The majority of Americans, including a growing share of moderate Republicans, are dissatisfied with U.S. government efforts to curb global warming, researchers said on Monday.

In a survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based non-partisan think-tank, two-thirds of Americans said U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was “doing too little” to reduce the effects of climate change. Since taking office, Trump has rolled backed Obama-era rules limiting planet-warming emissions from sectors of the economy such as electricity, transport, and oil and gas.

The Trump administration filed paperwork this month to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, while his opponents have championed a “Green New Deal” that seeks to slash U.S. emissions within a decade.

In the Pew survey, the proportion of people who said the government was taking too little action to tackle climate change was unchanged from a year ago – but unease among moderate Republicans grew significantly, noted the report.

“Previous analysis showed that concern about climate change has gone up over the past several years (since 2013) among Democrats but not Republicans,” said Cary Funk, director of science and society research at Pew.

But the new survey, which polled more than 3,600 people last month, found that 65% of moderate or liberal Republicans said the federal government was not doing enough to reduce the effects of global warming, up from 53% in 2018.

A divide was also seen by age, with 52% of 18 to 38-year-old Republicans displeased with government climate action, compared with 41% of those from 38-54, and 31% of those aged 55 or above. Among Republicans, 46% of women thought the government was doing too little, compared with 34% of men.

Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, said the recent wave of extreme wildfires, hurricanes and flooding hitting the United States had likely played a part in shifting Republican opinion.

“People are beginning to hear and see that the impacts of climate change are here – now,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Most climate scientists believe a human-produced increase in greenhouse gases is heating the planet but the survey found no change in the longstanding U.S. political divide on that issue.

Just under half of respondents agreed human activity contributes a great deal to climate change, and another 30% said human actions have some role.

“Many people, not just Republicans, underestimate the scientific agreement about this stuff,” noted Leiserowitz.

For decades, the fossil fuel industry has pushed a message that climate change is part of natural cycles, he said. Nonetheless, the survey showed most Americans favor adopting renewable energy sources, with 92% of adults supporting the expansion of solar power and 85% backing wind power.

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A strong earthquake struck the area of Albania’s capital early Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring hundreds.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was a magnitude 6.4 with an epicenter 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Tirana.

Rescue crews worked to find and free people from damaged and destroyed buildings.

A Defense Ministry spokeswoman said the bodies of three people were found in the rubble of an apartment building in the city of Durres.

Crews found the bodies of two other people in the remains of a collapsed building in the village of Thumane, while another person died after jumping out of a building in Kurbin.

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The holiday season officially began at the White House Monday, as first lady Melania Trump received the 2019 White House Christmas tree.
 
Unlike last year, President Donald Trump did not attend the tree presentation.
 
The tree arrived by jingle bell-adorned horse and carriage, continuing an annual White House tradition to highlight the holiday spirit.
 
“Just a few decades earlier they were still delivering the tree in pick-up trucks,” said historian Matthew Costello from the White House Historical Association. “So it’s nice that they’ve made it more festive, to do it with a Christmas-themed sled and a drawn carriage,” Costello added.
 
This year’s tree, is a 5.6 meters tall Douglas fir grown by Larry Snyder of Mahantongo Valley Farms in Pennsylvania, winner of the National Christmas Tree Association’s Christmas tree contest.

As the winner, Snyder has the honor of presenting a Christmas tree to the White House. He called it, “a memorable experience of a lifetime for our family, especially for our children and grandchildren, who are accompanying us for the presentation.”
 
The first lady chatted with Snyder and took pictures with the Snyder family.
 
Holiday tree tradition
 
The National Christmas Tree Association has presented the official White House Christmas Tree every year since 1966. Each year’s tree has to fit the exact specifications of the White House Blue Room, where it is displayed as part of the holiday décor with a theme selected by the first lady.
 
Jacqueline Kennedy started the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree in 1961.

