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While Tennessee’s COVID-19 vaccination plan has been praised for being among the first in the U.S. to incorporate social inequities as a consideration for distribution, the data collected by the state on demographics and ethnicity of the recipients – data which could help indicate success of this planning factor – was incomplete. The data collected in the first month of vaccination shows that 44% of the administered doses didn’t specify the race of the patient and 31% didn’t mention the ethnicity, according to the state’s health department. Even though Tennessee said it was working on the problem, it’s not releasing county-level demographic data about who is getting the vaccine. SACRAMENTO – ‘‘I have to provide’: How these California moms are making it through the pandemic’ Kim Bojórquez for the Sacramento Bee Paying for college textbooks, finding someone to drive her 86-year-old mother to errands, making sure bills are paid on time: These are just a few of the challenges for single mother Silvia Alvarenga who provides for her family through her real estate brokerage, part of an industry hit hard by the pandemic. A recent UC Davis survey of 70 Latina mothers found that more than half said that the pandemic has caused them financial hardship. LANSING, Mich. – ‘Michigan to distribute $58.5 million in grants to businesses’ Anna Liz Nichols for the Associated Press Michigan businesses struggling due to the pandemic could soon receive financial relief thanks to a $58 million allocation, part of a recovery plan signed into law by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Some of the funding will go toward assisting small businesses, and the rest will support those laid off during the pandemic.

Aston Martin will offer Vane grille in place of Hunter grille to Vantage owners. Swap requires some work and will be done by the company's Body Shop only in the U.K. Tuner Revenant has offered its own restyling pack for the Vantage It's rare for automakers to make radical changes to a car's design based on reception, with the last particularly memorable quick fix being the mid-cycle reworking of But actually offering a restyling modification to existing, already purchased cars after they had been delivered to customers is not something we recall happening all that frequently since Tatra used to update its 603 sedans with newer headlight designs and positioning as part of general overhauls. But that was done because a lot of the parts on the car were also swapped at regular intervals. And that makes it all the more unusual that Aston Martin, not often knocked for polarizing exterior designs (unless we recall the Lagonda SUV concept from a decade ago), will now offer a more traditional Vane grille for the Vantage instead of the Hunter design. The automaker made the announcement a few days ago on Twitter. Of course, Aston Martin is not a complete stranger to retrofits, offering factory performance and equipment upgrades on multiple models, most notably the Virage in the 1990s. Being a small automaker that sells handmade cars makes this possible. The original Hunter grille on the Vantage is not a featureless opening but actually contains a mesh deep within that looks differently based on lighting conditions. In the shade the interior of the grille can appear almost completely obscured, but in different lighting conditions the mesh can be quite noticeable while also revealing the innards underhood. Needless to say, sensitivity to lighting conditions is one of the issues here, but the large and mostly dark A-shaped opening has also invited comparisons to current Lexus grilles. But the swap itself is not as plug-and-play as it would seem, requiring the nose piece of the car to be slightly altered. And the grille itself also needs to be painted to match the exterior color of the car, which can be tricky given the range of custom colors that Aston Martin offers. That's why these swaps will be done at the automaker's own Body Shop in the U.K., and not simply at a dealer service location. Also, these swaps will be done solely in the U.K. for now, which means that owners outside the U.K. will have to ship their car there to have the swap performed.

