Nation & World Glance

Trump, stewing over election loss, silent as virus surges

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has publicly disengaged from the battle against the coronavirus at a moment when the disease is tearing across the United States at an alarming pace.

Trump, fresh off his reelection loss to President-elect Joe Biden, remains angry that an announcement about progress in developing a vaccine for the disease came after Election Day. And aides say the president has shown little interest in the growing crisis even as new confirmed cases are skyrocketing and hospital intensive care units in parts of the country are nearing capacity.

Public health experts worry that Trump’s refusal to take aggressive action on the pandemic or to coordinate with the Biden team during the final two months of his presidency will only worsen the effects of the virus and hinder the nation’s ability to swiftly distribute a vaccine next year.

The White House coronavirus task force held its first post-election meeting Monday. Officials discussed the rising case numbers and the promise of a vaccine in development by Pfizer, and they recognized the service of Navy Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, a member of the task force who retired Monday.

But Trump, who does not take part in the task force meetings, remains preoccupied with last week’s election results. He has yet to weigh in on the recent spike in virus cases that has state and local officials scrambling and hospitals concerned about their ability to treat those stricken.

A few cracks but no big GOP break with Trump on Biden’s win

WASHINGTON – The most powerful Republicans in Washington stood firmly behind President Donald Trump and his unsupported claims of voter fraud on Thursday, but new cracks emerged among GOP leaders elsewhere who believe it’s time to treat Democrat Joe Biden like the president-elect he is.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Trump’s reelection, became the latest Republican official to say what Trump and his allies refuse to accept. The GOP governor acknowledged that Biden’s lead is getting “bigger and bigger by the day” and Trump’s legal options are dissipating.

“Joe Biden is the president-elect, and I think like most Americans, we suspect he’ll be taking the oath of office in January,” Sununu told reporters, insisting there was no legal fraud in his state, which Biden easily carried.

Separately, and party arguing aside, the state and federal officials and election technology companies that run U.S. elections declared Thursday that the Nov. 3 national election was “the most secure in American history. “The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency said, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised.”

In a barely veiled shot at Trump and his supporters, the agency said Americans should have confidence in the results although “we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections.”

Justice Dept.: ‘Poor judgment’ used in Epstein plea deal

WASHINGTON – A Justice Department report has found that former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling an investigation into wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida. But it also says he did not engage in professional misconduct.

The 350-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, marks the culmination of an investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility into Acosta’s handling of a secret plea deal with Epstein, who had been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

Though the report faulted Acosta for his judgment, it concluded that his actions in arranging the deal did not constitute misconduct, and that none of the prosecutors involved committed misconduct in their interactions with the victims. The conclusions are likely to disappoint the victims, who have long hoped the internal investigation would hold Justice Department officials accountable for actions they say allowed Epstein to escape justice.

In a statement, Acosta expressed vindication at the report’s conclusion that he had not committed misconduct, saying it “fully debunks” allegations that he had cut a sweetheart deal for Epstein. He said the report confirmed that his decision to open an investigation into Epstein had resulted in a jail sentence and a sex offender registration for the financier.

“OPR’s report and public records document that without federal involvement, Epstein would have walked free,” Acosta said in the statement.

Tropical Storm Eta races off Carolinas after soaking Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropical Storm Eta raced off the Southeast Atlantic seacoast late Thursday, spreading heavy rains and gusty winds around the Carolinas only hours after blustering across north Florida.

One death in Florida was linked to the storm, along with some scattered flooding and forecasters said the tropical storm was on a path offshore of South Carolina that would eventually take it further out to sea.

The storm system triggered flash flooding, multiple water rescues and road closures, and at least one collapsed bridge in South Carolina, said Sandy LaCourte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina.

“It’s unfortunately been a tough day for the Carolinas today,” LaCourte said.

Some parts of the Carolinas saw three to seven inches of rainfall already by Thursday afternoon with more expected. That came amid a combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico being carried up by a cold front that had pushed Eta across Florida earlier.

At 10 p.m., the storm was centered about 65 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. It had top sustained winds of 45 mph and was moving to the northeast at 17 mph. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Eta was expected to pick up forward speed in the next day or so as it pulls away from the Southeast seaboard.

Earlier Thursday, Eta was in the Gulf of Mexico when it slogged ashore near Cedar Key, Florida. It then moved northeast across Florida in a matter of hours before crossing over into the Atlantic, forecasters said.

Although it was not the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. this year, Eta had broad impacts across the Tampa Bay region on Florida’s Gulf Coast, buffeting an area of more than 3.5 million people with gusty winds and rain.