

By GEOFF MULVIHILL

A federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic Thursday because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found that federal bankruptcy law does not give the bankruptcy judge who had accepted the plan the authority to grant that kind of release for people who are not declaring bankruptcy themselves.

In a statement Thursday night, the company said that it would appeal the ruling and at the same time try to forge another plan that its creditors will agree to.

Purdue said the ruling will not hurt the company’s operations, but it will make it harder for company and Sackler money to be used to fight the opioid crisis as the legal fight continues.

“It will delay, and perhaps end, the ability of creditors, communities, and individuals to receive billions in value to abate the opioid crisis,” said Steve Miller, chairman of the Purdue board of directors. “These funds are needed now more than ever as overdose rates hit record-highs, and we are confident that we can successfully appeal this decision and deliver desperately needed funds to the communities and individuals suffering in the midst of this crisis.”

Representatives of the two branches of the family who own the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the descendants of Mortimer Sackler, one of the late brothers who owned the company, had no comment.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who was among a handful of state officials seeking to have the deal undone, called the ruling “a seismic victory for justice and accountability.” Tong said the ruling will “re-open the deeply flawed Purdue bankruptcy and force the Sackler family to confront the pain and devastation they have caused.”

Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits claiming the company pushed doctors to prescribe OxyContin, helping spark an opioid crisis that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the last two decades.

Through the bankruptcy court, it worked out a deal with its creditors. Members of the Sackler family would give up ownership of the company, which would transform into a different kind of entity that would still sell opioids — but with profits being used to fight the crisis. It would also develop new anti-addiction and anti-overdose drugs and provide them at little or no cost.

Sackler family members also would contribute $4.5 billion in cash and charitable assets as part of an overall deal that could be worth $10 billion, including the value of the new drugs, if they’re brought to market.

Government entities and businesses agreed to use any money they receive fighting the opioid epidemic. The deal also calls for millions of company documents, including communications with lawyers, to be made public.

In return, members of the wealthy family would get protection from lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis — both the 860 already filed and any others in the future.

Most state and local governments, Native American tribes, individual opioid victims and others who voted said the plan worked out in the bankruptcy court should be accepted.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, like several others, sued Sackler family members and opposed the settlement before eventually agreeing to it this year. She said in a statement that if the deal doesn’t hold up, she’s ready to resume the civil lawsuit: “Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family remain named defendants in our ongoing litigation and we will hold them accountable for their unlawful behavior, one way or another.”

The U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee’s office, eight state attorneys general and some other entities have been fighting the deal. They argue that it does not properly hold members of the Sackler family accountable and that it usurps states’ ability to try to do so.

A bankruptcy court judge approved the plan over the objections in September. But the opponents appealed to McMahon’s court.

The main issue on the appeal was the lawfulness of the measures that would extend legal protections to family members.

Such “third-party releases” are not used in most bankruptcy cases, but they are common in cases such as Purdue’s, in which the companies involved are burdened with lawsuits and have relatively little value — but their wealthy owners could contribute.

The Purdue deal would not protect family members from any criminal charges. But so far none have been filed, and there are no signs that any are forthcoming, though some activists are calling for charges.

In a hearing, McMahon focused in on how Sackler family members transferred $10.4 billion from the privately held Stamford, Connecticut-based company over the decade before the bankruptcy. McMahon wanted to know whether the money was moved in part to ensure a role for the Sacklers in bankruptcy negotiations.

But in her ruling Thursday, McMahon did not dig deeply into those transfers or the idea of holding Sackler family members accountable for the opioid crisis. Instead, she focused on whether the bankruptcy law even allows for the kind of deal the company and its creditors struck if there are objections to it.

“The great unsettled question in this case is whether the Bankruptcy Court – or any court – is statutorily authorized to grant such releases. This issue has split the federal Circuits for decades,” she wrote.

She also noted that other courts will weigh in on the case. The next step is likely before the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This opinion will not be the last word on the subject, nor should it be,” she wrote. “This issue has hovered over bankruptcy law for thirty-five years.

Delaware judge rejects Fox News motion to dismiss lawsuit

A worker passes a Dominion Voting ballot scanner while setting up a polling location at an elementary school in Gwinnett County, Ga., outside of Atlanta on Jan. 4, 2021. Local officials in rural Nevada decided on Thursday, Dec. 16 2021, to replace equipment manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems — a sign that unsubstantiated concerns about election machine tampering remain prevalent in many parts of the United States more than a year after the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge Thursday rejected a motion by Fox News to dismiss a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against the cable news giant by Dominion Voting Systems over claims about the 2020 presidential election.