Historian Costello said that the choice of themes tells us a little bit about the president and first lady who are living there.  He said it shows “what they see as important to have this representation on the traditional Christmas tree.”
 
Melania Trump is scheduled to unveil the theme of her 2019 White House Christmas décor in early December.
 
Next up in the White House holiday events schedule is the Thanksgiving turkey pardon by President Trump later this week.

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Activists on Monday criticized as insufficient new French government efforts to fight one of Europe’s highest rates of so-called femicides, or the killing of women by their partners.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Monday announced millions of dollars in measures to protect women from spousal killings. They include beefing up shelters and the national hotline for victims, electronic bracelets and firearms seizures targeting abusers, educational programs and stiffer penalties for those convicted. The announcement coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Philippe said he hoped the measures will create an “electric shock” that he says French society needs to fight so-called femicides. Activists say nearly 140 women have been killed by their partners or ex-partners in France so far this year — one of Europe’s highest rates.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Paris Saturday, in the latest protest against femicides. The new measures come after weeks of discussions between authorities and women’s rights groups on the problem.

But, some activists say both the measures and the funds to realize them are not enough. Camille Bernard is a member of #NousToutes, a women’s rights group which organized the demonstrations.

“We are really disappointed about this, because we must have more money to make things [i.e. measures to crack down] for the violence, and the prime minister says it will not be more [new] money. We don’t know how they think they will do more things against violence without more money,” he said.

Domestic violence has also become a hot-button issue elsewhere in Europe. A day after the Paris demonstrations, thousands protested violence targeting women in Brussels. Similar demonstrations also took place recently in Spain, despite a raft of government measures more than a decade ago to address the problem.

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Got secrets? They’ll be safe in here. VOA Explains what a SCIF is.

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Kosovo prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against three women repatriated from Syria for allegedly joining terror groups there.
                   
Prosecutors said Monday that the three women had left Kosovo in 2013, 2014 and 2015 to join the Islamic State group in Syria and Al-Nusra in Iraq. Spouses of two of them had died, apparently in fighting there.
                   
The three women were among 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria in April.
                   
If convicted, they could face a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
                   
Kosovo authorities say 30 of the country’s citizens are still actively supporting terror groups in Syria.

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The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Maryland man’s bid for a new trial based on information uncovered by the hit podcast “Serial.”

The justices did not comment in leaving in place a 4-3 ruling by Maryland’s highest court that denied a new trial to Adnan Syed, who was convicted of strangling a high school classmate he had once dated.

Syed is serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2000 of killing 17-year-old Hae Min Lee and burying her body in a Baltimore park. Prosecutors said during his trial that Syed killed her after she broke off their relationship.

Syed’s lawyers had argued that his trial lawyer’s failure to investigate an alibi witness violated his right to competent legal representation.

“We are deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court but by no means is this the end of Adnan Syed,” defense attorney C. Justin Brown told The Associated Press. “There are other legal options and we are exploring each and every one of them.”

Millions of people learned about Syed when the hit podcast “Serial” dedicated its entire first season to the case in 2014. The show shattered podcast-streaming and downloading records, shining a spotlight that led to renewed court proceedings.

Two Maryland courts found that Syed deserved a new trial. His lawyer during his first trial, Cristina Gutierrez, failed to contact a woman who said she saw Syed at a library at the time prosecutors say he strangled his ex-girlfriend in 1999. Gutierrez has since died.

But in 2018, the Maryland Court of Appeals denied Syed a new trial, even though it agreed his trial lawyer’s work was lacking. The state high court said there was little chance the outcome would have been different had Gutierrez done what she should have.

Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and friend of Syed’s family who first brought his case to the attention of “This American Life,” which developed the podcast, said Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision “was fully expected.” She said his defense team has been preparing to file either a habeas petition in federal court or go back to the state court.

“We were just waiting. It was just a technicality. Now it’s done, so we can move forward,” she said of the high court’s move. “He is doing fine. He is hanging in there. He knows that none of us are basically giving up. He was a great legal team. He was a lot of public support and walking away is not an option.”
 

