Israel moves to rein in rights group over 'apartheid' use

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's education minister says he is banning groups that call Israel an “apartheid state” from lecturing at schools — a move that targets one of the country's leading human rights groups after it began describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single apartheid system.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The explosive term, long seen as taboo and mostly used by the country's harshest critics, is vehemently rejected by Israel's leaders and many ordinary Israelis.

Education Minister Yoav Galant tweeted late on Sunday that he had instructed the ministry’s director general to “prevent the entry of organizations calling Israel ‘an apartheid state’ or demeaning Israeli soldiers from lecturing at schools.”

“The Education Ministry under my leadership raised the banner of advancing Jewish, democratic and Zionist values and it is acting accordingly,” he said. It was not immediately clear whether he had the authority to ban speakers from schools.

In a report released last week, the rights group B’Tselem said that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

B'Tselem said it would not be deterred by the minister's announcement and that despite it, the group gave a lecture on the subject via videocall to a school in the northern city of Haifa on Monday.

“B’Tselem is determined to keep with its mission of documenting reality, analyzing it, and making our findings publicly known to the Israeli public, and worldwide,” it said in a statement.

Adalah, an Arab legal rights group, said it had appealed to the country's attorney general to cancel Galant's directive, saying it was made without the proper authority and that it was intended to “silence legitimate voices.”

Israel passed a law in 2018 preventing lectures or activities in schools by groups that support legal action being taken against Israeli soldiers abroad. The law was apparently drafted in response to the work of Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group for former Israeli soldiers who oppose policies in the occupied West Bank. It was not clear if Galant's decree was rooted in the 2018 law.

Israel has long presented itself as a thriving democracy. Its own Arab citizens, who make up about 20% of its population of 9.3 million, have citizenship rights, but they often suffer from discrimination in housing and other spheres. Arab citizens of Israel have representatives in parliament, serve in government bureaucracy and work in various fields alongside Jewish Israelis.

Israel seized east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war — lands that are home to nearly 5 million Palestinians and which the Palestinians want for a future state.

B’Tselem and other rights groups argue that the boundaries separating Israel and the West Bank vanished long ago — at least for Israeli settlers, who can freely travel back and forth, while their Palestinian neighbours require permits to enter Israel.

Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but imposed a blockade after the Palestinian militant Hamas group seized power there two years later. It considers the West Bank “disputed” territory whose fate should be determined in peace talks with the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, the autonomy government for its Palestinian residents.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city its unified capital. Most Palestinians in east Jerusalem are Israeli “residents,” but not citizens with voting rights.

Israel adamantly rejects the term apartheid, saying the restrictions it imposes in Gaza and the West Bank are temporary measures needed for security. Most Palestinians in the West Bank live in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, but those areas are surrounded by Israeli checkpoints and Israeli soldiers can enter at any time. Israel has full control over 60% of the West Bank.

B’Tselem argues that by dividing up the territories and using different means of control, Israel masks an underlying reality that roughly 7 million Jews and 7 million Palestinians live under a single system with vastly unequal rights.

Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press

Gary Gensler, Biden's pick to head SEC, has reputation as tough regulator
Financial policy experts say unwinding the work of his predecessor, Jay Clayton, is likely to be at the top of Gensler’s to-do list.

Since the 2020 election, Gary Gensler has led Biden’s financial regulatory group. He also teaches a class on blockchain technology at MIT.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images file



Jan. 18, 2021
By Martha C. White

In nominating Gary Gensler to serve as chairman for the Securities and Exchange Commission, President-elect Joe Biden is likely to please progressives, who have been agitating for more bank oversight after four years of deregulatory policy under President Donald Trump’s SEC pick, Jay Clayton, who stepped down in December.

“Gensler is a terrific choice to head the agency," said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America. "He’s as knowledgeable about the markets as anyone on Wall Street, so he can’t be intimidated. He’s a seasoned regulator who knows how to get things done.”