In the 52-page ruling Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said that the voting machine company had shown that “At this stage, it is reasonably conceivable that Dominion has a claim for defamation per se.”

Denver-based Dominion filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the media organization alleging that some Fox News employees elevated false charges that Dominion had changed votes in the 2020 election through algorithms in its voting machines that had been created in Venezuela to rig elections for the late dictator Hugo Chavez. On-air personalities brought on Trump allies who spread the claims, and then amplified those claims on Fox News’ social media platforms.

There was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, a fact that a range of election officials across the country — and even Trump’s attorney general, William Barr — confirmed. An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by former President Donald Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

In denying the motion to dismiss the lawsuit Davis said that Dominion’s complaint “supports the reasonable inference that Fox either (i) knew its statements about Dominion’s role in election fraud were false or (ii) had a high degree of awareness that the statements were false.”

Davis said that “Fox possessed countervailing evidence of election fraud from the Department of Justice, election experts, and Dominion at the time it had been making its statements. The fact that, despite this evidence, Fox continued to publish its allegations against Dominion, suggests Fox knew the allegations were probably false.”

The judge also wrote that despite emails from Dominion attempting to factually address Fox’s fraud allegations, Fox and its news personnel continued to report Dominion’s “purported connection to the election fraud claims without also reporting on Dominion’s emails.”

“Given that Fox apparently refused to report contrary evidence ... the Complaint’s allegations support the reasonable inference that Fox intended to keep Dominion’s side of the story out of the narrative.”

Fox News Media said in a statement that “As we have maintained, Fox News, along with every single news organization across the country, vigorously covered the breaking news surrounding the unprecedented 2020 election, providing full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear-cut analysis. We remain committed to defending against this baseless lawsuit and its all-out assault on the First Amendment.”

Fox News had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed arguing that its coverage is protected by the First Amendment and that a free press must be able to report both sides of a story involving claims that strike at the core of democracy.

Manchin’s child tax credit stance draws criticism back home

By ASHRAF KHALIL


In this Dec. 13, 2021, photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., leaves his office after speaking with President Joe Biden about his long-stalled domestic agenda, at the Capitol in Washington. Manchin’s reluctance to endorse the Biden administration’s expanded child tax credit program is rippling through his home state of West Virginia. Manchin, a moderate RIGHT WING Democrat, is one of the last holdouts delaying passage of President Joe Biden’s massive social and environmental package. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Joe Manchin’s reluctance to endorse the Biden administration’s expanded child tax credit program is rippling through his home state of West Virginia.

Manchin, a moderate Democrat, is one of the last holdouts delaying passage of President Joe Biden’s massive social and environmental package, dubbed the Build Back Better Act. The West Virginia senator has expressed concerns over multiple aspects of the roughly $2 trillion package, including the continuation of the expanded Child Tax Credit program.

The expansion, passed earlier this year as part of pandemic relief legislation, boosted the monthly payments for parents and greatly expanded the scope of those eligible. In West Virginia, one of the country’s poorest states, the effect was immediate, advocates say.

“There is no state that’s more impacted by the CTC,” said Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “West Virginia, frankly, wasn’t doing great before the pandemic. So this is absolutely needed now and in the long term.”

On Dec. 15, CTC payments went out to 181,000 West Virginia families, according to Treasury Department figures. The payments averaged $446 and reached 305,000 children. Those payments could end this month, if the Biden package doesn’t pass in the next few days.

A coalition of West Virginia groups has been lobbying Manchin from the local end, emphasizing the ground-level stories of families who benefitted from the expansion.

“We’re hearing it from every corner of the state,” said Jim McKay of TEAM for West Virginia Children. “This program is really having a profound impact in a positive way.”

Allen warned that 50,000 children in the state are in danger of slipping into poverty if the payments lapse, or the negotiations drag on so long that the Jan. 15 payment doesn’t happen. One in five West Virginia children is estimated to live in poverty and 93% of children in the state are eligible for the CTC payments, tied for the highest rates in the country.

“Households across the state would have trouble meeting their basic needs,” Allen said. “There is real urgency right now to make sure families don’t get left short.”

Faced with unified Republican opposition, Biden is trying to pass the package with Democrats alone, which the House has already done. But the path in the evenly split 50-50 Senate is more difficult, with no room for dissent. Biden has been in talks with Manchin, who appears to be the final obstacle for Democrats trying to pass the big bill by Christmas.

