Category Archives: Progress

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 1,500 on Sunday amid signs of a letup in the fourth wave of the pandemic, with the country seeking to phase out social distancing restrictions, as its vaccination rate reached the milestone of 70 percent.

The country reported 1,423 new cases, including 1,395 local infections, raising the total caseload to 351,899, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

Sunday's tally is down from the 1,508 counted the previous day.

New virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 16th day in a row.

The death toll came to 2,766, up 21 from a day earlier. The fatality rate reached 0.79 percent.

As of 6 p.m., health authorities and local governments had reported 957 more COVID-19 cases, down 174 from the same time a day earlier. Daily cases are counted until midnight and announced the following morning.

Daily virus caseloads tend to fluctuate depending on the number of coronavirus tests, which generally decrease during weekends and holidays.

Although South Korea has logged more than 1,000 daily cases since early July, it is seeing a downward trend after reaching the peak of 3,272 cases on Sept. 25.

The ceiling on private gatherings has been raised to allow up to eight people to meet in Seoul and its surrounding areas starting Monday, provided that four of them are fully vaccinated. A maximum of 10 people, including six fully vaccinated, are allowed to gather in other regions.

The government is also seeking to introduce the "living with COVID-19" scheme in early November, as more than 70 percent of all South Koreans have been fully vaccinated.

Under the policy, COVID-19 will be treated as an infectious respiratory disease, like seasonal influenza, with eased social distancing being implemented.

The KDCA said 40 million people, or 79.4 percent of the population, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines since February when South Korea began its inoculation campaign.

The number of fully vaccinated people reached 35.9 million, or 70.1 percent.

The number of patients in serious or critical condition came to 316, down 11 from the previous day. (Yonhap)

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New virus cases below 1,500 amid progress in vaccination campaign - The Korea Herald

Let me just tell you the ideas come fast around here, but the progress is slow. I wish I could blame it all on my handyman husband, but its my fault really Ill take the blame for all those ideas.

Last weekend, my daughters helped their dad put rock on the pillars outside of the front entrance, the one that we added three years ago, turning the house side of the garage into a giant entryway. Because when we designed the house initially, it was only Chad and I and our boots and hats and coats, and we grossly underestimated the amount of space you want to kick that all off (and the mud and the slush and the poop) when it comes down to it. Add a couple munchkins in the mix, and the family and the friends and the help that comes through the door, and, well, youre facing a renovation project that shrinks the garage and gives us another spot to put a fridge and a hat rack and all the muddy boots you can manage.

Because when you live out in the middle of nowhere, apparently one cannot have enough refrigerators or hats or muddy boots.

The ranch house. Its a thing that you see featured in HGTV shows, in those big ol' spreads in Texas-themed magazines and Southern blogs. The sprawl of the family table, the cast iron kitchen sink where you do dishes looking out the cute curtained window facing a lush spread of a lawn, cattle grazing across the fence, a sleepy dog in the yard, maybe a kid on a tire swing or something.

Im here to tell you that my reality in particular is a little less frosted and shiny.

Yesterday I stood on my back deck, the one that isnt finished yet but needs to be redone, and yelled at a bull who found his way to the only green thing on the ranch, the unmowed weeds in my yard. And he looked up at me, fully confused and offended that I would be asking him to leave. And so he took a run for the broken fence where he entered, a burst of movement creating a burst of poop that he distributed from one end of the yard to the other, making sure to deposit a few decent piles in front of the kids swingset.

It was picturesque indeed. About as picturesque as the barn cat that has decided to poop on my patio table. Like, all the dirt in the ever-loving world and thats his spot.

Help me.

I feel like Im ranting. Sorry. Theres just so much poop out here.

Meanwhile, inside the ranch house, the calf-vaccination guns are in the dish drying rack, the kids got a hold of the calf tagging marker to decorate the 37 gourds they got from Grandpas garden and theyre all spread out across that kitchen table and we cannot move them because They. Are. Not. Done. Yet!

And outside, one dried-up petunia plant sits outside the half-finished rock pillar. Half-finished because a fence needed to be fixed, supper needed to be served or the sun went down in the middle of the project.

Its fall yall, welcome to the ranch house. Watch out for the dive-bombing boxelder bugs on the way in.

Nine years ago we pictured raising our family here, a family we werent sure if we could ever have. And so we were thinking about light fixtures and where to put the outlets, and having the carpet or no carpet debate.

And what a thing life is, so surprising and messy and unpredictable that of course we wouldnt be able to envision that the Barbie Dream House would take up half the basement and I would be showering with at least two or three naked baby dolls every morning in our master bathroom that my husband and I tiled together and lived to tell about.