Gensler spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs before joining the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration. Following a stint at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — where he earned a reputation as a tough regulator — he served as an economic adviser for Hillary Clinton’s 2012 and 2016 Presidential bids, and since the 2020 election, he has led the Biden transition team’s financial regulatory group.

At the CFTC, “Gary proved he was relentless and effective at adopting and implementing difficult rules. He worked very quickly, very thoughtfully, very aggressively,” said Tyler Gellasch, executive director of investor advocacy group Healthy Markets.

“The number one selling feature for Gary is his ability to cut through the noise and keep moving. He was also able to defend his rules,” Gellasch said.

The Biden administration will likely look to Gensler, who teaches a class on blockchain technology at MIT, to craft regulatory guidelines around cryptocurrency.

The left flank of the Democratic party has pushed back on potential Cabinet and agency picks with Wall Street backgrounds, preferring candidates drawn from the ranks of academia and left-leaning think tanks. But observers say Gensler’s effectiveness at pursuing and successfully implementing regulatory reforms in the wake of the financial crisis was due, in a large part, to his deep first-hand knowledge of the sector’s inner workings.

Financial policy experts say unwinding the work of his predecessor is likely to be at the top of Gensler’s to-do list.

“I expect the SEC’s priority in the Biden administration will first and foremost be investor protection,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, co-founder of Federal Financial Analytics, a financial-policy consulting and analysis firm. These actions would likely include reinstating an Obama-era rule compelling brokers to work in their clients’ best interests, she added. “These could help retail investors by reducing conflicts of interest.”
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Progressives are agitating for a new financial regulatory regime that will push companies to incorporate worker and shareholder equity, racial justice and environmental issues into their disclosures. “There is a pent-up demand to modernize our public company disclosures to address concerns about environmental, social and governance issues, which I think will make that an early priority,” Roper said.

“I think a lot of the agency’s agenda will focus on what I would call basic corporate accountability,” Gellasch said, adding that the SEC needs to "ensure it is pulling a lot of the private equity and venture capital and private debt markets back into a regulated space."

The Biden administration will likely look to Gensler, who teaches a class on blockchain technology at MIT, to craft regulatory guidelines around the nascent field of cryptocurrency.

Financial-reform advocates also want to require companies to provide more disclosure about their PAC donations — a topic that has seen renewed focus in recent days, as much of corporate America pledged to reexamine its political spending in the wake of the Capitol riot.

“The SEC sets the rules for what information companies disclose and what investors and the public can do with that information,” Gellasch said.
Martha C. White

Martha C. White is an NBC News contributor who writes about business, finance and the economy.

'A Fearless Champion for Consumers': Warren Applauds Biden Pick of Rohit Chopra to Head CFPB

"Financial predators, watch out."

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

Rohit Chopra testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in Hart Building on February 14, 2018. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday morning applauded as "terrific" President-elect Joe Biden's decision to nominate FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency that the Trump administration worked relentlessly to undermine and divert from its original mission of protecting ordinary people from corporate abuse.

"There are a lot of financiers who get incredibly rich taking advantage of lax 'regulators' of both parties in order to essentially defraud the American people. Those people are nervously conducting Zooms with high priced lawyers right now."
—Jeff Hauser, Revolving Door Project

Warren, a key architect of the CFPB in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, tweeted that Chopra has "been a fearless champion for consumers at the FTC and will be a fearless champion leading the consumer agency."

"I worked closely with Rohit Chopra to set up the CFPB and fight for America's students," said the Massachusetts Democrat. "It's terrific that President-elect Biden picked Rohit to run the CFPB."

Consumer advocacy groups echoed Warren, pointing to Chopra's record of challenging the monopoly power of corporate behemoths like Facebook during his time at the FTC. If confirmed by the Senate, Chopra would replace current CFPB chief Kathy Kraninger, who has drawn ire for pushing policies that favor payday lenders and other predatory institutions while ignoring the needs of consumers. Under the leadership of Kraninger and her predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, CFPB enforcement actions against corporations declined dramatically.