The rocky status of the Biden-Manchin talks was described Wednesday by a person who spoke only on condition of anonymity. The person said Manchin was pushing to eliminate the bill’s renewal of expanded benefits under the child tax credit, a keystone of Democratic efforts to reduce child poverty.

Manchin told reporters Wednesday that assertions he wants to strip the child tax credit improvements were “a lot of bad rumors.” Asked if he backed eliminating one of the bill’s child tax credit improvements — monthly checks sent to millions of families — he said, “I’m not negotiating with any of you.”

Last month, a group of West Virginians gathered outside Manchin’s office in the state capital, Charleston, to present the senator with a quilt covered in personal testimonials from CTC recipients describing how the payments had improved their lives.

“It’s a life-changer,” said Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee who participated in the demonstration. ”People are saying they paid off debt, kept the lights on, or bought or repaired their car so they could go to work.”

Studies suggest the child tax credit expansions are expected to cut child poverty by 40% — with 9 of 10 American children benefiting. All told, some 4.1 million children are on track to be lifted above the poverty line, according to analysis from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

In West Virginia, recipients spent 52% of their CTC money on food, with 39% going toward clothing and other essentials for their children, according to a study by Washington University in St. Louis’ Social Policy Institute.

Allen, of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said the CTC money doesn’t just benefit the recipient families. With few in a position to save the funds, the cash gets immediately spent in the community. She estimated that more than $530 million in CTC funds had flowed into the West Virginia economy.

“When families get money in their pockets, they’re spending it in grocery stores, clothing stores and child care centers,” she said. “Households know what they need and they’re spending it in a way that most folks would think is responsible.”

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

A fragile partnership in Iraq tries to prevent IS revival
By SAMYA KULLAB

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Kurdish Peshmerga forces oversee digging of defensive trenches in the village of Lheiban , Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. For the first time since the defeat of Islamic State, federal Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga are coordinating to close security gaps along a disputed zone in northern Iraq, as part of their ongoing fight against the militants. (AP Photo/Samya Kullab)

LHEIBAN, Iraq (AP) — As a backhoe dug up the ground to build trenches, Iraqi soldiers scanned the vast farming tracts for militants; not far away, their Kurdish counterparts did the same.

The scene earlier this month in the small northern Iraqi farming village of Lheiban was a rare instance of coordination between the federal government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The two sides were fortifying a joint position aimed at defending the village against attacks by the Islamic State group.

Despite a long-standing territorial dispute, Baghdad and Iraq’s Kurds are taking steps to work together to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

Whether the fragile security partnership can hold is the big test in the next chapter of Iraq’s war with IS. Both sides say they need the Americans to help keep it together — and they say that is one reason why the U.S. military presence in Iraq is not going away even as its combat mission officially ends on Dec. 31.

Iraq declared IS defeated four years ago this month. But the rivalry between Baghdad and the Kurds opened up cracks through which IS crept back: a long, disputed zone snaking through four provinces -- Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala -- where the forces of either side did not enter. In some places, the zone was up to 40 kilometers (24 miles) wide.

Lheiban lies in one part of the zone, and a recent flurry of IS attacks threatened to empty the area of its residents, mostly Kurds. So for the first time since 2014, Iraqi troops and peshmerga are setting up joint coordination centers around the zone to better police the gaps.

“Daesh took advantage,” said Capt. Nakib Hajar, head of Kurdish peshmerga operations in the area, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Now, he said, “we are coordinating ... It begins here, in this village.”

NIGHT VISIONS

Like all residents of Lheiban, Helmet Zahir is tired. In past months, the cement factory worker would spend all night on the roof of his humble home, his wife and children sleeping inside, holding his rifle and waiting.

Security personnel guarding a nearby oil company -- the only ones in the area equipped with thermal night vision -- would send the signal when they spotted IS militants making their way down the Qarachok Mountain range toward Lheiban.

It was up to Zahir and other armed residents to fend them off.

“We were abandoned. The peshmerga was on one side, the Iraqi army on another and neither was intervening,” he said.

A recent uptick in attacks on the village, with three in the first week of December alone, prompted many of the village’s residents, who are mainly Kurds, to leave. Zahir moved his family to Debaga in the relative safety of the Kurdish-run north.

Once numbering 65 families, Lheiban now has only 12 left, said village mukhtar Yadgar Karim.

On Dec. 7, peshmerga and Iraqi forces moved into the village with plans to replicate coordination elsewhere across the disputed territories. Kurdish officials hoped this would prompt villagers to return. Maintaining a Kurdish population in the area is key to their territorial claims.