I didnt know it then, when that house rolled down the hill, that it would shift and change and grow in this little spot we chose for the rest of our lives. And that it might not make the magazines, but its us, isnt it? Unfinished and flawed and an ever-loving work in progress.

Jessie Veeder is a musician and writer living with her husband and daughters on a ranch near Watford City, N.D. She blogs at https://veederranch.com. Readers can reach her at jessieveeder@gmail.com.

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Veeder: A ranch house is a work in progress - Grand Forks Herald

WATCH: University of Akron QB Zach Gibson on being ready to lead

University of Akron QB Zach Gibson led four second-half touchdown drives to help the Zips to a 35-20 win over the Bowling Green Falcons.

George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal

The University of Akron football team will attempt to win its third game of the season facing a team that has dominated the win column against them in recent years, winning 8-of-11.

The Zips (2-5, 1-2 in Mid-American Conference) are still in the midst of building theirprogram under coach Tom Arth and area decided underdog here.The Bulls (3-4, 2-1 in MAC) are transitioning from coach Lance Leipold to first-year coach Maurice Linguist, who appears to have a firm grasp on his teams strengths.

Here are salient observations ahead of the Zips-Buffalo 3:30 p.m. game at InfoCision Stadium Saturday:

The UA defense has given up fewer than 170 rushing yards twice this season (29 yards against Bryant and 107 against Bowling Green). They continue to struggle for obvious reasons (the loss of Bubba Arslanian). But theyve also been pushed around at the line of scrimmage.In theBulls, they face the second best run offense in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls have three running backs Dylan McDuffie (496 yards), Kevin Marks Jr. (381 yards) and Ron Cook Jr. (358 yards) with more than 300 yards rushing.That allows them to keep the backsfresh and pound defenses.It also helps explain why the Bulls have the most rushing TDs in the conference with 19.

Blake Hester leads the team with 255 yards rushing and despite the fact hes shown some growth, it cannot come soon enough. Hes also the only rusher who averages above four yards per carry. Quarterback DJ Irons remains the teams second-leading rusher even after missing the past two games with an undisclosed injury.For the record, he practiced Wednesday.There is no home run hitter in that UA backfield right now. There may not be one on the roster. Against the Bulls, its conceivable that Anthony Williams Jr. could getmore playing time.

Part of the problem with the Zips is theiryoung offensive line doesnt appear to be showing much growth. UAs average per carry is 2.9, which ranks second to last in the conference and they have allowed 34 sacks in their seven games.That type of play has made running the ball exceedingly difficult and passing it even more treacherous for UA quarterbacks.

At various points, all three of UAs quarterbacks have shown they can play.Thats the problem, and its a byproduct of the offensive lines play. Arth has offered praise for the UA quarterbacks, but having to play all three at differing points of the season is not ideal.Some of that play came during mop-up time, but much of it has come after quarterbacks have been injured. Those 34 sacks tell a story a horror story for the Zips offense. Until they can start protecting the quarterbacks and opening holes, the UA offense will continue to struggle.

Consider former Stow High School standout Kyle Vantreaseyet another one who got away from the Akron area. Some might consider him a game manager.Well, game managers can be dangerous, too. While he doesnt produce huge numbers, hes efficient and knows how to run that Bulls offense.With three running backs whove combined for 1,000 yards so far on the season, Vantreaseneeds to be able to do that and complete passes when necessary.His completion percentage is a respectable 61.3 percent in an offense that runs the ball 58.7 percent of the time. He also has a favorite weapon in wide receiver Quian Williams, who is tied for second in receptions in the MAC with 41.Williams averages 14.1 yards per catch.In short:dont sleep on Vantrease.

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas

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University of Akron football team still looking to make progress in key areas - Akron Beacon Journal

SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Commerce Commission is working swiftly to implement the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to make Illinois a leader in fighting climate change, thanks to the work of Frankfort Democrat, State Senator Michael E. Hastings.

Hastings, who serves as chair of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, led legislative negotiations for the Senate Democratic Caucus. He is thrilled to see the ICC begin the process of applying vital provisions.

This historic, bipartisan agreement will provide Illinois residents with reliable, renewable and responsible energy, Hastings said. I am pleased to see the ICC working diligently to carry out the immediate requirements of the new law.

Under the act, the ICC is directed to hold meetings to solicit public input on the design of beneficial electrification programs offered by ComEd and Ameren Illinois to increase adoption of electric vehicles in the state.

Other provisions call for a management audit into ComEds practices and procedures and an investigation in connection with the companys conduct detailed in the federal Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered with the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The commission has directed ICC staff to conduct a competitive solicitation to hire a management auditor to perform the management audit of ComEd.

