As the country mourns Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday, President Donald Trump has vowed to nominate a successor this week. The head of the Senate said he would move to confirm the nominee, but Democrats are pushing back. Two key Republican senators said they would argue to wait for a Supreme Court confirmation vote until after election. What’s clear is that both parties see this as a key battle just six weeks before Election Day. Michelle Quinn reports.
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As the United States nears 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines to add breathing to the most common ways the coronavirus is spread by an infected person.The U.S. has nearly 6.8 million cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data late Sunday.An update Friday to the CDC website says there is growing evidence that small airborne coronavirus particles are produced when someone coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes and can remain in the air to be breathed in by others, allowing an infection.“These particles can be inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs and cause infection. This is thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” the CDC website says.They can also travel farther than 6 feet, for example when someone sings or exercises.There is also updated information from the CDC about how to protect yourself. The CDC’s advice has been to stay 2 meters away from someone, wash your hands and disinfect surfaces often, and wear a face mask.Now the CDC adds that people who are sick should stay home and isolate themselves and “use air purifiers to help reduce airborne germs in indoor spaces,” according to the CDC site.Taj Mahal to reopenDespite more than 5.4 million COVID-19 cases and about 100,000 new infections and more than 1,000 deaths daily, India will reopen the Taj Mahal to visitors Monday.India has 1.3 billion people and some of the world’s most crowded cities, but a strict lockdown in March devastated the economy and the lives of tens of millions of people. With that in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t want to follow some other nations in tightening restrictions on daily activity again.Instead, his government has eased restrictions, including on many train routes, domestic flights, markets, restaurants — and now, the Taj Mahal.The world-famous white marble mausoleum in the city of Agra is India’s most popular tourist attraction, drawing 7 million visitors a year.It has been closed since March. Officials say that when it reopens, strict social distancing rules will be applied and daily visitor numbers will be capped at 5,000.Schools were also to resume Monday on a voluntary basis for students ages 14 to 17, but many Indian states have said it is too soon to have children in the classroom.WorldwideWorldwide the number of cases has surpassed 30.8 million, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The U.S. remains the country with the most infections. Recent growth in U.S. cases in the Southwest and Midwest is being attributed to the reopening of schools and colleges.A four-day motorcycle rally has Missouri and other states bracing for an outbreak. Last year, over 100,000 people attended the Bikefest Lake of the Ozarks event. The annual event in Central Missouri began Wednesday and ends Sunday. A similar event was held last month in Sturgis, South Dakota. COVID-19 cases and one death in several states were traced back to Sturgis.The U.S. has nearly 6.8 million cases, Hopkins reported late Sunday. India follows the U.S. with 5.4 million cases and Brazil comes in third with 4.5 million infections, according to Hopkins.The U.S. has also recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths. The U.S. has more than 199,000 of the world’s more than 957,000 coronavirus deaths. Brazil follows the U.S. in coronavirus deaths with more than 136,000 deaths. India has reported nearly 87,000 deaths. 
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A fire broke out Sunday evening in the reception and identification center for asylum-seekers on the Greek island of Samos but is now “under control,” according to police and firefighter sources.”The fire is under control but two or three containers were destroyed without causing any injuries,” a police source said. Refugees stay in containers.  According to the fire department press office, “three containers were removed as a precaution when the fire broke out.”  “The firefighters are there, there is no risk of the fire spreading,” an official with the firefighters’ press service told AFP.UN: Rehousing of Moria Fire Victims on Lesbos Island Proceeding Smoothly A police operation to transfer the asylum seekers to the new site has been proceeding smoothly with no use of force or incidence of violence    This disaster, which broke out around 8:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. GMT), comes 10 days after two large fires ravaged the large camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos, known for its overpopulation and sordid living conditions.  On the streets for several days, most of the asylum-seekers expelled from Moria, about 10,000 people according to the authorities, were installed in a camp hastily set up by the government near the port of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos.The Samos reception and identification center is one of five centers set up during the 2015 migration crisis on five Greek islands in the Aegean Sea (Lesbos, Samos, Kos , Leros, Chios) to stem the number of migrants arriving in Greece from neighboring Turkey.The living conditions in the Samos camp — which is smaller than that of Moria, with nearly 6,000 people despite its initial capacity for 650 asylum-seekers — are also very difficult, including inadequate hygienic conditions.The camps for asylum-seekers in Greece have been isolated since mid-March because of COVID-19, while the rest of the country returned to normal in early May.  According to authorities, 21 cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the Samos camp so far.
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Tributes to Ruth Bader Ginsburg line the perimeter of the U.S. Supreme Court as Americans pay their respects to the late Supreme Court Justice. VOA’s Steve Redisch reports
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Wildfires rage on in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, having so far killed at least 35 people.  Scientists call the fires unprecedented in size and scope while officials say it’s all hands on deck to fight the fires, which have burned millions of acres of land.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports on how the US military is joining the fight.
