AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT
Amid the Capitol riot, Facebook faced its own insurrection
WASHINGTON (AP) - As supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th, battling police and forcing lawmakers into hiding, an insurrection of a different kind was taking place inside the world´s largest social media company.
Thousands of miles away, in California, Facebook engineers were racing to tweak internal controls to slow the spread of misinformation and inciteful content. Emergency actions - some of which were rolled back after the 2020 election - included banning Trump, freezing comments in groups with a record for hate speech, filtering out the "Stop the Steal" rallying cry and empowering content moderators to act more assertively by labeling the U.S. a "Temporary High Risk Location" for political violence.
At the same time, frustration inside Facebook erupted over what some saw as the company's halting and often reversed response to rising extremism in the U.S.
"Haven´t we had enough time to figure out how to manage discourse without enabling violence?" one employee wrote on an internal message board at the height of the Jan. 6 turmoil. "We´ve been fueling this fire for a long time and we shouldn´t be surprised it´s now out of control."
It´s a question that still hangs over the company today, as Congress and regulators investigate Facebook´s part in the Jan. 6 riots.
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Deal on $2T Biden package, seems close but elusive
WASHINGTON (AP) - A deal within reach, President Joe Biden and Congress´ top Democrats edged close to sealing their giant domestic legislation, though the informal deadline appeared to slip as they worked to scale back the measure and determine how to pay for it.
Negotiations were expected to continue into the weekend, all sides indicating just a few issues remained unsettled in the sweeping package of social services and climate change strategies.
Biden met at the White House Friday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined by video call from from New York, trying to shore up details. The leaders have been working with party moderates and progressives to shrink the once-$3.5 trillion, 10-year package to around $2 trillion in child care, health care and clean energy programs.
Pelosi said a deal was "very possible."
She told reporters back at the Capitol that more than 90% of the package was agreed to: The climate change components of the bill "are resolved," but outstanding questions remained on health care provisions.
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FDA says Pfizer COVID vaccine looks effective for young kids
Federal health regulators said late Friday that kid-size doses of Pfizer´s COVID-19 vaccine appear highly effective at preventing symptomatic infections in elementary school children and caused no unexpected safety issues, as the U.S. weighs beginning vaccinations in youngsters.
The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of Pfizer´s data ahead of a public meeting next week to debate whether the shots are ready for the nation´s roughly 28 million children ages 5 to 11. The agency will ask a panel of outside vaccine experts to vote on that question.
In their analysis, FDA scientists concluded that in almost every scenario the vaccine's benefit for preventing hospitalizations and death from COVID-19 would outweigh any serious potential side effects in children. But agency reviewers stopped short of calling for Pfizer's shot to be authorized.
The agency will put that question to its panel of independent advisers next Tuesday and weigh their advice before making its own decision.
If the FDA authorizes the shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make additional recommendations on who should receive them the first week of November. Children could begin vaccinations early next month -- with the first youngsters in line fully protected by Christmas.
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Baldwin was told gun was 'cold' before movie set shooting
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - As a film crew and actors in Western garb prepared to rehearse a scene inside a wooden, chapel-like building on a desert movie ranch outside Santa Fe, assistant director Dave Halls stepped outside and grabbed a prop gun off a cart.
He walked back in and handed it to the film's star, Alec Baldwin, assuring him it was safe to use because it didn't have live ammo.
"Cold gun," Halls yelled.
It wasn't, according to court records made public Friday. Instead, when Baldwin pulled the trigger Thursday, he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her.
The tragedy came nearly three decades after Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died in a similar case, and it prompted horrified questions about how it could have happened again. The executive producer of ABC´s police drama "The Rookie" announced Friday the show would no longer use "live" weapons because the "safety of our cast and crew is too important."
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Saudi Arabia pledges 2060 target of net-zero emissions
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - One of the world's largest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, announced Saturday it aims to reach "net zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, joining more than 100 countries in a global effort to try and curb man-made climate change.
The announcement, made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in brief scripted remarks at the start of the kingdom's first-ever Saudi Green Initiative Forum, was timed to make a splash a little more than a week before the start of the global COP26 climate conference being held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Although the kingdom will aim to reduce its emissions, Prince Mohammed said the kingdom would do so through a so-called "Carbon Circular Economy" approach. That approach focuses on still unreliable carbon capture and storage technologies over efforts to actually reduce global reliance on fossil fuels. The announcement only pertains to Saudi Arabia´s efforts within its national borders, and does not impact its continued aggressive investment in oil and exporting its fossil fuels to Asia and other regions.
"The transition to net zero carbon emissions will be delivered in a manner that preserves the kingdom´s leading role in enhancing the security and stability of global energy markets, particularly considering the maturity and availability of technologies necessary to manage and reduce emissions," a statement by the Saudi Green Initiative forum said.
The kingdom´s oil and gas exports form the backbone of its economy, despite efforts to diversify away from reliance on fossil fuels for revenue.