Hastings urges those interested in following the commissions progress, or participating in public meetings, workshops or other activities to visit the ICCs webpage dedicated to the implementation of the new law by visiting https://www.icc.illinois.gov/programs/Public-Act-1020662-Implementation.

Hastings remains committed to job preservation for the residents of the south suburbs and throughout the state, while fighting to create new good-paying jobs to help grow Illinois economy.

The new law is projected to preserve nearly 28,000 direct and indirect jobs and $149 million in local economic impact.

I pledge to continue to fight to protect the jobs of the families throughout our district that work tirelessly to provide their children with the best opportunities, Hastings said. Not only were we able to preserve these jobs, we also worked to create opportunities for new good-paying jobs in the energy sector.

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Hastings pleased to see ICC start making progress to implement Climate and Equitable Jobs Act - Illinois Senate Democratic

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiveToBeHappy, Inc. (OTCM: CAVR, soon to be LTBH) (LiveToBeHappy or the Company), a land developer and community home builder in the Southern U.S. with a differentiating technology marketing platform, today announced that the Company has made further progress towards uplisting with the OTCQB and will be filing its Form 10 with the SEC.

This New York firm will provide the necessary capital to fund the Companys accounting and financial expenses associated with the process. Additionally, LiveToBeHappy, Inc. has granted this firm the right to participate in additional investments of up to $2 million.

Kevin Vincent Cox, Chief Executive Officer of LiveToBeHappy, Inc., commented, We are very excited about our progress in the uplisting to the OTCQB as we believe the completion of the process will generate more visibility to investors on our transformative company. As we continue to build the LiveToBeHappy brand and gain momentum, we are beginning to see more firms like this interested in capitalizing on the growth prospects of the Company. The increase in capital will allow us to continue to expand our growing business, especially in areas of high demand, such as supply chain offerings. We have several new projects under development and are looking to close on another acquisition next week.

Grant Edwards, Chief Financial Officer of LiveToBeHappy, Inc. added, This is an exciting time for the Company as we execute our transformation strategy. These actions are fundamental to our goal of heightened transparency within the global financial markets and investment community. We intend to utilize the increased market awareness to continue to execute on our growth strategies while capitalizing on systemic market weaknesses, such as supply chain disruptions, to drive shareholder value.

About LiveToBeHappy, Inc.LiveToBeHappy, Inc. is a land developer and community home builder in the Southern U.S. with a differentiating technology marketing platform. LiveToBeHappy Inc.s wholly owned subsidiary, Sinacori Builders, is a residential land development and custom single- and multi-family home builder in Charlotte, N.C. Looking forward, LiveToBeHappy, Inc. has several pending acquisitions under Letters of Intent which are expected to transform the Company into a vertically integrated real estate development company with a broader footprint and more diversified revenue stream. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.livetobehappy.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements that include the words expect, intend, plan, believe, project, forecast, estimate, may, should, anticipate and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

Investor Contacts:

Alpha IR GroupLisa Fortuna or Sam CohenLTBH@alpha-ir.com

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LiveToBeHappy, Inc. Makes Further Progress on Uplisting to - GlobeNewswire

(Washington, DC) On Thursday, October 21, at 11am, Mayor Muriel Bowser and community members will celebrate the groundbreaking of two new residential buildings, Kite House and 1155 Dahlia Street, and recognize the construction progress on the Walter Reed Marketplace. When complete, the Walter Reed Marketplace will consist of a Whole Foods, new apartment units, and other retail space.

The groundbreaking represents a significant milestone in the redevelopment of the 66-acre former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Northwest Washington. The Parks at Walter Reed redevelopment is the result of a successful community-driven process led by then-Councilmember Bowser and now by Mayor Bowser. In 2016, the U.S. Army officially transferred 66-acres of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus to the District, making way for the development of The Parks at Walter Reed.

When:

Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 11 am

Who:

Mayor Muriel BowserCongresswoman Eleanor Holmes NortonCouncilmember Janeese Lewis-George, Ward 4John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor, Planning and Economic DevelopmentKatie Wiacek, Managing Director, HinesSherryl Newman, Walter Reed Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Member

Where:

Georgia Avenue and Fern Streets, NW (entrance on Fern Street NW; Attendees are advised to wear sturdy shoes as the event is taking place on the construction site)*Closest Metro Station: Takoma Metro Station*

Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to[emailprotected].

The DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment will provide a live feed of this event to watch from a safe, virtual space.To view event online visitmayor.dc.gov/live, tune in on Channel 16 (DCN) or any of the social media platforms below.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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Mayor Bowser to Celebrate Progress and Break Ground on New Housing on the Walter Reed Marketplace | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

Of Jacksonvilles 10 draft picks, one stands tall above the rest. Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence was one of the most hyped passing prospects in recent memory, and the Jaguars used their first-ever first-overall pick to select him. Naturally, the expectations were high, and while the team is 1-5, he is delivering.

While he still has a ways to go in his development, the pick looks like a home run right now. However, when it comes to the rest of the draft class, there are a lot more questions.

Running back Travis Etienne was expected to play a major role on offense this year, but a foot fracture in the preseason ended his 2021 season. Cornerback Tyson Campbell, a second-round pick, is now starting on the outside after the C.J. Henderson trade, but the rest of the picks have yet to make much of an impact.

Coach Urban Meyer addressed the progress of these players on Monday, including that of one of the fan-favorite picks, safety Andre Cisco. Many thought Cisco would be a Day 1 starter at free safety, but that mantle has gone to Andrew Wingard. After seeing defensive snaps in the first two weeks, Cisco only played on special teams in the next three games. On Sunday, he saw two defensive snaps.

According to Meyer, Cisco is practicing well and could be able to play a bigger role soon. Hes apparently not the only one.

(Andre) Cisco is getting very close and he would be the next one, Meyer said. (OL) Walker Little just takes a little bit of time, but we are really happy with him. He is going to be a good player in the NFL and George (OL Coach George Warhop) loves him. Obviously Travis Etienne (is injured). Tyson Campbell is a starting corner for us. Jay Tufele, the reason we activated him is because he really was coming on and then he gets hurt. Jordan Smith is still a work in progress. Luke Farrell is what we thought and maybe a little bit better.

With Ben Bartch going down with an injury on Sunday, most of the playing time at right guard went to swing player Will Richardson Jr. But Little saw a few snaps there, and hes starting to work his way into the rotation, even if its only due to injuries.

Tufele, meanwhile, was supposed to be active on Sunday, but Meyer said that he broke his hand during pregame warmups, and the team is not yet sure if he will need surgery or just a cast. His fellow rookie on the defensive line, Smith, is still yet to appear in a game, and he was considered a raw prospect coming out of college at Alabama Birmingham.

Farrell is seeing the most playing time of any rookie other than Lawrence and Campbell, and he has five catches for 46 yards on the season, more than free-agent pickup Chris Manhertz. However, the team is currently down James OShaughnessy, and Dan Arnold, who was acquired from Carolina in the C.J. Henderson trade, has emerged in his absence.

Arnold has 10 catches for 120 yards in the three games since the Jags landed him, which is the most of any tight end on the roster. He could play a big role in the offense moving forward, especially considering the lack of production from the other tight ends.

For a team that needed to rebuild this offseason, the Jags arent getting a ton of playing time out of their rookies currently. But they have several players that they like as developmental prospects, and we could see some, like Cisco, have expanded roles as the season progresses.

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Urban Meyer updates the progress of Jags' rookies - Jaguars Wire

BALTIMORE Veteran cornerback Tre Flowers could make his Bengals debut on Sunday against the Ravens.

The 26-year-old made good progress this week according to head coach Zac Taylor and there's a chance he'll be active against Baltimore.

Flowers has appeared in 47 career games, making 40 starts in four seasons with Seattle. He has 202 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions over that span.

The Bengals acquired him on waivers after he was released by the Seahawks last week.

"Were kind of working through it with him. Hes been nothing but open to learning what were doing and jumped into it big-time," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said on Thursday. "He practiced last Friday after a red-eye [flight]. Got here at five in the morning. Hes determined to show he can do some things."

Look for Flowers to battle Eli Apple for the fourth cornerback spot, although he might not see many defensive snaps on Sunday in Baltimore.

Make sure you bookmark All Bengals for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tre Flowers Making Progress, Could Play on Sunday Against Ravens - Sports Illustrated

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Finally, signs of progress on spending bill Democrats are pushing forward on negotiations to trim down President Joe Bidens proposed $3.5 trillion social spending package and pledging to agree on at least a basic framework before the end of this week. That was the message from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after the partys spirited weekly caucus lunch on Tuesday, though he cautioned that the whole bill cant be written in the next few days.

But some details are starting to trickle out, signaling that after weeks of a stand-off, compromises are being made. The two years of tuition-free community college that Biden has proposed is likely going to be cut from the final version of the package, and the expanded child tax credit may only be extended for a single year, our Congress team reports.

The Clean Energy Performance Program, a $150 billion plan to pay utilities to install increasing amounts of clean electricity, is also likely out, largely because of Sen. Joe Manchins staunch opposition.