WASHINGTON - Kazakhstan has been leading the way in repatriating Kazakh foreign fighters and their families held in Kurdish-controlled prisons and camps in northeastern Syria, with experts debating whether such efforts could be a model for other countries that have citizens held in Syria. “Kazakhstan has invested substantial government resources and partnered with nongovernmental organizations across the country to provide initial intake support and longer-term follow-on support at 17 regional support centers,” said Gavin Helf, a senior expert on Central Asia at the United States Institute of Peace. He told VOA that Kazakh authorities have tried to reduce social stigmatization of returnees by issuing clean passports and documents that will allow them to integrate more easily. Following the military defeat of the Islamic State terror group in March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured thousands of foreign fighters and their families. The SDF says it currently holds about 2,000 foreign fighters and 13,000 foreign women and children who are family members of IS-linked fighters. It is unclear how many Kazakh nationals are still being held in Syrian prisons and detention camps, but some monitor groups say an estimated 1,000 Kazakhs traveled to Syria at the peak of that country’s civil war in 2012 to join IS. According to Kazakh officials, the Central Asian country so far has repatriated more than 700 Kazakh nationals from Syria, including 33 IS fighters, 187 women and 490 children. U.S. officials have commended Kazakhstan’s efforts to repatriate and rehabilitate its citizens from Syria. Chris Harnisch, deputy coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism at the U.S. State Department, said Kazakhstan was the first country to step up after the U.S. government called on countries to take back their nationals held in Syria. “When they [Kazakh government officials] initiated their first repatriation operation, they didn’t just dip their toe in the water, they said, ‘We’re going to bring back effectively as many Kazakhstanis as we could,’ ” Harnisch said last week during an online event held by the Atlantic Council. Kazakh officials say their effort to take back these individuals from Syria is based on humanitarian grounds. “Given the number of women and kids, this is a humanitarian operation,” said Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan’s deputy foreign minister. “They were without access to their basic needs of food, shelter, clean water, health and education,” he said during the Atlantic Council’s event, adding that the Kazakh women and children were exposed to different types of threats and violations, such as sexual abuse, exploitation and potential recruitment by terrorist groups. How successful is repatriation? Experts are split, though, about the effectiveness of Kazakhstan’s efforts after the repatriation of these former IS fighters and their families. Noah Tucker, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center who has interviewed many of the Kazakh returnees from Syria, says the humanitarian nature of the repatriation could be an important step toward preventing future violent extremism in Kazakhstan. “Many of these people have been featured in media reporting and documentaries and been allowed to tell their stories about what they saw in Syria and what happened there,” Tucker said, adding that Kazakhstan’s major benefit from these repatriation efforts is the ability to facilitate a smooth reintegration of the returnees back into society. Other experts, however, say Kazakhstan’s lenient approach in prosecuting some adult returnees and its lack of preventive measures on reoccurrence of radicalism among the returnees could be a challenge for the country in the long term. “Lack of prosecution and receiving heroes’ treatment after returning from being members of a terrorist organization doesn’t send the right message to the public,” Vera Mironova, a researcher at Harvard University, told VOA, adding that many of the returnees are being used as a propaganda tool by the Kazakh government to project the power of the ruling elite. U.S. officials said Washington has played an important role in providing Kazakh authorities with assistance for effective rehabilitation programs for the returning individuals. Analyst Helf said Kazakhstan has taken a very “ideological” approach to the problem, measuring success by external modifications of behavior, such removing the hijab, a veil worn by conservative Muslim women. “Although they do provide other material and mental welfare support, in Kazakhstan the primary emphasis is on de-radicalization,” he said. “They are weaker on the longer-term issues of trauma-informed care and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], educational accommodations for children with cognitive and emotional learning gaps, and long-term social work and tracking.” But Steve Weine, a professor of psychiatry at University of Illinois who is involved in Kazakhstan’s reintegration efforts, says a rehabilitation program has been designed in a way that offers mental health care, family support, education and job opportunities for those who have been repatriated from Syria. The program “is working on all these levels; it’s doing what needs to be done,” Weine said at the Atlantic Council event, adding that reintegration “is not simply an issue of de-radicalizing or separating people from ideology.” He noted that a successful reintegration process should involve all aspects of resettlement, including housing, employment and public safety. John Herbst, director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan and Ukraine, said that Kazakhstan’s repatriation program is “enlightened, very smart and it meets all of U.S. interests” regarding countering violent extremism in Central Asia. According to the Soufan Center, a New York-based research group, more than 5,000 individuals from Central Asian countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS. Calls for more repatriation Kurdish officials in Syria have called on countries to take back their detained citizens, warning that they do not have enough resources to keep IS prisoners and their families in captivity indefinitely, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Several Western countries, such as the United States, France, Germany, Britain and Finland, and countries from other parts of the world have repatriated some of their citizens. On Wednesday, France said it had brought home seven children of French foreign fighters held in Syria, bringing the number of repatriated children to 35.