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U.S. President Donald Trump appears focused on naming one of two conservative female jurists he appointed to federal appellate courts to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who died last week.Trump told a political rally Saturday night in Fayetteville, North Carolina that he will make the nomination this week and that “it will be a woman.” He earlier named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit appellate court and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible candidates.U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame University, poses in an undated photograph obtained from Notre Dame University, Sept 19, 2020.Supporters chanted, “Fill that seat,” and Trump said that is exactly what he intends to do.  Nomination brawl loomsTrump’s intention to make an appointment six weeks before he faces a bitter re-election contest against Democrat Joe Biden on November 3 instantly touched off a rancorous political fight in Washington between Republican colleagues of the president in the Senate who say they will support  his nominee and Democratic lawmakers who called for the selection to be delayed until either Trump or Biden takes office in January for a new four-year White House term.Trump wants the Senate to quickly confirm his choice before the election, but it’s unclear whether Republicans, with a 53-47 majority in the chamber, will act before Election Day.In 2016, Republicans refused to allow consideration of former President Barack Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of that year. They argued that high court vacancies should be left unfilled during an election year so the American people can weigh in on the choice.Then-candidate Donald Trump also said the nomination should wait until a new president was sworn in.“I think the next president should make the pick, and I think they shouldn’t go forward, and I believe I’m pretty much in line with what the Republicans are saying,” he told CNN in March of 2016.Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa, currently a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, poses in a photograph from 2019 obtained Sept. 19, 2020.Both Barrett, 48, and Lagoa, 52, would draw staunch Republican support and likely vocal Democratic opposition because both, with life-time appointments, could serve for decades on the Supreme Court and push its current 5-4 conservative edge to 6-3 with the replacement of Ginsburg, who served on the court for 27 years before succumbing to her fight against cancer.Whoever is chosen would play a role in making key court decisions in the coming years on abortion rights, gun restrictions, religious liberty, freedom of speech, immigration, health care law and an array of other contentious issues.Trump’s Supreme Court nominee would be his third, after he already won Senate approval for two other conservative judges, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, both following heated confirmation hearings.Three potential nomineesIn a call to Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican majority leader, Trump mentioned both Barrett and Lagoa as favorites, along with discussion of a third woman he had appointed, Allison Jones Rushing of the of the 4th Circuit Court of appeals in the mid-Atlantic region. All have drawn wide support from the conservative legal establishment in the U.S.Lagoa had the easiest Senate confirmation among the three women, with a majority of Democratic senators supporting her in an 80-to-15 vote.Lagoa was the first Cuban American woman to serve on the Florida state Supreme Court before becoming a federal judge in 2019.”She’s an extraordinary person,” Trump has said. “I’ve heard at length about her. She’s Hispanic and highly respected — Miami. Highly respected.”Barrett and Rushing both drew wide Democratic opposition to their appointments to appellate courts.Barrett taught law at the University of Notre Dame, one of the most prominent Catholic universities in the United States, for 15 years before Trump named her to the appellate bench in 2017. In opposing her appointment then, Democrats voiced concerns about her professed role of religion in her life.They cited one of her comments at Notre Dame, where she told students that a “legal career is but a means to an end … and that end is building the Kingdom of God.”Republicans view her as reliably conservative and a future Supreme Court vote to overturn the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion rights in the U.S., but Barrett has offered conflicting comments on how she might vote on abortion cases.During her confirmation hearing to the appeals court, Barrett said she would “follow all Supreme Court precedent without fail” and would regard decisions such as Roe v. Wade, the key abortion rights case, as binding precedent.“I would never impose my own personal convictions upon the law,” she said.But she also has written that judges shouldn’t be held to upholding Supreme Court precedents, such as the abortion decision.The 38-year-old Rushing won her appellate court confirmation last year with party-line Republican support over Democratic opposition.Democrats and civil rights and gay and lesbian groups opposed her nomination.  They cited her internship with Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative, Christian legal nonprofit that defended a Colorado baker in a Supreme Court case who fought for the right not to bake a cake for a gay wedding and in another instance that allowed companies to opt out of providing insurance for contraceptives for employees because of the owners’ religious beliefs.Ginsburg to Be Remembered With Statue in Her Native Brooklyn A legal trailblazer and champion of women’s rights, she became the high court’s second female justice in 1993Public opinion debate beginsOn Sunday, Democrats were reminding their Republican counterparts of their refusal to consider President Obama’s nominee during the 2016 presidential race, as Republicans tried to make the case that this year is different.Two Republican Senate supporters of Trump told Sunday talk shows they intend to push for approval of his nominee before the election.“We’re going to go move forward without delay,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas told “Fox News Sunday.”  Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said confirmation of a ninth justice on the court before the election was essential to avoid possible, indecisive 4-4 votes on any election issues that might emerge in the event of a disputed vote.He said there is a “serious possibility of a constitutional crisis” in the event of a close vote, much like in 2000 when a court decision led to Republican George W. Bush claiming the presidency over Democrat Al Gore as vote counting was stopped in the pivotal state of Florida.“The people pick the president, and the president picks the justice. That is how this works,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said on “Meet the Press.” “They set this new precedent in 2016, and they’ve got to follow their own words.”Also on “Meet the Press,” Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming scoffed at Democratic complaints about the nomination process.“Let’s be very clear – if the shoe were on the other foot and the Democrats had the White House and the Senate, they would right now be trying to confirm another member of the Supreme Court,” Barrasso said.Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton – whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, nominated Ginsburg for the high court in 1993 – said the Republican attempt to push through a nomination was a symptom of a confirmation process that is “absolutely broken”.“Our institutions are being basically undermined by the lust for power – power for personal gain in the case of the president or power for institutional gain in the case of Mitch McConnell – at the cost of ensuring that our institutions withstand whatever the political winds might be,” she said Sunday on “Meet the Press”.Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will speak on the Supreme Court vacancy in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
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Протягом останніх чотирьох місяців уряд вивів з тіні від 15% до 20% податків на додану вартість, заявив міністр фінансів Сергій Марченко. Про це він сказав в інтерв’ю Радіо Свобода.