The movement comes after Biden met separately on Tuesday with groups of progressive and moderate lawmakers in an attempt to push the bill forward. Democrats are desperate to make progress before the New Jersey and Virginia governors elections on Nov. 2, worrying that a failure to move forward could hurt the partys chances in those races. And Biden, in his meetings, has spent a considerable amount of time on the partys collective sense of urgency, telling Democrats that they simply have to deliver.

Schumer is making it clear that lawmakers have gotten the message. There was universal agreement in that room, he said after lunch on Tuesday, that we have to come to an agreement and we have to get it done we want to get it done this week."

ITS WEDNESDAY And our Kate Davidson will be in your inboxes starting tomorrow! Send any tips to her at [emailprotected] or @KateDavidson, to me at [emailprotected] or @mmcassella and to Aubree Eliza Weaver at [emailprotected] or @AubreeEWeaver.

A message from the American Bankers Association:

Every day, thousands of people fall victim to calls, emails and texts from scammers pretending to be from their bank. Americas banks want to change that. Our #BanksNeverAskThat campaign empowers consumers to spot bogus bank communicationsone scam at a time. To join the fight and test your own scam IQ, visit BanksNeverAskThat.com.

TESTER PUTS OCC NOMINATION IN DOUBT Our Victoria Guida: A key Senate Democrat has voiced misgivings about President Joe Bidens nomination for a top job overseeing the nation's banks, creating a new potential obstacle in a bruising confirmation fight that has separately been marked by charges of racism and xenophobia against some Republicans.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a member of the Banking Committee that will vet the nominee, said he has concerns about Saule Omarova as comptroller of the currency, an ominous sign for a candidate who will likely need party-line support in an evenly split Senate. Omarova has gotten fierce pushback from Republicans for wanting to allow the Federal Reserve to provide bank accounts for Americans, rather than private institutions, a move that she says will end banking' as we know it."

SEC REVIEWING UNIVERSAL PROXY RULE Our Kellie Mejdrich writes in: SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Tuesday night said commissioners received a draft proposal this week for review that would give shareholders greater control over how they can elect a companys board of directors.

Gensler gave an update on the so-called universal proxy rule, which would let shareholders pick and choose from board nominees at public company annual meetings regardless of whether they vote in person, during a virtual interview with former Democratic SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson hosted by the NYU School of Law. The SEC in April reopened the comment period for the proposal, which would expand voting options when shareholders vote proxies in other words, without attending in person from the current binary choice between company-nominated candidates or a slate of activists.

RIPPLE CEO: SEC CAUSING U.S. TO BE LEFT BEHIND ON CRYPTO Our Ryan Heath writes in from the Milken Conference in Los Angeles: Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, the financial transaction platform that uses a native cryptocurrency known as XRP, offered harsh criticism of the SEC at the Milken Conference on Tuesday. Garlinghouse faults the SEC for failing to build a regulatory regime for digital assets in the U.S. Perhaps thats no surprise given an SEC lawsuit against Ripple for raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP which it classifies as an unregistered digital asset. Why is the SEC picking winners and losers?

Ripple says the U.S. is a global laggard. In the U.K. they have a clear taxonomy for crypto: a clear structure and categorization of different assets. Japan has a lot of clarity. Singapore is where you're seeing a lot of entrepreneurs and investment flow. The U.S. is a laggard, and I do worry, as a U.S. guy, that we're forcing this stuff overseas, because why would you do it here?

When we go overseas, it's not because were trying to escape regulations. Its a heavy lift to get a license in Singapore, in the U.K., or the EU. But you know, the path to get a license is there. He says Ripple is posting record growth outside of the U.S.

Garlinghouse thinks the SEC is fighting for their own regulatory jurisdiction rather than building a rational framework that protects the investors and protects the integrity of the market.

For more on the Milken Conference, see Politicos Global Insider newsletter here.

BROWN, WARREN CALL ON FACEBOOK TO PAUSE CRYPTO PROJECT Victoria again: Five Senate Democrats including Banking Chair Sherrod Brown on Tuesday urged Facebook to halt the rollout of a digital wallet for cryptocurrency tokens and also stop the anticipated launch of the Diem stablecoin.

In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers blasted the news that the company had started a pilot of its wallet, Novi, expressing concerns that Facebook is still part of efforts to launch Diem even after Washington policymakers expressed strong objections to a previous design known as Libra. Facebook cannot be trusted to manage a payment system or digital currency when its existing ability to manage risks and keep consumers safe has proven wholly insufficient, the lawmakers wrote.