"Financial predators, watch out," Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen said in a statement Monday. "Rohit Chopra has proven himself a dedicated consumer champion and passionate defender of Main Street Americans against corporate wrongdoing. He will be an extraordinary director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

Previously the CFPB's student loan watchdog, Chopra used his post to publicly call out corporations for their abusive practices and treatment of borrowers, frequently angering industry giants and trade groups like the Consumer Bankers Association, which represents private loan firms.

"In my job, every day I get calls, emails, letters from people who are drowning in debt," Chopra told the Wall Street Journal in 2014. "I hear the panic in their voices as they worry about their financial future. They aren't numbers on a spreadsheet. I want to help make things better for them."

Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project—a watchdog group that has closely examined and often been sharply critical of Biden's Cabinet picks—applauded the president-elect's nomination of Chopra to lead the CFPB and Gary Gensler to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"There are a lot of financiers who get incredibly rich taking advantage of lax 'regulators' of both parties in order to essentially defraud the American people," Hauser told CNN on Sunday. "Those people are nervously conducting Zooms with high-priced lawyers right now. Biden's financial regulatory regime right now is exactly what he needs to produce tangible, positive results for everyone who is not a slimy banker."

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Trump Accused of Trying to 'Inflict as Much Harm as Possible' With Billions in Global Health Funding Cuts During Pandemic


"These rescissions are filled with damaging and irrational cuts to programs critical in the fight against Covid-19."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer
Published on Friday, January 15, 2021
by Common Dreams

A medical worker collects a swab sample from a mother for Covid-19 tests at a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on August 16, 2020. (Photo: Michael Tewelde/Xinhua via Getty Images)


With less than a week left in the White House, President Donald Trump on Thursday presented Congress with more than $27 billion in proposed funding cuts to an array of domestic and foreign aid programs, including $4 billion from an initiative helping to distribute coronavirus vaccine doses in poor nations that have struggled to inoculate their populations due to hoarding by rich countries.

The American Prospect's David Dayen reported Friday that the "largest cut" in Trump's rescission proposal, which Congress is not required to act on, "would cancel $5.1 billion for Global Health Programs, in the middle of a pandemic."

"Represents the latest in the Trump administration's attempts to sabotage the incoming president, in ways large and small, on his way out the door."
—David Dayen, The American Prospect

"The program 'funds activities related to child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases' (emphasis mine)," Dayen noted. "Specifically, $4 billion in cuts would defund the GAVI program, which concerns itself with vaccinations in the developing world, including the Covid vaccine. That's combined with a $2.1 billion cut to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an enormously successful effort to curb HIV/AIDS infections and deaths in the developing world."

In a letter to congressional leaders, the Trump administration attempts to justify the requested cuts on the grounds that assisting international Covid-19 vaccination campaigns detracts from efforts to inoculate the U.S. population—an argument critics say presents a "false choice" that needlessly pits people against each other and undermines the fight against a virus that has spanned the globe.

Dayen argued that the outgoing president's last-minute proposed rescission of funding approved in the omnibus spending bill he reluctantly signed into law last month "represents the latest in the Trump administration's attempts to sabotage the incoming president, in ways large and small, on his way out the door."

"This one is easily countermanded, but only if the Biden administration takes action quickly," Dayen wrote. "Otherwise, $27.4 billion in spending, including the above-mentioned items, will be held up for the first month and a half of the Biden presidency."