Zahir is not convinced. “I came to check on the situation only, I am too afraid to return,” he said.

The peshmerga have positions all along the ridge of the Qarachok mountains. But they don’t have orders to stop IS militants as they cross on attacks or to raid IS positions because of wariness over entering disputed territory, explained Col. Kahar Jawhar.

Moreover, the militants move at night, using tunnels and hiding in caves, and the peshmerga lack key equipment including night vision.

“That is why IS are able to terrorize the residents, because we can’t see them,” Jawhar said.

DISPUTED LAND

The talks to re-establish joint coordination centers between the Iraqi army and peshmerga began over two years ago, but fell apart because of deep mistrust and differences over how to carve out lines of control.

Under current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, talks were rekindled, paving the way for an agreement to set up six joint coordination centers in Baghdad, Irbil, and across the disputed zone.

Kadhimi also agreed to establish two joint brigades to conduct anti-IS operations. But this is awaiting budget approval from Baghdad’s Finance Ministry, said Hajar Ismail, peshmerga head of relations with the coalition.

Between 2009-2014, Iraqi and Kurdish forces conducted joint security in the northern provinces of Ninevah, Kirkuk and Diyala. But the collapse of the Iraqi army during the IS onslaught of 2014 ended the arrangement.

Kurdish authorities managed to solidify control over Kirkuk and other disputed areas during this time, even developing oil fields and conducting an independent export policy, to the ire of the federal government.

After Iraq declared victory over IS in 2017, Baghdad turned its sights to these areas, launching a military operation in October 2017 to retake them. Relations soured, with Baghdad cutting off budget allocations to the Kurdish region, rendering it unable to pay public sector workers and debts to oil companies.

Baghdad was long reluctant to resume security talks partly due to political optics in the capital, with many dominant Shiite parties deeply mistrustful of Kurdish intentions, according to federal officials.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, made up largely of Shiite militia groups close to Iran, has opposed joint patrols with the peshmerga. The PMF also has a powerful presence in many areas in the disputed zone.

So far, the PMF has been surprisingly quiet about the new joint arrangement, as it copes with a devastating loss in federal elections earlier this year.

But “at some point they will speak out against it,” Zmkan Ali, a senior researcher at the Institute of Regional and International Studies, a research center in Sulaymaniyah.

COMMON FRIEND

The road to better coordination has often involved a common friend: The U.S.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials said the U.S.-led coalition’s mediation and support were key in bringing parties to the table.

“They played an important role, coordinating with us and the Iraqi side,” said Jawhar, the peshmerga based in Qarachok. “Without them we wouldn’t speak — they wouldn’t come here, and we wouldn’t go there.”

Both sides say they still need the Americans to play that role.

U.S. troops quietly stopped direct involvement in combat against IS months ago and have since been advising and training troops. That role will continue when the combat mission formally ends on Dec. 31.

The U.S. presence is also crucial in other ways. The Americans pay the salaries of many peshmerga fighters, amid ongoing budget disputes with Baghdad. Some $240 million in U.S. funding covers the salaries of around 45,000 peshmerga personnel, according to Ismail.

“Thankfully, this will continue in 2022,” he said.

WW3.0

Russia sets out tough demands for security pact with NATO

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and LORNE COOK

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FILE - In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a view of the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zapad-2021 at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. A Russian troop buildup near Ukraine has fueled Ukrainian and Western fears of an invasion, but Moscow has denied planning such an attack.

 (Vadim Savitskiy/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Friday published draft security demands that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe — bold ultimatums that are almost certain to be rejected by the U.S. and its allies.

The proposals, which were submitted to the U.S. and its allies earlier this week, also call for a ban on sending U.S. and Russian warships and aircraft to areas from where they can strike each other’s territory, along with a halt to NATO military drills near Russia.

The demand for a written guarantee that Ukraine won’t be offered membership already has been rejected by the West, which said Moscow doesn’t have a say in NATO’s enlargement.

NATO’s secretary-general emphasized Friday that any security talks with Moscow would need to take into account NATO concerns and involve Ukraine and other partners. The White House similarly said it’s discussing the proposals with U.S. allies and partners, but noted that all countries have the right to determine their future without outside interference.

The publication of the demands — contained in a proposed Russia-U.S. security treaty and a security agreement between Moscow and NATO — comes amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has raised fears of an invasion. Moscow has denied it has plans to attack its neighbor but wants legal guarantees precluding NATO expansion and deploying weapons there.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia’s relations with the U.S. and NATO have approached a “dangerous point,” noting that alliance deployments and drills near Russia have raised “unacceptable” threats to its security.