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Child tax credit tussle reflects debate over work incentives
WASHINGTON (AP) - To supporters of the child tax credit, there has always been an "aha moment" - the recognition that as little as a few hundred dollars a month could be life-changing.
For Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, it was several years ago when he was working as Denver's school superintendent. One high schooler kept falling asleep in morning classes. When Bennet asked why he was so exhausted, the student said he worked the midnight shift at McDonald's so that his family had enough money.
For Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, it was the childhood memory of her parents being evicted and finding their furniture on the street.
Bennet and DeLauro are among the Democratic lawmakers who have pushed to make permanent an expanded child tax credit, which President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief package transformed into a monthly payment that would be available to almost any child. But Biden could not convince even enough of his fellow Democrats that they should extend these payments through 2025, and in negotiations for his broader package of economic and social programs he appears to have settled for a one-year extension that runs through next year.
Despite the concession, the president is still fighting for a legacy-making policy that could become the equivalent of Social Security for children. Biden dubbed the start of payments in July as "historic," saying that the reduction to child poverty would be transformative and that he intended to make the credit permanent.
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Secrecy shrouds Afghan refugees sent by US to base in Kosovo
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas: dozens who triggered potential security issues during security vetting and have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.
Human rights advocates have raised concerns about the Afghans diverted to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo over the past six weeks, citing a lack of transparency about their status, the reasons for holding them back and the question of what might become of any who can't be cleared to come to the U.S.
"We are obviously concerned," said Jelena Sesar, a researcher for Amnesty International who specializes in the Balkans. "What really happens with these people, especially the people who don´t pass security vetting? Are they going to be detained? Are they going to have any access to legal assistance? And what is the plan for them? Is there any risk of them ultimately being returned to Afghanistan?"
The Biden administration says it's too soon to answer some of these questions, at least publicly, as it works feverishly to resettle the Afghans who were evacuated following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August.
The lack of public information has made it a challenge for those who closely track the fate of refugees. "There´s not a lot of transparency in terms of how the security check regime works," said Sunil Varghese, policy director for the International Refugee Assistance Project. "We don´t know why people are being sent to Kosovo for additional screening, what that additional screening is, how long it will take."
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Where are the workers? Cutoff of jobless aid spurs no influx
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Earlier this year, an insistent cry arose from business leaders and Republican governors: Cut off a $300-a-week federal supplement for unemployed Americans. Many people, they argued, would then come off the sidelines and take the millions of jobs that employers were desperate to fill.
Yet three months after half the states began ending that federal payment, there's been no significant influx of job seekers.
In states that cut off the $300 check, the workforce - the number of people who either have a job or are looking for one - has risen no more than it has in the states that maintained the payment. That federal aid, along with two jobless aid programs that served gig workers and the long-term unemployed, ended nationally Sept. 6. Yet America's overall workforce actually shrank that month.
"Policymakers were pinning too many hopes on ending unemployment insurance as a labor market boost," said Fiona Greig, managing director of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which used JPMorgan bank account data to study the issue. "The work disincentive effects were clearly small."
Labor shortages have persisted longer than many economists expected, deepening a mystery at the heart of the job market. Companies are eager to add workers and have posted a near-record number of available jobs. Unemployment remains elevated. The economy still has 5 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic. Yet job growth slowed in August and September.
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Group clings to faith as US works on Haiti kidnapping case
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A U.S. religious organization whose 17 members were kidnapped in Haiti asked supporters on Friday to pray and share stories with the victims' families of how their faith helped them through difficult times as efforts to recover them entered a sixth day.
Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries issued the statement a day after a video was released showing the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang threatening to kill those abducted if his demands are not met. Haitian officials have said the gang is seeking $1 million ransom per person, although they said it wasn't clear if that includes the five children in the group, the youngest being 8 months old.
"You may wonder why our workers chose to live in a difficult and dangerous context, despite the apparent risks," the organization said. "Before leaving for Haiti, our workers who are now being held hostage expressed a desire to faithfully serve God in Haiti."
The FBI is helping Haitian authorities recover the 16 Americans and one Canadian. A local human rights group said their Haitian driver also was kidnapped.
"Pray that their commitment to God could become even stronger during this difficult experience," Christian Aid Ministries said.
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García, Alvarez help Astros oust Red Sox, reach World Series
HOUSTON (AP) - Two of the youngest Houston Astros stars helped one of baseball´s oldest managers get another shot at a most elusive title.
Rookie Luis García showed the poise of an October ace, MVP Yordan Alvarez did more damage at the plate and the Astros earned yet another trip to the World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 Friday night in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.
García and Alvarez, both 24 and ascending, and 72-year-old manager Dusty Baker will open the World Series on Tuesday night, either at Dodger Stadium or home against Atlanta. The Braves lead Los Angeles 3-2 in the NL Championship Series going into Game 6 Saturday night.
"There's four more wins on the board out there," Baker said. "There's four more wins you've got to get."
The Astros advanced to the World Series for the third time in five seasons. They won the championship in 2017, a crown tainted by the team´s sign-stealing scandal, before losing to the Washington Nationals in seven games in 2019.
