Category: US

CNN
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in “a moment of peril” and a “strong, effective, and more accountable” agency is an urgent matter of national security, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ (CSIS) Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security.

“This report argues that a significant reset of the CDC is necessary – and possible – if carried out through building actionable recommendations across branches of government and across party lines,” Katherine Bliss, a senior fellow at CSIS, a Washington think tank, said during an event on Tuesday marking the report’s release. The event included CSIS experts, elected officials and public health experts, including past leaders of the CDC.

Reshaping the CDC will need to be a joint effort with the agency’s leaders and the federal government, the report says. It outlines a number of recommendations for the CDC to regain the public’s trust and to become more flexible and accountable, Bliss said.

According to the report, the CDC needs to strengthen its global work in order to detect and prepare for new epidemic threats, improve its data collection process, and it needs to be able to move money in its budget to respond to crises.

“The big picture here is, we all see the need for a reset of the agency. Some of the reset has to be structural, some of it needs to be activity that only Congress can really manage and that has to do with how the budget is structured, the size and scope of the budget and the flexibilities or lack thereof,” said Julie Gerberding, who was the CDC director from 2002 to 2009, and is co-chair of the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security. “And some of it has to do with, I think, modernization – really looking at how the CDC can take advantage of data science and the opportunities to build better data systems, more interoperable data systems and really complete the trajectory that they’ve already started with the data modernization act.”

In August, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walenksy laid out plans to overhaul the agency and create a “public health action-oriented culture at CDC that emphasizes accountability, collaboration, communication, and timeliness” after a sweeping review of the agency’s structures and systems.

She said she would ask Congress to grant the agency new powers, including mandating that jurisdictions share their data and for new flexibilities in the agency’s funding, which would allow the CDC to better respond to public health emergencies.

Walensky and other CDC senior leaders met with the CSIS commission’s working group to help explain what they learned from their own internal review, Gerberding said.

CNN has reached out to the CDC for comment about the report.

The working group also took issue with the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters, saying it limits access to policymakers.

Gerberding said a bigger presence in Washington, D.C., is important.

“If you want to play, you gotta be in the game and the game is not played in Atlanta, unless, you know, you’re a fan of the baseball team there,” she said.

But ultimately, the working group said, the CDC has faced a lot of pressure and challenges over the last three years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I do really want to emphasize that while there is substantial opportunity here for evolution, modernization and performance improvement at the CDC, it has also done a lot of things well and we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that in the midst of a pandemic there were many other public health activities going on. CDC teams were deployed all over the United States and internationally to assist with local response efforts. The CDC Foundation stepped up and engaged some 3,000 or more people to help the workforce shortages and so forth,” Gerberding said. “So there were a lot of very positive things that happened and we need to make sure that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater here when we’re looking at the really critical things that need to be fixed, but also to appreciate and respect what our public health system has been able to accomplish for the past three years.”

“There’s a lot of incredible talent, passion and capability at the CDC and, you know, I’ve seen them do miracles,” she added.

CNN
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Here’s a look at the life of Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia and convicted war criminal.

Birth date: January 28, 1948

Birth place: Arthington, Liberia

Birth name: Charles Taylor

Father: Nelson Taylor, judge

Mother: Zoe Taylor

Marriages: Victoria Addison-Taylor (unknown-present); Jewel (Howard) Taylor (1997-2006, divorced)

Children: with Victoria Addison-Taylor: three girls; with Jewel (Howard) Taylor: McArthur Taylor. It is reported that Taylor has several other children.

Education: Bentley College, Massachusetts, BA Economics,1977

Taylor stole or diverted nearly $100 million of Liberia’s funds while in power, according to the New York Times. Taylor used the money to buy houses, cars and illegal weapons while fighting the civil war.

1972 – Moves to the United States to study.

1980 – Returns to Liberia and joins the administration of Samuel Doe, who comes into power after a coup.

May 1983 – Flees to the United States after Doe accuses Taylor of corruption and stealing over $900,000 from the Liberian government.

May 1984 – Is arrested in Boston. The court holds him to wait for extradition orders from the Liberian government.

1985 – Escapes from jail. Authorities believe he crosses into Mexico and then heads to Libya where Colonel Moammar Gadhafi gives him asylum.

1989 – While in Libya, Taylor forms the militia group National Patriotic Front of Liberia.

1990-1996 – A civil war is fought in Liberia. More than 150,000 people are killed and more than half of the population become refugees.

1996 – A peace pact brokered by the international community calls for elections.

July 19, 1997 – Taylor is elected president of Liberia in a special election.

2000 – Rebels in Liberia begin a struggle against Taylor’s government.

June 4, 2003 – Taylor is indicted for crimes against humanity by a United Nations court. Charges include murder, enslavement and the recruitment of child soldiers.