Moscow wants the U.S. to start talks immediately on the proposals in Geneva, he told reporters.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had received the Russian documents, and noted that any dialogue with Moscow “would also need to address NATO’s concerns about Russia’s actions, be based on core principles and documents of European security, and take place in consultation with NATO’s European partners, such as Ukraine.”

He added that the 30 NATO countries “have made clear that should Russia take concrete steps to reduce tensions, we are prepared to work on strengthening confidence building measures.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration is ready to discuss Moscow’s concerns about NATO in talks with Russian officials, but emphasized that Washington is committed to the “principle of nothing about you without you” in shaping policy that impacts European allies.

“We’re approaching the broader question of diplomacy with Russia from the point of view that ... meaningful progress at the negotiating table, of course, will have to take place in a context of de-escalation rather than escalation,” Sullivan said at the event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. He added “that it’s very difficult to see agreements getting consummated if we’re continuing to see an escalatory cycle.”

While U.S. intelligence has determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made plans for a potential further invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Sullivan said the U.S. still does not know whether he has decided to move forward.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that strategic security talks with Moscow go back decades, saying that “there’s no reason we can’t do that moving forward to reduce instability, but we’re going to do that in partnership and coordination with our European allies and partners.”

”We will not compromise the key principles on which European security is built, including that all countries have the right to decide their own future and foreign policy free from the outside interference,” Psaki said.

Moscow’s draft also calls for efforts to reduce the risk of incidents involving Russia and NATO warships and aircraft, primarily in the Baltic and the Black seas, increase the transparency of military drills and other confidence-building measures.

A senior U.S. official said some of the Russian proposals are part of an arms control agenda between Moscow and Washington, while some other issues, such as transparency and deconfliction, concern all 57 members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, including Ukraine and Georgia.

The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity in order to talk about the proposals, said the U.S. is looking at how to engage every country whose interests are affected in prospective talks on European security issues and will respond to Moscow sometime next week with concrete proposals after consulting with the allies.

President Vladimir Putin raised the demand for security guarantees in last week’s video call with U.S. President Joe Biden. During the conversation, Biden voiced concern about a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine and warned him that Russia would face “severe consequences” if Moscow attacked its neighbor.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and shortly after cast its support behind a separatist rebellion in the country’s east. More than seven years of fighting has killed over 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine’s industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.

The Russian demands would oblige Washington and its allies to pledge to halt NATO’s eastward expansion to include other ex-Soviet republics and rescind a 2008 promise of membership to Ukraine and Georgia. The alliance already has firmly rejected that demand from Moscow.

Moscow’s documents also would preclude the U.S. and other NATO allies from conducting any military activities in Ukraine, other countries of Eastern Europe and ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus and in Central Asia.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry commented on Moscow’s proposals by emphasizing that it’s up to the alliance and Ukraine to discuss NATO membership prospects and its military cooperation with other countries.

“The Russian aggression and the current Russian escalation along the Ukrainian border and on the occupied territories is now the main problem for the Euro-Atlantic security,” said its spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.

The Russian proposal also ups the ante by putting a new demand to roll back NATO military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe, stating that the parties agree not to send any troops to areas where they hadn’t been present in 1997 — before NATO’s eastward expansion started — except for exceptional situations of mutual consent.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the following years, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia also became members, bringing NATO membership to 30 nations.

The draft proposals contain a ban on the deployment of U.S. and Russian warships and aircraft to “areas where they can strike targets on the territory of the other party.”

Moscow has long complained about patrol flights by U.S. strategic bombers near Russia’s borders and the deployment of U.S. and NATO warships to the Black Sea, describing them as destabilizing and provocative.

Russia’s draft envisages a pledge not to station intermediate-range missiles in areas where they can strike the other party’s territory, a clause that follows the U.S. and Russian withdrawal from a Cold War-era pact banning such weapons.

The Russian draft also calls for a ban on the deployment of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons on the territory of other countries — a repeat of Moscow’s longtime push for the U.S. to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe.

Dmitri Trenin, the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, noted that the publication of the Russian demands signals that the Kremlin considers their acceptance by the West unlikely.

“This logically means that Russia will have to assure its security single-handedly” using military-technical means, he said on Twitter.