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Read more at https://projects.voanews.com/descent-into-is/

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Hong Kong pro-democracy forces appear headed for a landslide victory in local elections that saw record turnout, delivering a stunning rebuke to Beijing.

Early voting results Monday showed pro-democracy candidates winning nearly every seat they contested in Hong Kong’s 18 district councils. Pro-democracy candidates led the pro-establishment camp, 278 seats to 42.

If the trend continues, it would be a major symbolic blow to pro-China forces that dominate virtually all levels of Hong Kong’s politics.

It is the latest evidence of continued public support for a five-month-old pro-democracy movement that has become increasingly aggressive.

“Hong Kongers have spoken out, loud and clear. The international community must acknowledge that, almost six months in, public opinion has NOT turned against the movement,” student activist Joshua Wong said on Twitter.

The vote will not significantly change the balance of power in Hong Kong’s quasi-democratic political system. District council members have no power to pass legislation; they deal mainly with hyperlocal issues, such as noise complaints and bus stop locations.

However, the district council vote is seen as one of the most reliable indicators of public opinion, since it is the only fully democratic election in Hong Kong.

On Edge From Violence, Hong Kong Holds Local Elections video player.

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Massive turnout

Nearly 3 million people voted in the election — a record high for Hong Kong, and more than double the turnout of the previous district council election, in 2015.

Voters formed long lines that snaked around city blocks outside polling stations across the territory, many waiting over an hour to vote.

“This amount of people I’ve never seen. There are so many people,” said Felix, who works in the real estate industry and voted in the central business district.

By nighttime, most of the long lines at voting stations had tapered off, but nearby sidewalks remained filled with candidates and their supporters who held signs and chanted slogans in an attempt to persuade passersby to cast last-minute votes.
 
“I’m tired, but I think it’s more important to fight,” said Elvis Yam, who waited in line for an hour to vote in the morning and then volunteered to hold a campaign sign for a pro-democracy candidate in the University District.

 
Mr. Ma, a voter in the South Horizons West constituency, said he sees the election as a continuation of the protest movement. “Many would like to have a change. So this election is very important,” he said.
 
Police promised a heavy security presence at voting locations. But outside many polling stations, there was no visible police presence. At others, teams of riot police waited in nearby vans. There were no reports of major clashes.

Hong Kong has seen five months of pro-democracy protests. The protests have escalated in recent weeks, with smaller groups of hard-core protesters engaging in fierce clashes with police.

The win “very clearly” shows the public is in support of the movement, says Ma Ngok, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“This will, I think, give (Hong Kong) much better support internationally, and also create much more pressure for the Hong Kong government to respond to the demands of the protest,” Ma said.

Wider impact?

Even though district councils have little power, the vote could affect how the territory’s more influential Legislative Council and chief executive are selected in the future.

District councilors are able to select a small number of people to the 1,200-member election committee that chooses Hong Kong’s chief executive. They also have the ability to select or run for seats in the Legislative Council.

“That’s a big deal,” said Emily Lau, a former Legislative Council member and prominent member of the pro-democracy camp. “Because of this constitutional linkage, it makes the significance of the district council much bigger than its powers show you.”
 
Hong Kong saw a major surge in voter registration, particularly among young people. Nearly 386,000 people have registered to vote in the past year — the most since at least 2003.

Many Hong Kongers are concerned about what they see as an erosion of the “one country, two systems” policy that Beijing has used to govern Hong Kong since it was returned by Britain in 1997.

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Minorities make up the majority of the latest group of U.S. college students to be named Rhodes Scholars, and the class includes the first transgender woman selected for the prestigious program.

The Rhodes Trust announced the 32 selections late Saturday after two days of discussions over 236 applicants from 90 different colleges and universities across the country.

Along with University of Tennessee graduate Hera Jay Brown, who is the first transgender woman in the program, this year’s class also includes two non-binary scholars.