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Sales results spanning 44 European countries show that the Renault Clio is currently leading the race ahead of Volkswagen’s bestseller. According to data published by the specialized site Focus2move.com, during the 11 months of 2020, in the markets of 44 European countries, from Portugal to Russia, a total of 314,357 Renault Clio models were sold, with an annual growth of 2.9%… In second place is the VW Golf with 283,614 units delivered and a drop in sales of 34.4%. The third position is held by another Volkswagen, the Polo model. During 11 months, 225,941 cars were sold (-27.5%). It is interesting that the model of the manufacturer from Wolfsburg – VW Tiguan – is also in the 4th position. In the period January-November 2020, 209,785 of these vehicles were sold in Europe (-25.6%). The fifth is the Ford Focus (182,492; -19.2%) and the sixth is the Peugeot 208 (178,970; -14.9%). Among the 10 best-sellers are Toyota Corolla, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Captur, and FIAT Tipo / Egea.

The samples were tested at the Bhopal-based ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), Pandey said. (PTI photo) While we try to stay optimistic amid the COVID-19 pandemic — with a vaccine now in sight — a new health scare has us worrying. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, has created quite a stir and people have been wondering how dangerous it is, and what they can possibly do to stay safe. But while there’s an influx of rumours, Dr Kirti Sabnis, Infectious Disease Specialist, Fortis Hospitals, Mumbai answers some frequently asked questions for indianexpress.com. Read on. What is avian flu? Avian influenza is the disease caused by infection with Avian (bird) Influenza (flu) Type A viruses. This is said to occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other birds and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), H5N8, H5N5 and H5N1, with H5N8 are the most commonly-reported flu viruses among birds. Does it affect humans? According to the CDC, Avian flu viruses do not normally infect human beings. Such an infection is rare, only sporadic cases have been reported since 2015, according to Mayo Clinic. If it does infect a person, infection is generally mild and can require ICU care in a few patients. It’s rare to have a human-to-human transmission of the same. Between 2003 and 2019, the WHO confirmed a total of 861 human cases of H5N1 worldwide, of which 455 deaths were recorded, although not from India * Cough * Fever * Sore throat * Muscle aches * Headache * Shortness of breath How can one contract the virus? People can contract the bird flu virus by close contact with birds or bird droppings. Some people have caught the virus from cleaning or plucking infected birds. It is also possible people contract the virus while swimming or bathing in water contaminated with the droppings of infected birds. Chicken and other poultry are safe to eat if cooked properly, according to a joint statement by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WHO. No birds from flocks with the disease, however, should enter the food chain, the authorities said. As per WHO, thorough cooking of poultry products at or above 70° Celsius is crucial. This ensures there is no active virus remaining if the live bird has been infected and has mistakenly entered the food chain. To date, there is no epidemiological evidence that people have become infected after eating contaminated poultry meat that has been properly cooked. All in all, in its paramount to maintain good hygiene practices and stay alert on the symptoms.

U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump shakes hands with Vice President Joe Biden as he arrives for his inauguration on 20 January 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Pat Benic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images) Twelve years ago, I was on an airplane with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as he traveled from his home in Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he would soon become the 44th president of the United States. On the plane, Obama told the small group of reporters who were traveling with him that he got “choked up a bit” leaving home as he headed to Washington just days before the inauguration. Although he was about to make history as the first Black president, and was taking office amid an economic crisis, two wars and bubbling tension in the Middle East, Obama was mostly emotional about memories with his family as he set off for his new life at the White House. That flight aboard a U.S. Air Force jet with all the trappings of the president’s plane, Air Force One, was one in a series of traditional events that take place during the long transfer of power period between presidents in the United States. Fast forward 12 years, and the transition period is anything but traditional. Despite objections from Trump, Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. The current U.S. president, Donald Trump, has not yet conceded the election to Joe Biden, who won 306 votes in the Electoral College versus 232 for Trump. Despite that, Trump is trying to alter the outcome just two weeks before he is due to be replaced. Typically, hordes of people fill the streets of Washington every fourth January for the inauguration ceremony, parties and a parade. This year, the city is bracing for crowds of Trump supporters who have pledged to protest the election results. Despite any protests, Biden is set to be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, as outlined under the 20th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Although the period between the election in early November and January 20 may seem long in the digital age, it used to be even longer. Before the 20th amendment was ratified in 1933, the president was not inaugurated until March 4. Traditionally, the weeks between the election and inauguration offer the incoming president and vice president time to decide who they will appoint to their cabinet and other top administration positions. They work with officials in the outgoing administration to get up to speed on important issues before they take office. Each government department prepares transition documents to explain key initiatives and processes to the next administration. COVID-19 means many events will be virtual. The long transition gives Washington time to get ready for the inauguration – building massive platforms in front of the Capitol, erecting viewing stands in front of the White House and setting up temporary fencing along the parade route and viewing areas for the ceremony and inaugural festivities. But this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, instead of adding bunting and final touches, viewing stands are being dismantled in the early days of January as Biden prepares for a mostly virtual inauguration. While he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office in front of the Capitol, it will be a pared-down affair. The usual parade from the Capitol to the White House will be mostly a virtual event, with the inauguration committee urging supporters to stay home to watch online instead of showing up in person. Like so many traditions that have been scrambled in the past year, the concerts, speeches and balls that punctuate the inauguration will be attended mostly online. Whether the new president will have a first dance with the new first lady remains to be seen.