Diem defended its project in a lengthy response to lawmakers late Tuesday, emphasizing that it is independent from Facebook and that Novi is just one of more than two dozen members of the Diem Association. Diem noted that it has prioritized consumer safety, outlined a financial crime compliance framework and engaged with an interagency regulatory team about the project.

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STOCKS RISE BROADLY APs Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga: Health care and technology companies led a broad rally for stocks on Wall Street Tuesday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging company earnings reports. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent as of 3:29 p.m. Eastern, on pace for its fifth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 155 points, or 0.4 percent, to 35,407 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent.

Among the tech sector winners were Apple, which rose 1.2. percent, and software maker Adobe, which added 2.1 percent. Johnson & Johnson, the worlds biggest maker of health care products, rose 2.1 percent after raising its profit forecast for the year following the release of strong third-quarter earnings.

DEMS PARE BACK PROPOSED IRS BANK REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Our Bernie Becker and Ursula Perano: The Treasury Department officially announced Tuesday that Democrats were narrowing the scope of a controversial proposal that would force banks and credit unions to give more account information to the IRS to help boost tax compliance. The new plan sets the threshold at $10,000, after discussions between congressional Democrats and the Biden administration, and would exempt certain income from wages or federal programs like Social Security.

FED SEEN WELL BEHIND AS GLOBAL RACE TO RATE HIKES HITS OVERDRIVE Bloombergs Edward Bolingbroke: Compared with the rest of the worlds central banks, the markets timetable for when the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates looks positively subdued. Most others, with the exception of the European Central Bank, are expected to move at a far speedier pace. U.S. traders are now pricing a full rate hike into the Feds September policy meeting next year. But by that time, New Zealands central bank would have hiked five times, Canadas three times and Englands four times, according to the interest-rate swaps market.

FEDS BOWMAN SAYS U.S. LABOR MARKET COULD STRUGGLE TO RETURN TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS Reuters Jonnelle Marte: The obstacles making it difficult for many women to work, combined with an increase in retirements, could hinder the labor market recovery and be a drag on the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday. Women with young children left the labor force at a higher rate than other workers and some are still struggling to find childcare they can afford, Bowman said. And many of the older workers who left the labor force during the pandemic, including a high share of women, may not return, Bowman said.

WALLER: IF INFLATION DOESNT COOL BY YEAR-END, FED COULD BRING RATE INCREASES FORWARD WSJs Michael S. Derby: Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the central bank could move forward the timeline for raising short-term interest rates to restore price stability if high levels of inflation dont start cooling soon, adding that he supports the Fed slowing its asset buying stimulus effort starting next month. Mr. Waller said in a virtual appearance Tuesday that when it comes to moving up what is now a near zero federal-funds rate target range, the pace of continued improvement in the labor market will be gradual.

TREASURY WILL HOLD IMF CHIEF ACCOUNTABLE FOR INTEGRITY CHANGES Reuters: The second-ranking U.S. Treasury official told senators on Tuesday that the agency would hold International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva accountable for changes needed to safeguard IMF integrity in the wake of a World Bank data-rigging scandal. We did not find that it was appropriate at this point to remove the (IMF) managing director, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing.

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Finally, signs of progress on spending bill - Politico

Mayor Todd Gloria has, both during his campaign and since taking office, faced pressure from his left on criminal justice reform.

He has in many wayssignaled alignment with the reform movement, while also distancing himself from it by courting financial support from police unions and increasing police spending in his firstbudget.

In April, heannounceda police and public safety reform package, one he said was builton sensible and equitable changes to police practices.

His package included 11 items actions that range fromimplementing changes approved by voters, exploring ideas that havebeen hotly debated for years,making changes thathave since been changed at the state level, working with county prosecutors onlong-sought reformsand changing city structures in ways welcomed by reformers.

Six months later, we decided to check in on the progress of his reform package, both into whether its made changes, and how significant the criminal justice community perceives those moves.

Aspokespersonfor the mayordeclined to respond to a Voice of San Diegoinquiry on the progress of the reform package. Instead, his administration issued a press release on the topic last week.

In Glorias progress report, he took credit for completing five of the 11 items, and said he looked forward to complying with two items that have been changed at the state level before the city did anything. He gave no update on the progress of four items. One of the items he took credit for completing is not actually complete. Another is the subject of a much more significant reform package pushed by outside advocates that could come to the Council for a vote in the coming months.

Gloria changed the title of this initiative in his press release last week, dropping the second portion of it that has not yet occurred to emphasize on the first part of it that has.

This stems from the passage last year of Measure B, which Gloria supported, creating a new body overseeingtheSan Diego Police Department, the Commission on Police Practices.Unlike its predecessor, the commission would be able to conduct independent investigations into allegations of police misconduct, including subpoenaing witnesses, among other strengthened oversight roles.