June 6, 2003 – Rebels advance into Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

June 2003 – US President George W. Bush makes a statement asking Taylor to step down for the good of the Liberian people.

August 7, 2003 – Taylor submits his letter of resignation.

August 11, 2003 – Steps down as president, hands over power to Vice President Moses Blah and leaves for Nigeria, where he is granted asylum.

December 4, 2003 – Interpol puts out a global arrest warrant for Taylor.

March 16, 2006 – The indictment against Taylor is amended and reduced to 11 counts.

March 29, 2006 – Taylor is recaptured and taken into custody by border guards in northern Nigeria as he tried to leave the country with his wife.

April 3, 2006 – Taylor appears at a UN-backed tribunal in Sierra Leone and pleads not guilty to 11 war crimes charges.

June 20, 2006 – Taylor is transferred to The Hague in the Netherlands for trial.

June 4, 2007 – Taylor boycotts the opening of his trial, calling it a “charade” in a letter read by his attorney.

January 7, 2008 – Taylor appears in court as his war crimes trial resumes.

June 2010 – The prosecution, which rested its case against Taylor in 2009, asks to reopen its case. This is done to allow for the testimony of model Naomi Campbell and actress Mia Farrow regarding “blood diamonds” that Taylor may have given Campbell in 1997.

March 11, 2011 – Taylor’s trial concludes.

April 26, 2012 – Taylor is found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone.

May 16, 2012 – At a sentencing hearing, Taylor says that terrible things happened in Sierra Leone, for which there can be no justification, but his role in the conflict was much different than represented. “I pushed the peace process hard, contrary to how I have been portrayed in this court.”

May 30, 2012 – Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison.

January 22, 2013 – Taylor’s lawyers argue an appeal of Taylor’s conviction for war crimes.

September 26, 2013 – Taylor’s appeal is dismissed, his sentence stands.

September 8, 2020 – Taylor’s request to transfer to a prison outside of the UK over Covid-19 fears is denied.

October 2021 – Taylor files a lawsuit against the Liberian government over its refusal to pay his retirement and pension benefits since he resigned in 2003.

CNN
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Leslie Jones is taking a seat at “The Daily Show” desk.

The “Saturday Night Live” alum will start a temporary stint as host of “The Daily Show” this week, saying she’ll bring her trademark “vulnerable honesty” to the job.

“I’m not Jon Stewart. I’m not Trevor Noah, I’m Leslie Jones. So I’ll be bringing that vulnerable honesty,” Jones quipped about the gig. “No assignment to me is ever different. It’s always them asking for me. Pretty much what I come to deliver is me. So it’s not really too much different than when I used to do, updates at ‘SNL’ or doing standup, you know? It’s all talking.”

Jones will host Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the Comedy Central show. She also hosts ABC’s game show reboot of “Supermarket Sweep.”

Others set to guest host are Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, D. L. Hughley, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Hasan Minhaj, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes and Marlon Wayans.

Trevor Noah announced he was departing “The Daily Show” last year. Before Noah, the show was first hosted by Craig Kilborn, then Jon Stewart.

A new permanent host has not yet been named.

“The Daily Show” airs weeknights at 11:00 p.m. EST on Comedy Central and is available the following morning on Paramount+.

CNN
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A search and rescue operation has been underway in Nepal following a deadly plane crash that once again highlights the dangers of air travel in a country often referred to as one of the riskiest places to fly.

Of 72 people on board, at least 69 were killed and their bodies recovered after a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near the city of Pokhara Sunday.

Hundreds of emergency personnel on Monday took part in the search and recovery mission, which has been paused and will resume on Tuesday morning, Nepal Army spokesperson Krishna Prasad Bhandari said.

Kaski District Police Chief Superintendent Ajay KC said earlier Monday that the chance of finding survivors was “extremely low” as workers used a crane to pull bodies from the gorge.

Forty-one victims have now been identified, according to the airline. Their remains will be handed over to their family members, airline officials and local police said.

The autopsies were delayed because a team of forensic experts didn’t reach Pokhara until Monday afternoon local time.

Two South Korean citizens are presumed to be among those killed in the crash, based on their belongings, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nepali authorities said the bodies presumed to be foreigners would be taken to Kathmandu where they will go through the necessary inspections and be identified.

The crash is the worst air disaster in the Himalayan nation in 30 years. It is also the third-worst aviation accident in Nepal’s history, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network.

Experts say conditions such as inclement weather, low visibility and mountainous topography all contribute to Nepal’s reputation as notoriously dangerous for aviation.

The Yeti Airlines flight Sunday had nearly finished its short journey from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara when it lost contact with a control tower. Some 15 foreign nationals were aboard, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.

