1570: Unbanked

Back in episode 1562 I listened in horror as JCD went haywire with the rain stick in order to stop the Nova Scotia wild fires, which lets be honest, Fidel Jr. Probably set himself to push climate BS... Well it worked.... It's been raining for a frigging month! Summer in this part of the world is so sweet because our winters are harsh and they come early and stay late. All we get is June, July, August and so far the first third of our best season has been a complete washout for the Maritime provinces!

If you weren't doing the Lord's work I'd curse you both!

“A different diagnostic term such as ‘adiposity-based chronic disease’ could more clearly convey the nature of this disease, and avoid the confusion and stigma that may occur if we keep using the term ‘obesity’, which has become synonymous with body size,” Dr Steele said.

Food Attached Trauma

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The World Health Organization and its partner organization, the Bill Gates-controlled GAVI, announced Wednesday that they will be flooding Africa with 18 million doses of malaria vaccines.

During a Wednesday press conference, WHO director Tedros Adhanom declared that 12 African countries will be receiving 18 million doses of malaria vaccine in the coming months, declaring that climate change is largely responsible for the continuing disease burden in the continent.

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In the morning John and Adam

Some information about the malaria “outbreak” in Texas and Florida.

I lived in Africa (Cameroon and Chad) for 8 years, working for Exxon Mobil through a Dutch subcontractor.

In early 2000 I attracted malaria.

There are 2 major types of malaria that were most common in my region of Africa: cerebral malaria (brain malaria)

and “common” malaria (non cerebral).

Cerebral malaria has a higher mortality rate but once cured, there is no recurrence. The common malaria (which I had) had a lower mortality rate but tends to come back when your immune system is weakened. This is due to the fact that malaria is caused by parasites that settle in the liver and go dormant even when you are cured.

This means we, as Africa workers, always had a doctors paper with us saying “this patient should be treated for malaria until tests prove otherwise”. We presented this paper religiously to our doctors when visiting a clinic when on leave in our home country. Even if the visit was for a broken toe. No joke!

Also, the incubation time for malaria varies from 1 week to 6 months (!)

The remedy was basically a higher dose of the profylaxis we were taking already.

1)

About the tests:

doctors in Africa told us that the tests were very inaccurate because it was common to test negative when the malaria was at its peak. The test was called the “black dot” test which was also used for malaria related illnesses like chikungunya and dengue fever.

A positive test could mean any of these diseases.

So there is room for manipulating the results.

Sounds familiar?

2)

Incubation time:

Person can get an outbreak of malaria months after being bitten by a malaria infected mosquito or suffering a recurrence. Therefore one case in Texas doesn’t mean the person was infected IN Texas (remember, Exxon Mobil has their head quarters in Houston and has a lot of employees traveling back and forth between US and Africa)

Room for scare mongering?

3)

Profylaxis:

Anti malaria tablets contains mostly quinine. (Gin and tonic as well😉)

It works as follows, it puts a thin layer of protection in your system which prevents you from getting symptoms (not the disease!)

I never took prophylaxis and got symptoms early on. I was treated immediately and recovered much faster than others who did take the profylaxis. Yes! You can still get sick with malaria when taking profylaxis, many of my colleagues did.

Once sick you get treated with a quinine based drug in high dose (there is a cure, no need for vaccine).

4)

Treatment:

Nine months After my malaria outbreak I was tested for malaria parasites (plasmodium) in the liver in a tropical disease institute in Den Haag I tested positive and started taking diatomaceous earth. This is a natural diatom substance that kills parasites. Very cheap and successful.

After 3 months I tested again and was free of parasites.

No vaccine needed because there are remedies available)

Do you see a pattern here?

Side note:

We pilots were not allowed to take most common anti malaria tablets because they had warnings not to operate machinery.

However, Exxon Mobil mandated us to take a new and experimental drug (at that time) called Malarone in early 2000’s. We were mandated to take the experimental drug and give consent to being tested for taking the pills. If not, we were fired.

I never took the pills but was warned ahead of time when my time was up for testing so I could take 1 for a few days. Coworkers who did take the pills were constantly sick with stomach problems, insomnia and vomiting.

I lost all faith in health science ever since. I recognized the experiment and knew (in my heart) it wasn’t safe.

I see the signs on the wall for another round of “health” experiments and wanted to give my 2 cents.