And, indeed, Glorias first budget included $1.14 million for the new commission, within the range of the Independent Budget Analysts estimate that it would cost between $1.1 million and $2.3 million, largely dependent on the number of full-time investigators it hires.

But nearly a year after voters approved Measure B, it is not yet up and running. The city still needs to adopt an ordinance that would guide its creation, and that has so far been a bumpy ride, as Kelly Davis chronicled for us. This summer, City Attorney Mara Elliott released a draft ordinance,whichadvocates who supported Measure B panned. Elliottsaid shed try again, leading advocates to ask why the city attorney was writing the law in the first place, when the measure explicitlysought to separate from the city attorneys office.Elliott agreed in July tohire an outside law firm to write the ordinanceinstead, satisfying advocacy groups.

That ordinance could be finished in the comingmonths, andwouldneed to go to the City Council for approval. In his press release, Gloria said he was eager to sign the ordinance once the Council passes it.

Christie Hill, deputy advocacy director for the regional chapter of the ACLU, said shes glad the mayors package includes priorities the community has pushed for, but stopped short of praising the city for working to implement a measure approved by voters.

Implementing the Commission on Police Practices, thats something the city has to do, she said. Its required by law.

District Attorney Summer Stephan announced in April that shed end the use of civil gang injunctions by asking the Superior Court to lift restraining orders that dictated where people on injunction lists could go, their curfews and what colors they could wear.

Gloria included the move in his reformpackage, andpraised Stephans decisionwhen she announced it a few weeks later.

Before that, the elimination of gang injunctions had been a major priority for the citys Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention. Before Gloria took office, the commission voted in September 2019to recommendthatthe mayor and Council eliminate gang injunctions, but the action never came before the City Council for a vote. Stephan and SDPD Chief David Nisleit opposed the decision.

We have been pushing for this for literally years, internally and externally, said Genevive Jones-Wright, executive director of Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance, and member of the commission who pushed for the recommendation to end the injunctions.

Jones-Wright argued it was City Attorney Mara Elliott who kept the recommendation from going before the City Council, and so took issue with Glorias announcement pledging to work with Elliott to remove gang injunctions going forward.

Gloriasinitial announcement, though, didnt mention the gang commission at all. In his progress report, he noted that it came after years of advocacy by the Citys Gang Commission and community leaders.

When Gloria was still in the Assembly, heproposed a billlimiting police departments access to military equipment. His co-authorgot the action through this year, requiring law enforcement agencies to get approval from city councils or boards of supervisors before the go after such gear.

Gloria, meanwhile, hassaid he will unveil a new city policythat would outline clear guidelines for when the department can receive military equipment, what equipment they can seek out, and when it can be used, as the Union-Tribune reported in August.Gloria told the U-T thatproposalwouldgo before a Council committee last month, but it didnt. In his press release,hesaid hed releasetheproposal in the coming months.

Theres no indication Gloria or the city of San Diego have added anynewtrainingprocedures for SDPD officers on unconscious or implicit bias. Glorias progress report press release did not mention it.

In June, the cityreleased a studyby a third party think tank that found Black people are stopped by SDPD 3.5 times as often as White people, and that Asian and Latino people were searched about 1.4 times as often as White people once they were stopped. Controlling for neighborhood demographics and crime and poverty rates, the study found Black people experience non-traffic stops 4.2 times as often as White people. Those werefamiliar findingsas previous studies into racial disparities in traffic stops and searches in the city.

Even if the training had been implemented, though, Jones-Wright said it was not significant.

This to me is not a reform at all, she said. Its weak language for a weak policy. More training wont change adamnthing.

SDPD in Augustannounced a changein its consent search procedure, one that the department referred to as a minor procedural change, Gloria categorized as a completed part of his reform package andcriminal justice advocates called a half-hearted measure.

The new measure requires that officers can search a person only after theyve provided consent though that consent can include implied consent, or when a persons actions or responses effectively communicate permission to search. The policyrequiresofficers to notify people of their rights before asking them to consent to asearch, andallowspeople to revoke consent at any timewhile stipulating thatsearches not to be intrusive (such as by not damaging a persons property).

It doesnt go far enough, and isnt a substitute forPrOTECT, Hill said.

PrOTECT,is the Preventing Over-policing through Equitable Community Treatment,an ordinance championed for years by the Coalition for Police Accountability & Transparency, a group of criminal justice-focused advocacy groups. Thatordinancewould prohibit all pretext stops when officers pull a car over for a minor traffic violation because it presents an opportunity to look for evidence of an unrelated offense and consent searches, when officers dont have probable cause or a warrant, so ask for permission to conduct a search and often get it.PrOTECTwould prohibit searches unless officers proved probable causefirst, andwould ban officers from asking about prior criminal history except when its related to an investigation.