Good things come to those who wait, as evidenced by the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT. Unlike Ford’s smaller Mustang Mach-E models, which should go on sale before the end of the year, the Blue Oval plans to start selling the premium Mach-E GT in the late summer of 2021 – next year, at the time of this writing. As the most powerful iteration of the Blue Oval electric SUV, the GT equipment has a total of 480 hp – 134 more than the next most powerful Mach-E model – of two electric motors, which Ford estimates the SUV launches to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. It also offers an estimated range of 250 miles via an 88 kWh battery – and a light right foot. In other words, the inherent performance of the Mach-E GT is probably worth the wait. It turns out that Ford has left some of the dynamic capabilities of the Mach-E GT on the cutting floor, given the brand’s announcement of an, even more, trickier GT Performance Edition. Although the Performance Edition retains power from standard GTs, the model’s two electric motors now produce a total of 634 lb-ft of torque – 34 lb-ft of revs more than the conventional GT.

If you decide you want to maintain your sobriety long-term, understand that treatment plans may vary over time. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock) Written by Julia Bainbridge (At Home) Seven years ago, Laura McKowen started a drinking journal. She knew alcohol was an issue for her — she knew it when her 4-year-old daughter helped her clean up the morning after a blackout, and she knew it the 10th time she drove to work hungover — but she needed to see it. “Something very interesting happens when we put things on paper,” McKowen said, “because we have a lot of cognitive dissonance around drinking.” She couldn’t deflect around what she saw on the page, though: two bottles of wine a night. She got sober and went on to help others do the same through coaching and teaching workshops. Last January, McKowen published “We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life,” and in March, she began hosting free sobriety support meetings on Zoom. By May, she had 12 employees and a company called the Luckiest Club, which offers classes and community support. It’s no surprise McKowen found an eager client base. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 14 million American adults have alcohol use disorder, or AUD, a term medical professionals prefer to alcoholism. You don’t need a diagnosis to find your drinking problematic, though. Alcohol can impair sleep, cause weight gain, aggravate anxiety or subtly change your personality. A study conducted by the RAND Corp. in September suggests Americans are drinking 14% more often in response to pandemic-related stress, especially women, whose heavy drinking days (defined as four or more drinks within a few hours) increased by 41% in 2020. “When we go to work every day during nonpandemic times and don’t have an inordinate amount of stress, it’s fairly easy” to limit drinking to Friday nights, said James Murphy, a psychology professor and researcher at the University of Memphis who published a paper in November about alcohol and drug use during the pandemic. “When all of that structure is ripped away — when you’re worried about finances and your kids’ home-schooling and you don’t have to be anywhere in the morning, so no one will see if you’re hung over — alcohol can be way more difficult to manage.” This is one reason you might be seeing more Dry January hashtags on social media this year. One month off from drinking can be an opportunity for the sober curious to examine their alcohol use. If any of this sounds familiar, here are some suggestions to help navigate your relationship with alcohol or bring it to an end. Get curious. Take note of how much you’re drinking, as well as the pros and cons of that consumption. Are you opening that bottle of riesling because it pairs well with your Chinese takeout, or are you hoping the third glass will drown out those voices in your head that are telling you you’re mediocre? Study your own habits — and be honest about them. To give you some perspective, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued by the federal government, recommend no more than one drink per day for women or two for men, and Murphy suggests the free alcohol screener at the website CheckUp & Choices. Take the questionnaire, which is used by health care providers, and assess your drinking with its score. Similarly, Drinks Meter is an app with a daily calculator that could helps you put your own behavior into perspective using an anonymous database of over 6,000 people’s drinking habits worldwide. “You don’t have to have things figured out, aside from wanting to make a change,” said Holly Whitaker, author of “Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol” and creator of an online recovery program called Tempest. “You’re doing it right now, by being brave enough to read this article.” Clear out the alcohol. If you’ve decided alcohol is having a negative impact on your life, try distancing yourself from it. Remove bottles from your physical spaces and booze-related content from your virtual ones. Cleanse your phone and computer of anything that might tempt you to drink. It’s not about having a siloed existence or avoiding anything that creates an urge to drink, McKowen said, it’s about dismantling the myth that drinking is what makes life fun. “You want your online world to reflect the energy of where you’re going,” she said. Then try not to drink for a month. Pick a date and stick with it. Experts say this is the best way to evaluate your alcohol use, and it’s a jump-start on reducing your consumption, if that’s what you decide to do. “Detoxification literally means removing the toxin,” said George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This can be done on your own unless you have moderate to severe AUD, in which case you should seek medical help. Untreated severe alcohol withdrawal can be fatal. But fill the space with something else. Alcohol does have positive effects: It squashes tension and lowers inhibitions. Remove it and you will miss it, at least initially. Identify other activities you love and increase them, like exercise or spending time with friends. “We need another outlet to fill the void that alcohol leaves,” Murphy said. Find your people. You are more likely to successfully abstain from alcohol if you have support. “Tell as many of your friends and family members who feel safe as you can about this,” Murphy said. It also helps to connect with others who share your goal. In-person support meetings have become difficult to gain access to in the pandemic, but help has proliferated online. Free sobriety support communities with virtual meetings include Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, She Recovers Foundation, In the Rooms, Eight Step Recovery, Refuge Recovery, Recovery Dharma, and LifeRing, among others. Good lighting and charisma are not required or expected; join from your phone while walking in a park or sitting in your car. “I go to two meetings a day now,” said Braunwyn Windham-Burke, a reality TV star whose sobriety journey is playing out on Season 15 of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” “It’s so easy, because it’s in my bedroom.” One Tempest member, Valentine Darling, 32, of Olympia, Washington, finds virtual meetings to be more LGBTQ-friendly as well: “I feel safe sitting next to my house plants, so I’m more fully present and I’m also more authentically me — I wear dresses and express my gender queerness without worrying that anyone will follow me home.” Many organizations have meetings specifically for people of color, certain age groups or even professions. Ben’s Friends is a sobriety support group geared toward restaurant workers. “We speak a common language in restaurants,” said Steve Palmer, one of the group’s founders. “You find out that, ‘OK, he’s a line cook. She’s a bartender. These are my people.’” Understand what recovery means for you. If your month of sobriety was relatively easy to accomplish, then simply consider it a reset. But if you’re having trouble sticking to your plan, you might need more than group meetings. You may have AUD, which is a disease, not a moral failing, and it requires treatment like any illness. The most effective form of recovery usually involves long-term behavioral therapies and community support as well as medication, if needed. The NIAAA navigator can help you find the right treatment for you. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services also has an online treatment locator. Be flexible. If you decide you want to maintain your sobriety long-term, understand that treatment plans may vary over time. “The same practices that helped you quit drinking might not keep you sober later on,” Whitaker said. Maybe you’ve unlocked a trauma along the way, maybe you’re going through a divorce, or maybe you’re living in the midst of a pandemic. You haven’t done anything wrong; you just need a fresh set of tools. Murphy recommends continuing to keep a log of alcohol use. Apps like DrinkControl and Drinks Meter can help, but even using a pen and paper to make note of any benefits you see can keep your momentum going. When you backslide, make note of that — and how you feel about it. It probably took a long time to develop your current relationship with alcohol. Changing it will require sustained effort and might take several attempts. If the first one doesn’t last, Koob said, don’t judge yourself harshly. Just try again.