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Cook reported from Brussels. Darlene Superville, Ellen Knickmeyer and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

NATO issues statement in connection with build-up of Russia's military presence on Ukraine's border
17.12.2021


In connection with the build-up of Russian military forces on the border with Ukraine, the NATO North Atlantic Council issued a statement urging Russia to stop the escalation.

The text of the statement was released late Thursday by the headquarters of the alliance.

"We are gravely concerned by the substantial, unprovoked, and unjustified Russian military build-up on the borders of Ukraine in recent months, and reject the false Russian claims of Ukrainian and NATO provocations. We call on Russia to immediately de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments on transparency of military activities," the statement reads.

The North Atlantic Council stated "it is seriously assessing the implications for Alliance security of the current situation." "We will always respond in a determined way to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defense posture as necessary. NATO will take all necessary measures to ensure the security and defense of all NATO Allies. Any further aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and would carry a high price. NATO will continue to closely coordinate with relevant stakeholders and other international organizations including the EU," the Alliance said.

In addition, the North Atlantic Council reiterated its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and called on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine in accordance with its international obligations and commitments. "We support the right of all countries to decide their own future and foreign policy free from outside interference. NATO's relationship with Ukraine is a matter only for Ukraine and the 30 NATO Allies. We firmly reject any attempts to divide Allied security," the Alliance said.

At the same time, the allies conformed that they are "ready for meaningful dialogue with Russia." "We reiterate our long-standing invitation to Russia for a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in the near future. We are aware of Russia's recent European security proposals. We are clear that any dialogue with Russia would have to proceed on the basis of reciprocity, address NATO's concerns about Russia's actions, be based on the core principles and foundational documents of European security, and take place in consultation with NATO's European Partners. Should Russia take concrete steps to reduce tensions, we are prepared to work on strengthening confidence-building measures. The OSCE is also a relevant platform," the statement reads.

Russian court says country's soldiers stationed in Ukraine

A Russian court has acknowledged the country's armed forces are present in the eastern part of Ukraine. The Kremlin has persistently denied the presence of Russian forces in the Donbas region.

Ukrainian soldiers have dug in positions at a line of separation near the Donbas region

The Kremlin said Thursday that a southern Russian court's acknowledgment of the presence of Russian soldiers in the eastern part of Ukraine known as the Donbas was a "mistake," despite much evidence to the contrary presented to the court.

The case involved allegations of corruption concerning a catering service intended for "the garrisons of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation stationed on the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics," Judge Leonard Sholokhov wrote.

Later on Thursday, the court's press office released a statement that stated the local court responsible for collecting the man's testimony had not confirmed the veracity of his statements to the court.

What was the case about?

The court's words are poignant given the lengths Moscow has gone to obfuscate whether its forces are stationed in Ukraine. The court, located in Rostov-on-Don near the border with Ukraine, is where the former Russian-backed president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych fled following his ouster in 2014.

The defendant in the case, identified in court papers as V.N. Zabaluyev, said in court he had supplied meals to Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Zabaluyev worked at a local company as the deputy regional manager for military meal logistics. In 2019, he received a sentence of five years in prison for bribing officials.

The court heard that every two weeks a caravan of 70 trucks with supplies would cross into eastern Ukraine to supply Russian troops deployed there.
How has the Kremlin reacted?

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said Thursday there was a "mistake on the part of those who wrote the text" and that any food deliveries to the region would consist of humanitarian aid.

Peskov added the statement was an error "because it is not possible. There are no armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics at all."

How has Ukraine reacted?

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said, "Russia has by itself created a legal precedent that clearly fixates its status as a party to an international armed conflict."

He added: "It is not possible to hide Russia's crimes in Ukraine."

In 2014, following a three-month civil uprising on the central Kyiv square known as Maidan and the ouster of Yanukovych, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Russia then threw its weight in support of the pro-Russian rebels taking on Kyiv in Donbas.

Independent media have unearthed evidence of more than just spiritual and ideological overlap between Moscow and the rebel forces in the Donbas. Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta has published images of the bodies of the war dead in Donbas being transferred to Russia.

The UN reports 13,000 have died in the nearly eight-year-old conflict.

ar/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Ukrainian Soldier Killed as Tensions with Moscow Soar

By AFP

Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region.president.gov.ua

Ukraine said Friday that one of its soldiers was killed in fighting with pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country, as tensions with Moscow soar.

Kiev has been battling a pro-Moscow insurgency in two breakaway regions bordering Russia since 2014, when the Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

Russia has massed troops near Ukraine's borders and the West has for weeks accused it of planning an invasion, warning Moscow of massive sanctions should it launch an attack.