I hope this is helpful.

Keep up the good work guys!

Doei doei,

Dame kicking and screaming.

PS:

Why do these outbreaks always seem to happen in red states?

Macron successor will probably be Édouard Philippe

The last Bilderberg meeting in Lisbon for 2023 included him.. So.. You know the drill.

Cue the Welsh family. They came to Stumptown from Round Rock, just outside of Austin, one of the fastest-growing cities in America. It may be Valhalla for guys like Elon Musk, but it’s hell if you’re trans, John Welsh says. When his daughter told the school she wanted to use the women’s bathroom, the anti-queer, book banning group Moms for Liberty started protesting at school board meetings.

“They didn’t call her out by name because they are not allowed to do that,” Welsh says. “But it was very clear that it was about her.”

Around the same time last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate for child abuse parents who approve gender-affirming care for their transgender children, including puberty-blocking drugs.

Welsh, his wife, Kristen, and Ess had seen enough. They packed up their car and left for Portland, leaving family and friends behind.

During the past month, WW spoke with families and individuals who made the same journey. If Portland is seeing an exodus of wealthy residents who are tired of high taxes that don’t seem to fix anything, it may soon become a haven for people who have seen what else government can do to its citizens: oppress them.

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Adam, just getting to listening to the show, hopefully the family you had flying yesterday made it. Storm season has picked in the recent weeks and has made training new controllers super fun and by fun I mean exhausting. If your family hasn’t flown yet going from east coast to Texas market they’ll definitely fly through the airspace I work, and if you’d like to send them an in flight message, I’d be happy to find their flight and send a message. A in flight “ITM” over the intercom!

This past shows intro line had me thinking there would be some M5M bull crap reports on how the airliners are blaming air traffic for delays, I’m not hearing it, I’ve been working six day work weeks for nearly two years since post covid traffic ramped back up and normal travel began. Although staffing is a major issue for controllers right now, the problem the geniuses in the agency in cahoots with the union “leadership” decided during covid to stop all training for health and safety throughout covid. During this time of covid trainees if they had no certifications were sent home, those that had limited certifications were healthy enough to work their respected certifications side by side with fully certified controllers but it wasn’t safe enough to train, the logic here was inconceivable. We are now playing a game of catch up and even worse now because while training was completely stopped, controllers were still retiring, transferring or just out right quitting over the covid stupidity. My wife and I were two of the few who didn’t fall for the covid mandate and were willing to lose our career over it up until the last day the mandate was dropped. The stories of covid stupidity I could tell you are nearly endless.

Hi Adam Hi John

In the morning gentlemen.

With regards to your conversation about Nitrogen on episode 1570: I don’t know the motivation of Klaus Schwabb and the EU et al. is for getting rid of Nitrogen fertilizer, but I can tell why is really is important to do so. It has everything to do with organic material in the soil, and with the microbiota in the soil. We’re facing desertification.

The higher the percentage of organic matter and the microbial life is present in the soil, the longer it takes for rain to leave the area where it falls. Many soil microbes exude an extracellular polymeric substance that causes the soil to retain the water. When soil can hold more water, it doesn’t run-off in to streams and rivers as much. The water percolates down into the earth, recharging the aquifers.

The smaller the % of soil microbiota, a much larger % of rainfall leaves via runoff. Not only does this leaves the aquifers in a continual state of depletion, but the water runoff takes topsoil with it, eventually depositing it in the ocean. As Aquifers empty they collapse, losing volume. There is no way to reverse the problem. (Read about the Ogallala Aquifer, from North Texas to South Dakota)

There other numerous other serious problems with a lack of soil microbiota, but that’s the big one.

The thing is, Nitrogen fertilizer kills microbiota. Also the way the plants use synthetic fert causes the plant to lose its immune system and causes lots of free nitrogen in its cells, make it an attractive target for viral, bacterial, fungal, and insect pests. Enter fungicides another pesticides… which further kill the soil.

For 70 years we’ve been abusing the land, and thoughtful people on both the right and the left are saying the same thing: 40% of our country is facing desertification, and unless farm land management changes immediate, 80% of the nation’s farmland has 60 years of topsoil left. I don’t know how true those numbers are, and I typically stay away from these sorts of dire predictions, but desertification is observable in many parts of the country, and many countries in the world.