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2018, file photo, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arr... SEOUL, South Korea -- What has happened to Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s influential sister? That is a question many who watch the cloistered, nuclear-armed country are wondering after she failed to appear in absolute leader Kim Jong Un’s newly released lineup for the country’s powerful Politburo in recent days. Some say Kim Jong Un may have demoted his sister over general policy failures. Others, however, believe he could be worried about her rapid rise and increasingly high profile as he tries to bolster his domestic authority in the face of growing economic challenges. Rumors that Kim Yo Jong is her brother’s heir apparent could be dangerous because they "raise the issue of Kim’s hold on power and health inside North Korea," said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification. This, he said, is why Kim Jong Un is slowing down her rise in power. The development is a surprise because Kim Yo Jong, who became an alternate member of the Politburo last year, was widely expected to receive a full bureau membership during a ruling Workers’ Party congress that ended Tuesday. A Politburo membership is viewed as crucial for high-level officials hoping to thrive in Kim Jong Un's government because he's made key decisions at bureau meetings, including the 2013 move to execute his powerful uncle Jang Song Taek, and the 2012 purge of military chief Ri Yong Ho. When the eight-day congress, the first of its kind since 2016, opened last week, Kim Yo Jong, who is thought to be about 32, sat on the leadership podium, standing out amid the often elderly, overwhelmingly male party cadres. But when the congress on Monday announced a list of 30 alternate and full members of the Politburo, including the 37-year-old Kim Jong Un, her name wasn’t there. Kim Yo Jong hasn't been purged or forced to quit politics, a fate that some officials have met under Kim Jong Un, and she still retains her membership in the party’s Central Committee, also a high-level body. But when she released a statement criticizing South Korea on Wednesday, state media identified her as a “vice department director” of the party, a lower rank than her previous title of “first vice department director.” Kim Jong Un is urging his 25 million people to rally behind his leadership to overcome what he has called his nation's “worst-ever” difficulties. North Korea has faced coronavirus-related economic shocks, a spate of natural disasters last summer and persistent U.S.-led sanctions over its pursuit of illicit nuclear weapons. During the congress, Kim vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal and build a stronger, self-reliant economy. “The congress’ purpose is to solidify Kim Jong Un’s leadership. If Kim Yo Jong had become a full Politburo member, all eyes would have been on her ... and Kim Jong Un likely felt that as a burden,” Ko Young-hwan, a former deputy head of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea’s spy agency, said during a TV news program Monday. Previously little known to outsiders, Kim Yo Jong has soared politically since her brother inherited power after their father, Kim Jong Il, died in late 2011. The current Kims are the third generation of their family to rule North Korea, and their leadership is based on a personality cult established after their grandfather Kim Il Sung founded the country in 1948. Their mythical “paektu” bloodline, named after the North’s most sacred mountain, allows only direct family members to rule the country. Kim Yo Jong rose to international prominence after her brother's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 and 2019. In those meetings, her proximity to Kim Jong Un sparked speculation that she was serving as her brother’s chief of staff. In South Korea, she built an image as “a peace messenger” after she attended the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first member of the North’s ruling family to visit the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Last year, however, she abruptly changed course by launching harsh diatribes against South Korea and putting pressure on the United States to make concessions amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy. North Korea’s state media said she was in charge of relations with South Korea, and outside experts speculated that she might be handing U.S. affairs as well. In her statement on Wednesday, she slammed South Korea for provoking the North by announcing that it had detected intelligence that North Korea held a military parade or a rehearsal for such a parade this week. When unconfirmed global rumors about Kim Jong Un’s health rose last year, some observers said Kim Yo Jong was next in line to rule North Korea if her brother became incapacitated. South Korea’s spy agency said later that she was virtually the North’s No. 2 official but hadn’t been anointed as her brother’s heir. “Kim Jong Un likely held his sister responsible for worsened (external) ties, as she had no achievements in relations with the U.S. and South Korea,” said Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst with South Korea’s Korea Institute for Military Affairs. Whatever the reason for her apparent loss of the Politburo job, many experts say her political clout likely remains unchanged thanks to her direct link to the paektu bloodline. There's also a feeling that Kim Jong Un could eventually give her another high-profile job. Oh, the analyst, said Kim Yo Jong is likely the second-most powerful woman in North Korean history after Kim Song Ae, the late second wife of Kim Il Sung. “Kim Yo Jong can meet and talk to Kim Jong Un freely anytime ... so we can’t help saying that she has a tremendous influence,” Oh said. “As she gets older, her roles will be bigger." But, he added, her rise could end if she covets more power. “She has to be careful about that,” he said.