AP: Tight supplies for virus gear cost US states billions

Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. He topped $4 million in annual sales from his New Hampshire store that specialized in protective gear for police.

Then he got a call from a buyer with the state of Massachusetts asking if he had anything that could protect people from COVID-19. As it happened, he did. He went on to sell the state 300,000 disposable masks for 97 cents each.

“From that point on, it’s been just insanity,” Bellia said.

Masks. Gowns. Gloves. Goggles. Sanitizer. Coveralls. Thermometers. Bellia has sold it all, and not just to Massachusetts. From Maine to Hawaii, numerous other states, counties, cities, colleges and schools have lined up to buy from him.

While countless other businesses tanked amid coronavirus shutdowns, Bellia's store — Body Armor Outlet — rapidly evolved into one of the nation's 20 largest suppliers of personal protective equipment to states this past spring, according to a nationwide analysis of state purchasing data by The Associated Press.

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Trump downplays Russia in first comments on hacking campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — Contradicting his secretary of state and other top officials, President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested without evidence that China — not Russia — may be behind the cyber espionage operation against the United States and tried to minimize its impact.

In his first comments on the breach, Trump scoffed at the focus on the Kremlin and downplayed the intrusions, which the nation’s cybersecurity agency has warned posed a “grave” risk to government and private networks.

“The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control,” Trump tweeted. He also claimed the media are “petrified” of “discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!)."

There is no evidence to suggest that is the case. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late Friday that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the operation against the United States.

“This was a very significant effort and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity,” Pompeo said in the interview with radio talk show host Mark Levin.

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Fight over Fed powers stalls $900 billion aid plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — An arcane battle over emergency Federal Reserve powers foiled efforts on Saturday to lock down an agreement on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package. The deadlock was just the latest stumble in a partisan, months-long fight over pandemic relief and the lack of progress is backing lawmakers once again up against a government shutdown deadline Sunday night.

Lawmakers on both sides said a provision by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would curb emergency Federal Reserve powers was the sticking point. Republicans are insisting on the Toomey plan, while Democrats are adamantly against it. After some posturing earlier Saturday, efforts intensified at forging a compromise, and Toomey met twice with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to try to iron it out.

“I think that we should be able to get a deal done," Toomey said after the first meeting

“I think they agreed to go back and write down what they were saying, so everybody can read it and exchange paper," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The latest pratfall likely upends hopes for a House vote Sunday and quick Senate action on an agreement that's virtually ready save for Toomey's provision.

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One family's virus nightmare reflects deepening US crisis

First, Theresa Pirozzi’s 85-year-old dad got sick and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Days later, her mom was so weak she could barely walk. Now, instead of getting ready for Christmas, Pirozzi is anxiously awaiting updates from the hospital where both of her parents are in intensive care with the coronavirus.

“I’m not putting up decorations in here. It’s just not right, right now,” Pirozzi said from her parents’ home in Oak Park, California. “I’m physically ill from worry."

The couple are emblematic of the crisis deepening at an alarming rate in California, where hospitals are being stretched to their limits as the virus explodes across the state. Nearly 17,000 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections as of Friday and a state model that uses current data to forecast future trends shows the number could reach an unfathomable 75,000 by mid-January.

With California's more than 48,000 new cases leading the way, the United States as a whole added a record 249,709 new cases of COVID-19 in one day, Johns Hopkins University reported Saturday. The death toll now stands at more than 315,000.

Texas, Florida, New York and Tennessee all recorded more than 10,400 new cases each. Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average for new cases in the U.S. jumped to 219,324 daily from 183,787, an increase of almost 20%.

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General sorry for 'miscommunication' over vaccine shipments

The Army general in charge of getting COVID-19 vaccines across the United States apologized on Saturday for “miscommunication” with states over the number of doses to be delivered in the early stages of distribution.

"I failed. I'm adjusting. I am fixing and we will move forward from there," Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Perna's remarks came a day after a second vaccine was added in the fight against COVID-19, which has killed more than 312,000 people in the U.S. Governors in more than a dozen states have said the federal government has told them that next week’s shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be less than originally projected.

Perna acknowledged the criticism and accepted blame.

“I want to take personal responsibility for the miscommunication,” he said. “I know that’s not done much these days. But I am responsible. ... This is a Herculean effort and we are not perfect."