In total, Trump proposed funding cuts for more than 70 programs, including, as Politico reported:
$1.5 billion for emergency overseas food aid;
Billions for scientific research, including $2 billion for the research and development of renewable energy and energy efficient technology;
More than $2 billion for AIDS relief;
More than $1 billion to assist refugees and victims of conflict worldwide;
$291 million to programs that promote democracy worldwide;
$241 million in economic support for countries across the globe;
$500 million in foreign military assistance;
$12.3 million for research on firearm mortality and injury prevention;
$13 million for the National Institutes of Health;
$430 million for cultural exchange programs;
$181 million for climate research programs at NOAA; and
Hundreds of millions in federal student aid.

In a statement Thursday, House Budget Committee Chair Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said that "these out-the-door funding cuts are a clear attempt by President Trump to inflict as much harm as possible before he leaves the White House."

"These rescissions are filled with damaging and irrational cuts to programs critical in the fight against Covid-19, climate change, and strengthening America's global leadership," said Yarmuth. "They contradict the bipartisan agreement achieved by Congress and signed into law by President Trump himself."

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Poland's growing problem with illegal European waste

Thousands of tons of waste are dumped in Poland every year, much of it from Germany. But Poland also has problems with its own waste disposal and its environment is suffering as a result.




Waste at this illegal dump in northern Poland is believed to have come from Germany

Gravel pits, fields, forests, roadsides and old warehouses are just some of the dumping grounds in Poland for waste that largely comes from Germany.

Poland imports thousands of tons of garbage from abroad and each year the burden grows. Great Britain, Italy and Austria are among the nations sending their waste to Poland. But in terms of volume, they are well behind Germany, which alone accounts for 70% of Polish waste imports.

'We are the waste dump of Europe'

According to Germany's Left Party (Die Linke), the country exported some 250,000 tons of waste to Poland in 2018.

Added to this is undetected waste such as paper or plastic that can be transferred within the EU without a reporting requirement, meaning quantities are not registered.

Moreover, operators often don't have a permit to accept or recycle the type of waste they receive, meaning it "often got here illegally," said Beata Merenda of the Lower Silesian Inspection Authority for Environmental Protection, which controls imported waste around Wroclaw in the west of Poland.

"We are the waste dump of Europe," said Piotr Barczak of Zero Waste, a Polish environmental organization.


For years, the EU's richer nations have been exporting trash to the bloc's poorer members

70% of Poland's waste imports come from Germany — and that amount is growing

Rigging the system

While recyclable material can be traded freely within the EU with a permit, the parties involved in the illegal waste business know how to trick the system, explains Merenda.

"For example, they declare it as plastic waste when in reality it is household waste or non-functional old vehicles that are being transported," she said.

It is hard to estimate just how many thousands of tons make it across the border unnoticed or under false labels. Merenda says that of about 20 spot checks her agency carried out in 2019, 14 cases uncovered illegal shipments of sludge, medical waste and unsorted household waste into Poland.

Watch video 03:23

Romania’s garbage dumps

The dirty business of waste

German companies can halve their disposal costs if they export their waste to Poland, according to Merenda. And some Poles are happy to take it.

It's a lucrative business for both sides, even if they are breaking the law, says Grzegorz Wielgosniski, an environmental engineer at the Lodz University of Technology. Describing the dirty business of waste dumping in Poland, he explains how a Polish company might offer to take plastic from a German operator and obtain a permit that says it will recycle the waste.

"But apart from a plot of land and maybe an excavator for unloading waste, this company has nothing that is needed for further recycling," Wielgosniski said. "Whether there is a facility for this, the responsible authority has not checked, but it has issued the permit nonetheless. In such a case, the waste is usually simply burned."

Lessons from Norway? Oslo's Klemetsrud waste incineration plant uses carbon capture and storage technology to reduce emissions

Harming people and the environment

Instead of utilizing modern waste incineration plants and technologies, mountains of waste are sometimes set alight to save money. As much of the waste contains harmful substances and chemicals, this has negative consequences for both people and the environment.

Piotr Barczak of Zero Waste criticizes the Polish government for not doing enough to fight waste management crime. Too many permits are issued and controls are too lax, he says. He is calling for tougher penalties and would like to see the German and Polish environmental authorities cooperate much more closely.