The Ukrainian army said separatists had targeted its positions with grenade launchers and mortars.

"One serviceman was fatally wounded," and another soldier was injured, it said on Facebook.

Kiev and its allies accuse Russia of supporting the rebels militarily — claims which Moscow denies.

The latest death brings Ukraine's toll in the simmering conflict to 65 since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, compared to a total of 50 in all of 2020.

Russia has massed around 100,000 troops on its side of the border.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin of "sanctions like he's never seen" should the troops attack Ukraine.

European Union leaders on Thursday urged Moscow to halt its military build-up and return to talks led by France and Germany.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far left more than 13,000 dead.

Jittery Ukrainian villagers ‘fear that a big war will start’

By INNA VARENYTSIA and YURAS KARMANAU

December 16, 2021

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Liudmyla Momot weeps as she searches for any still-usable items Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, in the debris of her house in the village of Nevelske in eastern Ukraine, that was struck by a mortar shell fired by Russia-backed separatists. Her village, northwest of the rebel-held city of Donetsk, is only about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the line of contact between the separatists and the Ukrainian military and has been emptied of all but five people. Small arms fire frequently is heard in the daytime, giving way to the booms of light artillery and mortars after dusk. (AP Photo/Andriy Dubchak)


NEVELSKE, Ukraine (AP) — Liudmyla Momot wipes away tears as she searches for clothes and household items to salvage from the ruins of her home that was shelled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Her village of Nevelske, northwest of the rebel-held city of Donetsk, is only about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the line of contact between the separatists and the Ukrainian military and has been emptied of all but five people.

Small arms fire frequently is heard in the daytime, giving way to the booms of light artillery and mortar shelling after dusk.

With the bloody conflict now more than seven years old, there are fears in Ukraine and the West that a buildup of armed forces on Russia’s side of the border could lead to an invasion or the resumption of full-scale hostilities.

Rebels targeted Nevelske with shelling twice in the last month, damaging or destroying 16 of the village’s 50 houses and rattling the handful of nervous residents who remain.

“The worse Ukraine-Russia relations are, the more we simple people are suffering,” said 68-year-old Momot, who has worked at a dairy farm all her life.

Now with no home, “who could have imagined that? I was preparing for the winter, stocking up coal and firewood.”

After the shell hit her house, Momot fled to a nearby settlement where her son lives. But the anxiety has followed her there.

“We fear that a big war will start. People are scared and packed up their bags,” said Momot, who collected some blankets, warm clothes and other items in the debris.

The conflict in the eastern industrial heartland known as the Donbas erupted in April 2014, weeks after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula following the ouster of Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly former president. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supporting the rebels with troops and weapons, but Moscow says that Russians who joined the fight were volunteers acting on their own.

More than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting that has driven more than 2 million people from their homes in the east.

When the conflict began, Nevelske had a population of 286. Now, the five older people who remain in the ruined village collect rainwater for drinking and cooking. Between shipments of humanitarian aid, they rely on eating stale bread.

“We have grown accustomed to the shelling,” said 84-year-old Halyna Moroka, who has stayed in Nevelske with her disabled son.

A 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany ended large-scale battles, but frequent skirmishes have continued. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the shaky cease-fire, has reported an increasing number of such incidents, with both sides trading the blame for truce violations.

“The security situation along the contact line is still of concern, with a high level of kinetic activity,” Mikko Kinnune, the OSCE representative for the group that involves representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the rebels, said earlier this month.

Amid the recent Russian troop buildup, Washington and its allies have warned Moscow that it will pay a high economic price if it attacks Ukraine. Moscow denies having such intentions and accused Ukraine of planning to reclaim control of rebel-held territory, something Kyiv has rejected,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the West to provide guarantees that NATO won’t expand to include Ukraine or deploy the alliance’s forces and weapons there, calling that a “red line” for Moscow. The U.S. and its allies have refused to make such a pledge, but U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin decided last week to hold talks to discuss Russian concerns.

A dog limps past the debris of a house Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, after the home was struck by a mortar shell fired by Russia-backed separatists in the village of Nevelske in eastern Ukraine. The 7-year-old conflict between the separatists and Ukrainian forces has all but emptied the village. Shelling has damaged or destroyed 16 of the 50 houses there. (AP Photo/Andriy Dubchak)

The geopolitical threats resonate in Nevelske on those few occasions that the village has power, enabling its remaining residents to watch Russian television news.