The pilot of the downed flight had lost her husband – a co-pilot for the same airline – in a similar crash in 2006, according to a Yeti Airlines spokesperson.

Anju Khatiwada had decided to become a pilot after the death of husband, Dipak Pokhrel, and used the insurance payout money to travel to the US for her training, Sudarshan Bartaula told CNN. She had been with the airline since 2010 and had more than 6,300 hours of flight experience.

“She was a brave woman with all the courage and determination. She’s left us too soon,” he said.

Khatiwada was a captain and was flying with an instructor pilot for additional training at the time of the crash, Bartaula added.

Pokhara, a lakeside city, is a popular tourist destination and gateway to the Himalayas. It serves as the starting point for the famous Annapurna Circuit trekking route, with more than 181,000 foreigners visiting the area in 2019.

A government committee is now investigating the cause of the crash, with assistance from French authorities. The Yeti Airlines plane was manufactured by aerospace company ATR, headquartered in France.

The plane’s black box, which records flight data, was recovered on Monday and would be handed to the civil aviation authority, officials said.

Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said all ATR-42 and ATR-47 aircraft in the country were inspected following the Yeti Airlines crash and no mechanical issues were found.

Fickle weather patterns aren’t the only problem for flight operations. According to a 2019 safety report from Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s “hostile topography” is also part of the “huge challenge” facing pilots.

Nepal, a country of 29 million people, is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, and its beautiful rugged landscapes make it a popular tourist destination for trekkers.

But this terrain can be difficult to navigate from the air, particularly during bad weather, and things are made worse by the need to use small aircraft to access the more remote and mountainous parts of the country.

Aircraft with 19 seats or fewer are more likely to have accidents due to these challenges, the Civil Aviation Authority report said.

Kathmandu is Nepal’s primary transit hub, from where many of these small flights leave.

The airport in the town of Lukla, in northeastern Nepal, is often referred to as the world’s most dangerous airport. Known as the gateway to Everest, the airport’s runway is laid out on a cliffside between mountains, dropping straight into an abyss at the end. It has seen multiple fatal crashes over the years, including in 2008 and 2019.

A lack of investment in aging aircraft only adds to the flying risks.

In 2015, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, prioritized helping Nepal through its Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership. Two years later, the ICAO and Nepal announced a partnership to resolve safety concerns.

While the country has in recent years made improvements in its safety standards, challenges remain.

In May 2022, a Tara Air flight departing from Pokhara crashed into a mountain, killing 22 people.

In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board.

And in 2016, a Tara Air flight crashed while flying the same route as the aircraft that was lost Sunday. That incident involved a recently acquired Twin Otter aircraft flying in clear conditions.

New York
CNN
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Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to ex-President Donald Trump, met Tuesday with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the clearest sign that prosecutors are zeroing in on the Trump Organization’s involvement in hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

As he arrived at the building Cohen said he was complying with a request to meet with prosecutors.

“Called. Asked to come in. That’s what we’re doing,” he said.

About 90 minutes later, Cohen left with his attorney, Lanny Davis, and said, “The meeting went very well.” He added that prosecutors asked him not to disclose the substance of what was discussed but, Cohen said, “It appears that I’ll probably be meeting with them again.”

Davis said he believed prosecutors were “serious” about the investigation.

Cohen previously met with Manhattan prosecutors 13 times over the course of their sweeping investigation into the Trump Org. Their meeting on Tuesday is the first in more than a year.

The focus of the DA’s investigation has returned to the $130,000 payment made to Daniels to stop her from going public about an affair with Trump just before the 2016 election, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has denied the affair.

The district attorney’s office has also reached out to Keith Davidson, who represented Daniels in the hush money deal, in recent weeks but he has not been scheduled for an interview, a person familiar with the matter said.

Cohen was a key player in the hush-money scheme. He facilitated the payments and was reimbursed by the Trump Org. for advancing the money to Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to nine federal charges, including campaign finance violations, and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Prosecutors are also looking into potential insurance fraud after new material came to light from the New York attorney general’s civil investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements, the people said.

On Friday, the Trump Organization was sentenced to a $1.6 million fine after it was convicted last month of a running a decade-long tax fraud scheme.

Bragg told CNN on Friday that the sentencing represented the closing of one chapter in the office’s investigation, but they are moving onto the next phase.

“It’ll go as long as the facts and the law require,” Bragg said when asked how much longer the yearslong investigation will continue. “But as I said today, we ended a very important chapter. So, a good part of the year was focused on this very, very consequential chapter and now we move on to the next chapter.”

Bragg inherited an investigation focused on the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements, but he did not authorize prosecutors to move forward to seek an indictment. At the time, he said when the investigation is over he would either publicly announce charges or that the probe had closed.

This story has been updated with additional details.