Pretext stops contribute to racial disparities in policing, Jones-Wright argues, and the idea of explicit consent is a misnomer: because police stops are intimidating, people are unduly coerced into waiving their rights and accepting a search.

This weak verbiage, this is nothing but an attempt to undermine gettingPrOTECTon the books,she said.ThePrOTECTordinance seeks to take away the tools used for racial profiling.

Slowly, thePrOTECTordinance is progressing, and could come to a Council vote as early as the coming months. When the City Attorney agreed to hire an outside law firm to write the ordinance implementing the Commission on Police Practices, shealso told Councilwoman Monica MontgomerySteppe in amemo that shed also have outside counsel write the citys version of thePrOTECTordinance the current version was written by CPAT indicating her office lacked bandwidth.

When it comes forward, though, itll still need to win support from the City Council, and the mayor.

Advocates arehopeful, butfeel confident they know where SDPD stands on it, after Officer Jenny Hall, community relations manager for the Mid-City division, sent an email to community members ahead of May budget hearings arguing that any budget cuts would hurt the department.

I also want to make sure you are aware of the Coalition or Police Accountability & Transparencys (CPAT) proposed PrOTECTOrdinance, she wrote. The ordinance would prohibit police officers from arresting persons for theft and vandalism, along with many other crimes.

In his own progress report, Gloria counts this as completed, based on his and SDPDs desire to recruit more diverse candidates.

That follows his announcement in August that SDPD wouldhost a career fair for just women candidates, in hopes of increasing the 17 percent share of the police force that are women. This springs police academy class, meanwhile, was the citys most diverse ever, withtwo thirds of the 48-member class being people of color, and the 268 officers hired since the start of 2020 (before Glorias term) nearly matching the citys demographics, the Union-Tribune reported.

After Gloria was elected but before he took office, the San Diego City Councilpassed two ordinancesfocused on surveillance and privacy. One would regulate the citys acquisition and use of surveillance equipment, and another that would create a privacy advisory board to oversee those concerns.

The ordinances, written with the help of the Trust SD Coalition,emerged after a series of debaclesregarding the citys use of surveillance technology without disclosure or guiding policies.

Gloria included them in his April reformrollout, butdid not mention them in his progress report last week.

They have not been adopted and implemented, despite their unanimous Council passage last year, because they need to go through the process of negotiating with municipal unions because they effect city staff. Once that happens, theyll require another Council vote before they go into effect.

Glorias first budget, though,included $165,000 in fundingfor one program manager to oversee the ordinances, if they emerge from negotiations and win Council approval.

Gloria correctly takes credit for having achieved this in his first year, moving the department from the purview of SDPD and rebranding it the Office of Emergency Services.

When former Mayor KevinFaulconerput the department within SDPD in 2019, as Jesse Marx reported, it made it easier for cops to distribute anti-terror funding throughout the region. The office controls about $15 million in annual federal grant funding on those issues. Now, its civilian employees who willmake those decisions, rather than police. Gloria said the change will allow officers to focus on building trust and relationships in communities.

Sacramento took care of this one for Gloria, with Gov. Gavin Newsom last month signing AB 48, written by San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez,to create statewide standards for the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.

The law requires officers to be trained in using so-called kinetic projectiles and chemical agents for crowd control, after injuries with such devices in the summer of 2020 during protests following the murder of George Floyd increased scrutiny on them.

It also forces police departments to publish on how theyve used crowd control weapons, specifically requiring justification for why they were used. Gloria looks forward to implementing this reporting requirement, his progress report reads.

Glorias progress report ignores this element of his reform package, too.

But criminal justice andhomeless advocates have both pushed for changes to the citys enforcement of crimes associated with homeless residents, even after Gloriapledged in March to inject compassioninto the way it cleans up encampments, which can lead to police enforcement.

Homelessness enforcement didnt get a mention in Glorias package, except insofar as alternatives to arrest for low-level offenses could apply to enforcementcommon among homeless residence. And its the absence of homelessness enforcementin his listthat Mitchelle Woodson, executive director of Think Dignity, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on homelessness, called absurd.

A lot of what we do in San Diego is criminalizing poverty through quality-of-life offenses like sleeping on the sidewalk or in cars, Woodson said. These arent just tickets theyre misdemeanor charges. For that not to be included in the reform package, it shows how disconnected he is on the issue.

Excerpt from:

Gloria, With Help, Makes Slow Progress on Police Reform - Voice of San Diego