Марченко не назвав конкретний обсяг «тіньової» економіки в Україні, зазначивши, що дані варіюються від 50% до 70%.

Читайте також: Міністр фінансів Марченко назвав реалістичним зростання ВВП у 2021-му на рівні 4,6%

«Боротьба з ПДВ-скрутками довела, що ми з «тіні» вивели приблизно від 15% до 20% ПДВ за останні чотири місяці. І ми цю детінізацію заклали фактично у бюджеті наступного року. Тобто якщо буде така ж сама ефективність надходження ПДВ, бюджет наступного року буде цілком реалістичним до виконання», – сказав міністр.

Презентуючи бюджет 14 вересня, Сергій Марченко назвав підвищення ефективності сплати ПДВ одним із джерел забезпечення державного бюджету 2021 року.

Кабінет міністрів ухвалив законопроєкт про державний бюджет на 2021 рік вранці 14 вересня.

 
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Міністр фінансів України Сергій Марченко заявив про готовність уряду в наступному році передбачити у бюджеті надання іпотечних кредитів для 30 тисяч українських сімей. Про це він сказав в інтерв’ю Радіо Свобода.

«В наступному році ми готові будемо передбачити надання іпотечних кредитів для 30 тисяч сімей. Зараз практично нічого не надається. Тобто, це нова програма. Ми докапіталізуємо нову установу, яка зможе надавати іпотечні кредити і також надавати фінансовий лізинг, кредит. Тобто, це будівництво житла», – сказав Марченко.

У серпні президент України Володимир Зеленський заявляв, що українці повинні мати можливість придбати житло в кредит під доступні відсотки – хоча б під 10% річних, тому що банківські ставки за іпотекою, які існували досі, «просто непідйомні» для багатьох українських сімей.