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'Do as I say': Anger as some politicians ignore virus rules

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Denver's mayor flies to Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with his family — after urging others to stay home. He later says he was thinking with “my heart and not my head." A Pennsylvania mayor bans indoor dining, then eats at a restaurant in Maryland. The governor of Rhode Island is photographed at an indoor wine event as her state faces the nation's second-highest virus rate.

While people weigh whether it's safe to go to work or the grocery store, the mayor of Austin, Texas, heads to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on a private jet after hosting a wedding for 20. California's governor dines at a swanky French restaurant with lobbyists, none wearing masks, a day after San Francisco's mayor was there for a birthday party. Both had recently imposed tough rules on restaurants, shops and activities to slow the spread of the virus.

To the public’s chagrin, some of America’s political leaders have been caught preaching one thing on the coronavirus and practicing another.

Sure, politicians have long been called out for hypocrisy. But during a pandemic that’s forced millions into seclusion and left many without paychecks, such actions can feel like a personal insult — reinforcing the idea “that some people just don’t have to follow the rules while the rest of us do,” says Rita Kirk, a professor of communications at Southern Methodist University.

And that, in turn, hints at even deeper questions.

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The Latest: Texas virus death toll rises above 25,000

HOUSTON — Texas on Saturday surpassed 25,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the second-highest total in the country.

State health officials reported 272 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing Texas’ death toll to 25,226.

Cases of COVID-19 and virus-related hospitalizations continue to rise in the state. On Saturday, the state reported 9,796 people hospitalized with the virus, an increase of nearly 23% over the last month.

Officials reported 12,914 new cases on Saturday. That comes two days after the state set its one-day record of new cases — 16,864 — on Thursday.

The increase in cases and hospitalizations comes as state health officials announced Friday that Texas will receive 620,000 more doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the next week. More than 224,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have already been delivered in Texas.

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Pentagon plan on cyber split draws strong Hill criticism

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is proposing to end an arrangement in which a single military officer leads two of the nation's main cybersecurity organizations, a move that a leading Democrat said Saturday makes him “profoundly concerned” amid a large-scale hacking campaign on U.S. government computer systems.

Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a letter to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller that he objects to the way the Pentagon is going about splitting off U.S. Cyber Command from the National Security Agency.

Both organizations currently are headed by Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, an arrangement know as “dual-hatting.”

“Any action to sever the dual-hat relationship could have grave impacts on our national security, especially during a time that the country is wrestling with what may be the most damaging cyberattack in our country’s history,” Smith wrote.

Smith was referring to revelations that elite hackers gained access to U.S. government computer systems and likely purloined a trove of delicate secrets over a monthslong period before being detected. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the hack, which is ongoing. On Saturday, President Donald Trump suggested without evidence that China — not Russia — may be behind the hack and tried to minimize its impact.

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Biden introduces his climate team, says 'no time to waste'

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Just as the United States has needed a unified, national response to COVID-19, it needs one for dealing with climate change, President-elect Joe Biden said Saturday as he rolled out key members of his environmental team.

“We literally have no time to waste," Biden told reporters as introduced his choices.

The approach is a shift from Donald Trump’s presidency, which has been marked by efforts to boost oil and gas production while rolling back government efforts intended to safeguard the environment. The incoming Biden team will try to undo or block many of the current administration’s initiatives. There also will be an emphasis on looking out for the low-income, working class and minority communities hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution and climate change.

In his remarks, Biden stressed the diversity of an emerging team that he described as “brilliant, qualified, tested and they are barrier-busting."

“Already there are more people of color in our Cabinet than any Cabinet ever, more women than ever," said the former vice president, who has promised to assemble a group of department leaders who reflect the diversity of America.

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CFP semifinal moved from Rose Bowl to AT&T Stadium in Texas

The College Football Playoff semifinal scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 1 is moving to the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas.

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said Saturday night that the CFP management committee and Tournament of Roses mutually agreed to relocate the game because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California.

California state health restrictions have banned the Rose Bowl from having fans in attendance for the game. Coaches and school officials from playoff contenders have complained about players' parents not being permitted to attend the game.

The Rose Bowl asked the state for an exception to the restriction but was denied twice.

Hancock said it had not yet been determined if the game played in Texas will still be called the Rose Bowl.