He also wants German companies to monitor where their waste is going, and to ascertain what actually happens to it in Poland. "[But] that they don't really control it and just turn a blind eye," Barczak said.

Poland can't process its own waste

Polish ecologists are appealing to the government to ban the import of waste from abroad because Poland can no longer even process its own waste.

The country lacks recycling and disposal facilities, says Barczak, who is critical of cross-border waste transfers in general. "Those who produced the waste should take responsibility for its disposal and not shift that responsibility to poorer countries where the cost of disposal is lower, such as in Poland," he said.

The ecologist fears, however, as long as prices are lower in Poland, the dirty business of waste will continue to boom.

Hackers 'manipulated' stolen COVID vaccine papers, says EU agency

Documents and emails about the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna jabs were taken in a cyberattack late last year. The EU's drug regulator thinks hackers are trying to damage public trust in the COVID vaccines.



Documents and emails were taken in a cyberattack last year

Hackers have leaked stolen coronavirus vaccine documents online and altered them prior to publication, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday.

Documents and emails about the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were taken in a cyberattack on the EMA, the EU agency revealed in December 2020.

Some of the correspondence been "manipulated in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines," the Netherlands-based agency said.


EMA came under pressure over its comparatively slow approval of two COVID-19 vaccines
How hackers manipulated the documents

"We have seen that some of the correspondence has been published not in its integrity and original form and, or with, comments or additions by the perpetrators," EMA added.

The EU drug regulator did not state what information was altered.

Dutch public broadcaster NOS said it had viewed documents posted online which appeared to show the EMA facing heavy pressure from the European Commission to approve the vaccines as soon as possible.

According to NOS, the agency has not confirmed whether those passages — which were posted on a Russian internet forum — were genuine.

The broadcaster quoted an unnamed source as saying that a "foreign intelligence service" was behind the hack. German media has reported similar findings.

Watch video

Klaus Cichutek: 'One has to balance the benefits of vaccines against potential risk'

High medical standards

EU member states criticized the EMA for slow vaccine approval in December amid a growing second wave of infections.

The agency issued its first recommendation for the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine weeks after the shot received approval in Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere. It recommended a second vaccine, made by Moderna, for use earlier this month.

The EMA said it had been in "constant dialogue" with the European Commission.

There had "always been consensus across the EU not to compromise the high-quality standards" it uses, despite high demand for vaccines.

Dutch police are currently investigating the hack along with the EMA.

 
IF WE ARE HEROS AND ESSENTIAL PAY US LIKE IT

Striking Kenyan health workers hope for vaccine

In Kenya, 32 health care workers have died of COVID-19, and more than 3,000 have been infected. Medical workers on strike are demanding better pay, health care coverage and adequate protective gear. Their biggest hope now is that the COVID vaccine arrives soon.

Donald Trump baby blimp gets final resting place as it is acquired by Sadiq Khan-funded Museum of London

Huge inflatable shows US president in a nappy and clutching a mobile phone 

It took to the skies above Parliament Square during protests in June 2018 

Following its global tour the Trump Baby blimp is heading to Museum of London

By ISABELLA NIKOLIC FOR MAILONLINE
18 January 2021 

The Donald Trump baby blimp has found its final resting place after being acquired by the Sadiq Khan-funded Museum of London.

The huge inflatable depicts the US president in a nappy and clutching a mobile phone.

It took to the skies, above Parliament Square, during protests over Mr Trump's state visit to the UK in June 2018.


The Museum of London announced in the same year that it was in talks to acquire the 20ft orange effigy, for its protest collection.

Now, following its global tour, the Trump Baby blimp is 'heading to its final resting place,' at the Museum.


The huge inflatable depicts the US president in a nappy and clutching a mobile phone

It will be conserved and potentially displayed in future years.