В ОПУ повідомляли, що 1 липня була запущена програма надання доступної іпотеки для населення. За інформацією заступниці керівника Офісу президента Юлії Ковалів, за перший місяць роботи програми загальний обсяг наданих позик склав 75 мільйонів гривень, або понад 200 іпотечних кредитів. Ковалів прогнозувала, що до кінця року іпотечний портфель банків може становити не менше ніж 3 мільярди гривень. 
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Facebook has told Ireland’s High Court it cannot see how its services could operate in the European Union if regulators freeze its data transfer mechanism, the Sunday Business Post reported, citing court documents seen by the paper.The U.S. social media giant last week said that the Irish Data Protection Commission, its lead EU regulator, had made a preliminary decision that the mechanism it uses to transfer data from the EU to the United States “cannot in practice be used.”Facebook requested and secured a temporary freeze on the order and a court review in the Irish High Court, which is due to consider the issue in November. In an affidavit submitted to the court to request that the order be frozen, Yvonne Cunnane, Facebook Ireland’s head of data protection and associate general counsel, said it was not clear how the company could continue providing services in the EU if the Irish order is enforced, the Sunday Business Post reported.”It is not clear to (Facebook) how, in those circumstances, it could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU,” the newspaper quoted the affidavit as saying.The affidavit has not been made public, a High Court spokesman said, and a Facebook spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.In a Sept. 9 blog post that first confirmed the investigation by the Irish regulator, Facebook said it “relied on the mechanism in question – under what are known as standard contractual clauses (SCCs) – to transfer data to countries outside the EU and that a ban would have “a far reaching effect on businesses that rely on SCCs.”The Irish investigation follows a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in July on when SCCs can be used legally.The ruling was in response to EU concerns that the surveillance regime in the United States might not respect the privacy rights of EU citizens when their personal data is sent to the United States for commercial use. 
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Robert W. Gore, whose invention of what created the breathable-yet-waterproof fabric known as Gore-Tex revolutionized outdoor wear and helped spawn uses in numerous other fields, has died. He was 83.Gore, who was president of W. L. Gore & Associates for almost 25 years and company chairman for 30 years, died on Thursday following a prolonged illness at his home in Delaware, company spokesperson Amy Calhoun confirmed Saturday.  Gore discovered a new form of a polymer in 1969 at a company lab in Newark, Delaware. His father, who began the company, asked Bob Gore to research a new way to manufacturer plumber’s tape at a low cost using PTFE, commonly known as DuPont’s Teflon, The News Journal of Wilmington reported.The son figured out that by stretching PTFE with a sudden yank, the polymer expanded by 1,000 percent. The resulting product, known as ePTFE, created a microporous structure. The introduction of Gore-Tex technology came seven years later.“It was truly a pivot point in this company’s history,” Greg Hannon, W.L. Gore & Associates’ chief technology officer, said last year. “Without which we would be much less significant of an organization than we are today.”The membrane within Gore-Tex fabric has billions of pores that are smaller than water droplets, leading to waterproof but breathable raincoats, shoes and other clothing. The patents ultimately led to countless other uses with medical devices, guitar strings and in space travel, the company said.Gore was born in Utah, the oldest of five children to Bill and Vieve Gore, who both founded the company in 1958. Bill Gore had previously joined DuPont’s workforce and ultimately came to Delaware. Bob Gore earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware and advanced degrees from the University of Minnesota. He succeeded his father as the company’s president and CEO in 1976. Gore and his family contributed funds for buildings and engineering laboratories at the University of Delaware.Gore is survived by his wife, Jane, as well as children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Memorial plans weren’t immediately announced by the company. 
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Міністерство фінансів України очікує, що у 2021 році Україна вийде на рівень зростання валового внутрішнього продукту у 4,6 відсотка, і такий ріст є реалістичним. Про це в інтерв’ю Радіо Свобода профільний міністр Сергій Марченко.

«Ми плануємо в наступному році 4,6% зростання ВВП. І по цих параметрах, я вважаю, у нас все досить так нормально, помірно. Цей бюджет є реалістичним. Він не надутий щодо доходів, не популістський за видатками. Цей бюджет збалансований. І ми намагатимемося… Наприклад, у 2022 році дефіцит вже буде 4,5%, а в 2023-у – 3,5%», – спрогнозував міністр.

Марченко додав, що спільно з бюджетним комітетом його відомство подало «індикативи» по кожному міністерству до 2023 року із зазначенням сум видатків, які вони можуть отримати.

«Тобто, ми провели практику середньострокового планування, яку, на жаль, ми не змогли вчасно зробити через коронакризу в червні», – вказав міністр.

Проєкт закону «Про Державний бюджет України на 2021 рік», поданий 14 вересня в Верховну Раду, передбачає ВВП – 4,5 трлн грн, зростання ВВП очікується на рівні 4,6%. Доходи плануються на рівні 1071 млрд грн (+92,3 млрд грн до плану 2020 року); Видатки – 1350 млрд грн; Споживча інфляція – 7,3%; Державний борг до ВВП – 64,6%.

 
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