The logic behind the Great Reset and mass depopulation proponents might come from the awareness that once we go too far with abusing the earth, the results are permanent, because there really is no way to fix a collapsed aquifer, and there is no way without a healthy hydrologic cycle to rebuild topsoil. It’s impossible.

Adam and John,

About the last podcast's discussion about the nitrogen and fertilizer

and what's the big deal... the process takes nitrogen (which is free,

from the air) and adds hydrogen (stripped from natural gas / methane

[CH4]) to make ammonia. The waste product is CO2.

Carbon footprint beancounting has zeroed in on agriculture, and they

probably see this as a double win - quit using methane to stop making

CO2, both are greenhouse gasses.

And there's another thing regarding Ukraine joining NATO. Back in

2014 when Russia moved into Crimea, there was frequent mention that

NATO membership isn't possible for countries with borders under

dispute. This detail hasn't been brought up in years.

If that's the case, then Ukraine can't enter NATO until they give up

Crimea. Or take it back. And we know that will happen the day after

Mexico gets Texas back.

Great work Adam and John.

honkytonkwillie

Salutations from Madrid.

I just learned from an inside source at PepsiCo that by next year one-third of the ingredients in PepsiCo food products will come from insects.

They are investing heavily in insect harvesting farms and consequently need a loan. They are pressured by the ESG score and are also taking measures to rebalance the racial diversity of their staff which I’m having a hard time believing so I’m withholding that info until I can verify it.

Here’s a link regarding insect farms and PepsiCo.

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Last show you had a short segment on PPP fraud. Being in the Fraud and AML industry I had a front row seat to this bullshit.

Right away my industry got all jacked up and jiddy to support the huge number of loans banks were processing. Unfortunately, the SBA sent out guidance that any and all fraud losses would be completely covered by the government. We didn't sell a thing to those banks. Every banker said they didn't care because the SBA said they weren't liable. Later on, many of those banks got hit with fines because of fraud on their books. The Feds said that even though they were covering the fraud losses they weren't giving the banks carte blanche to avoid reasonable fraud prevention strategies. Of course this came out after the fraud had already occured. Overall I would say the entire thing was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I guarantee fraud was through the roof.

There is no sound rationale for this divergence in stock markets. There is only a four-letter word that explains the Nasdaq’s behavior in both eras: hype. Today’s surge in Nasdaq is being fueled by a handful of tech names, being hyped by the alleged wonders of Artificial Intelligence. In the prior era, it was an assortment of hype, including the potential for takeovers.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:24

Bill Ackman

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Bill Ackman said in 2021 that delaying Covid vaccinations for older Americans "seems like genocide."

Today, the influential hedge fund chief and investor is amplifying the debunked anti-vaccine views of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Ackman is not denying his change. In fact, he said Kennedy is asking "important questions" about vaccines, raising issues he is interested in learning more about.

Several of Ackman's recent tweets about Covid vaccines have stunned and confounded many of his colleagues on Wall Street, according to several people who have known and been allied with him for years. And it's led both his allies and foes to ask the same question: Why is he doing this?

Ackman answered that question in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

"I listened to RFK on several podcasts and a town hall and thought he raised important issues about vaccines and other issues that were worth learning more about," said Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital. "I don't feel like we've fully answered questions about the safety of all vaccines, particularly more recently approved vaccines, and our approach to determining their safety and efficacy."

Although the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines has declined over time as the virus has evolved into new variants, public health officials say the shots are a critical tool in preventing hospitalization and death from the virus, particularly among the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions. Serious side effects are rare. The CDC and FDA closely watch vaccine safety though large monitoring systems, and regularly discuss any issues at public advisory committee meetings.

Ackman, a billionaire whose commentary can move markets, is the latest high profile executive to show support for Kennedy and his opinions.

Wall Street veteran Omeed Malik is hosting a campaign fundraiser for Kennedy later this month in the Hamptons. Venture capitalist David Sacks and fellow tech leader Chamath Palihapitiya hosted a fundraiser for Kennedy in June, which raised approximately $500,000 for Kennedy's campaign. Ackman would not say whether he planned to donate to Kennedy's campaign for president.