The creators of the famous effigy said they hoped it served as a reminder of the fight against the 'politics of hate'.

'While we're pleased that the Trump Baby can now be consigned to history along with the man himself, we're under no illusions that this is the end of the story,' they said in a statement to the PA news agency.

'We hope the baby's place in the museum will stand as a reminder of when London stood against Mr Trump - but will prompt those who see it to examine how they can continue the fight against the politics of hate.

'Most of all we hope the Trump Baby serves as a reminder of the politics of resistance that took place during Trump's time in office.'

Sharon Ament, the museum's director, said it became 'determined' to acquire the object in 2018.

It took to the skies, above Parliament Square, during protests over Mr Trump's state visit to the UK in June 2018

'We did not know then what would transpire,' she told PA.

'Of course the museum is not political and does not have any view about the state of politics in the States.'

But the blimp touches on a typical British response, satire, she added.

'We use humour a lot. And we poke fun at politicians. This is a big - literally - example of that....

'To some it's a joyous object, it makes you smile, it makes you laugh because it's satirical.'

The balloon-like object has just arrived at the Museum, 'squashed' in a suitcase.

The Museum of London announced in the same year that it was in talks to acquire the 20ft orange effigy, for its protest collection

'The most ironic and fitting thing now is it's currently in quarantine in the museum,' Ms Ament said.

'All objects have to be put into quarantine before they go into the collection because they could have insects or with something like clothing... moths.'

The conservation team will work to make sure the object lasts for future generations.

'This is seven metres tall, there is nothing like it in our collections at all. It's a massive challenge,' she said.

The Museum is a fitting home as the effigy is 'a response from Londoners,' she said.

'It was born in London... It was an extraordinary and imaginative idea.'

And she added: 'It is timely because it's coming to us in the final days of President Trump being President Trump.'

The makers of the blimp said: 'This large inflatable was just a tiny part of a global movement - a movement that was led by the marginalised people whose Trump's politics most endangered - and whose role in this moment should never be underestimated.'

Coronavirus: World facing ‘catastrophic’ moral failure on vaccines, says WHO chief

This handout TV grab taken on January 5, 2021 shows WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing on coronavirus via video link from the WHO headquarters in Geneva.( World Health Organization/AFP)

AFP Monday 18 January 2021

The world is on the “brink of a catastrophic moral failure” if rich countries hog COVID-19 vaccine doses while the poorest suffer, the head of the WHO said Monday.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced the “me-first” attitude of wealthy nations and also blasted vaccine manufacturers for chasing regulatory approval in rich countries rather than submitting their data to the WHO to green-light vaccine use globally.

He said the promise of worldwide equitable access to vaccines against the coronavirus pandemic was now at serious risk, in a speech in Geneva opening a WHO executive board meeting.

Tedros said 39 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered so far in at least 49 higher income countries.

Meanwhile, “just 25 doses have been given in one lowest income country. Not 25 million; not 25,000; just 25,” he said.

“I need to be blunt. The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure - and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.”

He said even as some countries pronounced reassuring words on equitable access, they were prioritizing their own deals with manufacturers, driving up prices and trying to jump the queue.

He said 44 such deals were struck in 2020 and at least 12 have already been signed since the New Year.

“The situation is compounded by the fact that most manufacturers have prioritized regulatory approval in rich countries where the profits are highest, rather than submitting full dossiers to WHO,” Tedros said.

“Not only does this me-first approach leave the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people at risk, it’s also self defeating.

“Ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, prolong our pain, the restrictions needed to contain it, and human and economic suffering.”