“We don’t want war!” exclaimed 75-year-old Kateryna Shklyar, who shares her fears with her husband, Dmytro. Their daughter and grandchildren live in nearby Krasnohorivka, a Ukrainian-controlled western suburb of Donetsk.

“For how long will this torment last?” asked Shklyar. “It has worn out our souls and hearts. You can’t call that life, but we have no place to go.”

Humanitarian groups provide basic supplies to Nevelske and other villages and even try to offer housing in safer areas, but their resources are limited.

“I just survive each day, trying to make it to the evening, and my soul aches,” said Moroka, who has lost vision in one eye but can’t get any medical help.

“We are frightened,” she added. “It’s really scary to sit here and wait for death. It’s horrible!”

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Yuras Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.

EU faces nuclear rift in decision on energy funds, future

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and RAF CASERT

1 of 6

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron address a media conference at the conclusion of an EU Summit in Brussels, Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. European Union leaders met for a one-day summit Thursday focusing on Russia's military threat to neighbouring Ukraine and on ways to deal with the continuing COVID-19 crisis. (John Thys, Pool Photo via AP)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of the European Union’s two most important nations faced reporters together during a joint news conference early Friday, a show of unity at the end of the EU’s final summit of the year.

Then two words - “nuclear energy” - intervened.

Heading into the Christmas week, atomic power is a topic on which France and Germany broadly differ, and one that has become a big thorn in the side of the EU as the 27-nation bloc decides whether to include nuclear-generated energy among the economic activities that qualify for sustainable investment.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who took office last week, and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on most of the issues tackled during Thursday’s summit, including Ukraine-Russia tensions and an immigration dispute with Belarus.

On the the sustainable investment rules, however, the two leaders have yet to reach a compromise. The rift over nuclear energy was enough to scuttle any agreement on energy prices during the summit.

A big rise in energy prices has reignited the debate about whether the EU should promote nuclear power projects as a way of becoming greener and more energy independent.

France has asked for nuclear power to be included in the so-called “taxonomy” by the end of the year, leading the charge with several other EU countries that operate nuclear power plants.

The group initially faced strong opposition from Germany and other members that wanted nuclear power to be ineligible for green financing, but Scholz adopted a peacebuilding tone in the summit’s final hours early Friday.

“We are talking about countries with different business models. It’s important that each EU country can pursue its own approach without Europe becoming disunited,” Scholz said. “At the end of the day, we will have to come together despite the different priorities we may have set.”

Germany’s remaining nuclear power plants are due to go offline next year. France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy.

Last month, Macron announced that France will start building its first new nuclear reactors in decades. Unveiling the plans, he said the the new reactors will help guarantee France’s energy independence and help reach carbon neutrality in 2050.

“It’s not a Franco-German discussion,” Macron said during the press conference. “There are different energy models in different European countries. What we want to achieve is agree on a taxonomy that allows us to continue with our industrial policy and to be coherent in decarbonizing our economies.”

Two years ago, EU leaders agreed that nuclear could be part of the bloc’s solution to making its economy carbon neutral by 2050. Leaving the possibility of using nuclear energy in their national energy mixes reassured the bloc’s coal-reliant countries, which are expected to suffer the most during the transition.

However, making future nuclear power projects eligible for billions in euros available as part of the European Green Deal while avoiding “greenwashing” remains a controversial issue.

Countries that want nuclear power to remain ineligble for green financing often cite the EU’s guidance that all investments financed by the pandemic recovery fund should not harm the bloc’s environmental goals.

“The lack of agreement shows how lively this is, not only in our country, but throughout Europe,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who faces a domestic crisis over how to phase out nuclear plants and still maintain energy security to his citizens.

De Croo suggested that amid the energy price crunch, nuclear energy and gas could be temporarily eligible for funds.

“You have to be able to look sufficiently ahead, and if you do so you can assume that technologies like nuclear and gas can be useful technologies in the medium term to bridge the gap until we have fully sustainable energy,” De Croo said early Friday.

The ball is now with the EU’s chief, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She is expected to present before the end of the year the list of activities eligible for the green investment funds and must decide whether nuclear energy and natural gas make the cut.

Von der Leyen has been under pressure from environmental groups and Green European lawmakers to resist the inclusion of both.

“Fossil gas and nuclear power have no place in the EU taxonomy” for sustainable activities, said Sven Giegold, a Green lawmaker in the European Parliament.

A low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels, nuclear energy represented around 26% of the electricity produced in the bloc in 2019, with 13 EU countries endowed with operational reactors.

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