“As our rights and experiences as women are under threat, this moment has given me pause to reflect on what an honor it is to pave this path,” Brown posted on Twitter after the announcement.

There are students from universities well known for their academics, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Duke University. The list also includes the first Rhodes Scholar from the University of Connecticut.

The 32 people chosen will start at least two years of all-expenses paid study next fall at Oxford University in England along with students from over 60 countries.

The studies undertaken by the scholars include research into the escape from danger reflex in zebrafish to better understand how the human brain deals with stress and how to make computer vision more humanlike.

The research also includes studies into human behavior, including the prevalence of sex work among refugees, the impact of nuclear testing on the American Southwest, how to use online cryptocurrency to improve conditions in the world’s largest Syrian refugee camp and defending the rights of migrants to the United States.

Winners of the scholarships include Daine A. Van de Wall, who is a brigade commander at the United States Military Academy, which is the highest-ranking cadet position at West Point.

Other scholars selected this year include students who were homeschooled before their university studies and some who are the first people in their families to go to college.

Arielle Hudson is a second-generation student at the University of Mississippi who remembered visiting campus with her mother, who holds two degrees from the school. She always thought she would go to college out of state until she received a full scholarship through a Mississippi teaching program.

“When I received the scholarship, I started to think about how I would make a difference here,” Hudson told the university in a statement.

Now her work will come full circle. Hudson plans to seek master’s degrees in comparative social policy and comparative international education, then come back to Mississippi’s poor Delta region to teach for five years to fulfill her scholarship requirement.

Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 in the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman and Oxford alum who was a prime minister of the Cape Colony in present-day South Africa.

The recipients are chosen not just for academic skill, but for their leadership and a willingness to do good for the world.

Previous Rhodes Scholars include U.S. President Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and author Naomi Wolf. Among 2020 Democrats running for president, Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg both studied at Oxford under the scholarship program.

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The U.S. first family is gearing up for the holidays. First lady Melania Trump will receive the official White House Christmas tree Monday.

The more than 5-meter-tall Douglas Fir was cut at Mahantongo Valley Farms in Pitman, Pennsylvania. Owner Larry Snyder won the honor of providing the White House with its official tree after winning an annual contest held by the National Christmas Tree Association.

“I feel extremely lucky to be the person who is providing the tree to the White House,” said Snyder, who has been growing Christmas trees for more than 30 years. “It’s the home of the president. I feel very honored to have this opportunity to present this tree for display.”

The 16-year-old tree will arrive at the White House in a horse-drawn carriage. It will be the focal point of the White House decorations and will be displayed in the Blue Room.  

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Officials say 42 people were charged with disorderly conduct after a protest interrupted a Saturday football game between archrivals Harvard and Yale.

Students from both schools occupied the midfield of the Yale Bowl during Saturday’s halftime protest. Some held banners urging their colleges to act on climate change. Other signs referred to Puerto Rican debt relief and China’s treatment of Uighurs.

Most protesters walked off after about an hour; those who remained were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

They were issued a court summons and released, according to a statement from Yale University.

Organizers of the protest had initially estimated that 20 to 30 protesters were arrested.

Rachel Sadoff, a junior at Harvard, said about 150 students from the two universities had planned to participate and about 100 more who were sitting in the stands joined in. She said organizers considered the protest a success.

“Our goal was to spread the word,” Sadoff said. “If more people speak up, our colleges will have to listen.”

Yale officials said in a statement handed to reporters in the press box during the fourth quarter that the school “stands firmly for the right to free expression.”

“It is regrettable,” a statement attributed to the Ivy League said, “that the orchestrated protest came during a time when fellow students were participating in a collegiate career-defining contest and an annual tradition when thousands gather from around the world to enjoy and celebrate the storied traditions of both football programs and universities.”

After the game resumed, Yale went on to beat Harvard 50-43, clinching the Ivy League championship.

Saturday’s matchup was the 136th edition of the football rivalry between the two schools.

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