Read more:

WHO experts investigating COVID-19 origins in China’s Wuhan to hold online meetings

Coronavirus: UN chief urges vaccinations for all - not just the rich

Coronavirus: UAE lowers age requirement for COVID-19 vaccines to 16

Coronavirus: Israel Prison Service to vaccinate Palestinian inmates

Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2021 KSA 17:16 - GM

POLITICAL PRISONER USA
Fired Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones turns herself in to authorities


By Tina Burnside and Holly Yan, CNN
 Mon January 18, 2021

Body camera footage shows police outside in raid of Rebekah Jones' home 02:49

(CNN)The former Florida data analyst who has accused state officials of covering up the extent of the pandemic has turned herself in to authorities days after a warrant was issued for her arrest, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
Rebekah Jones has been charged with one count of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, the FDLE said. She surrendered Sunday to the Leon County Detention Facility.

Florida police raid home of former state Covid-19 data scientist

In a series of tweets Saturday, Jones announced her intention to turn herself in to authorities.
"To protect my family from continued police violence, and to show that I'm ready to fight whatever they throw at me, I'm turning myself into police in Florida Sunday night," Jones tweeted.
"The Governor will not win his war on science and free speech. He will not silence those who speak out."
Jones was fired from the Florida Department of Health in May and has repeatedly criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis' handling of the Covid-19 crisis.
The FDLE has said it is investigating whether Jones accessed a state messaging system without authorization to call for state officials to speak out about Covid-19 deaths.

Putting 'politics in front of lives': DeSantis faces criticism over Florida's Covid-19 response

"It's time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead," said a message sent on November 10, according to the affidavit. "You know this is wrong. You don't have to be part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it's too late."

Officials traced that message to an IP address linked to Jones' house, according to a search-warrant affidavit.
On December 7, Jones' home was raided. Jones has filed a lawsuit, alleging FDLE officials violated her First Amendment rights, deprived her of due process and unlawfully seized her computers, cell phone and storage media during a search of her home.
The suit states that IP addresses are commonly "spoofed" and references news articles that found that the username and password for the system of the message that triggered the investigation were publicly available on the health department's website.

Governor faces mounting scrutiny
The investigation of Jones comes as DeSantis faces increasing scrutiny over his handling of the pandemic.
In April, the governor falsely claimed Covid-19 hadn't killed anyone under age 25.

Fired coronavirus data scientist discusses judge who approved raid 01:31

Despite multiple surges of Covid-19 in the state, DeSantis has refused to allow municipalities enforce their own mask mandates or stricter social distancing laws. That limitation of local control has been criticized by mayors from both parties.
An investigation by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that DeSantis' administration worked to minimize bad news about the pandemic and spread misinformation.
Some health department spokespeople were told in September not to issue statements until after the November election, and officials withheld crucial data about the spread of the virus, the newspaper reported.
Jones, who helped build the state's coronavirus dashboard, has become one of the governor's harshest critics, publicly alleging that DeSantis was to blame for the mounting death toll.
In May, state officials said Jones was terminated because she "exhibited a repeated course of insubordination" and modified a state data portal without input or approval from epidemiologists or her supervisors.
But Jones said she was fired after she refused to falsify state Covid-19 data.

'We're dying here,' Florida newspaper says in pleading with governor to issue a statewide mask mandate

Jones filed a whistleblower complaint in July with the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
After her firing, Jones published her own dashboard of Covid-19 stats. She said she received internal records from people who worked for the state, including what she said was proof that state officials "were lying in January (2020) about things like internal reports and notices from the CDC."
That evidence was on "a bunch of flash drives" that officers took when they raided her house, Jones said. She said she also had documents that were legally accessed from when she was a state employee.
Legal experts said the material could theoretically be used to target Jones' sources if they violated rules about sharing internal information.
The search warrant allowed officers to recover "any and all computer equipment" that stores or transmits data, including hard drives, devices, software, and correspondence "pertaining to the possession, receipt, origin or distribution of data involving the facilitation of computer crimes offenses."
Employment attorneys in Florida said that state workers who leaked internal records to Jones could face disciplinary action or possibly legal trouble -- although they might be able to seek protection under state whistleblower laws.

CNN's Curt Devine contributed to this report.