Ackman's new stance on vaccines marks a dramatic shift for the investor. In 2021, he said the U.S. should "launch mass vaccinations" of the elderly. He reaped large profits during the peak of the Covid pandemic, by selling his bets against the market, just days after warning on CNBC that "hell is coming" and imploring the Trump White House to shut down the country for a month. Ackman, in a March 26 letter to investors, called the idea that his comments moved the market "absurd." "Beginning on March 12th, we began unwinding our hedge, and continued to do so every day thereafter until we completed our exit on the morning of March 23rd," he wrote.

Ackman told CNBC his newfound worries about vaccines come from being a parent and a concerned citizen. He said Kennedy, in his view, is asking "important questions" about them. "Unfortunately, vaccines are not safety tested," Kennedy said at a town hall late last month.

Scientific researchers and medical officials have emphatically rejected Kennedy's stances on vaccines, including his earlier argument that vaccines can lead to autism.

Ackman has pushed his newfound skepticism to his approximately 740,000 followers while saying he is not opposed to vaccines. He has also taken on a doctor who is known for pushing back on misinformation related to Covid.

"@RobertKennedyJr and others have raised important questions about the safety of some vaccines and have sought explanations for the dramatic increases in the incidence of childhood allergies, autism, and other health issues. These are good questions that have not been adequately answered," Ackman said in a tweet last month that quoted a video of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson arguing that Kennedy is getting the better of President Joe Biden in the early days of the Democratic primary campaign.

Biden enjoys a substantial lead in Democratic primary polls, although Kennedy is pulling double-digit support.

When asked if he believes whether Kennedy should be president, Ackman said: "I don't yet know, but I think he is asking important questions and raising interesting issues that are worthy of discussion and debate."

Ackman, who has backed Democrats in the past, also wouldn't say whether he will back Biden.

"It depends on the alternatives at the time of the general election," Ackman said. "My strong preference is that he announces now that he won't run to create a more open field for other candidates."

Wall Street execs question AckmanAckman's peers are discussing the matter more and more through text messages and private conversations, according to one of his allies. Ackman is known among investors as a meticulous, yet contrarian, thinker.

"I'm not surprised at all because the guy has a contrarian streak to him," a Wall Street ally of Ackman's told CNBC regarding the investor's recent tweets. "When he believes something, he's not shy to stand by it."

Ackman has waded into politics before, including through campaign contributions.

He's supported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., an outside group that backed former Citigroup executive and Democratic New York mayoral candidate Ray McGuire, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic former candidate for president Pete Buttigieg, and Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney's 2022 failed run for reelection, according to data from nonpartisan campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.

But none of those donations came across as surprising on Wall Street, unlike his recent tweets.

Some say Ackman could be positioning himself to have more influence in politics, including possibly running for office one day. Ackman said in a recent tweet that he planned to meet with Schumer this week to discuss his idea of how to fix the college student debt problem after the Supreme Court struck down Biden's relief plan.

Ackman denied having any plans to run for office and declined to comment about the Schumer meeting.

Others say he could be trying to align himself with outspoken business leaders who are more conservative and have been echoing similar takes, such as Sacks and Twitter owner Elon Musk. Sacks and Musk have both expressed support for Kennedy and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida.

Many of those familiar with Ackman '' allies and rivals alike '' talked to CNBC on the condition of anonymity in order to openly speak about their stances on why they believe he has suddenly trained his contrarianism on issues like vaccines and Russia.

Carl Icahn, the veteran activist investor and a longtime adversary of Ackman's, told CNBC in a phone interview that he believes the Pershing Square CEO's tweets are yet another example of how wrong Ackman can be.

"His tweeting might be a positive. Since I've known him, he's almost never been correct about anything he's said. Therefore if one reads his tweets, and does the opposite, you're almost sure to be correct and very possibly make a large profit," Icahn said.

"He makes large bets and like the riverboat gambler, he does win sometimes but often loses hugely. Just look at the billions he's lost in Herbalife and Valeant. Most riverboat gamblers die broke," Icahn said. "The only difference between him and a riverboat gambler is not only he's losing his own money, unfortunately he's losing a lot of other people's money, too."

Ackman declined to comment on Icahn's remarks.

Institutional Investor reported Ackman broke a three-year winning streak in 2022, registering his first down year since 2018. Pershing Square Holdings fell more than 8% for the year, according to the publication.

Ackman's recent tweets have turned heads beyond Wall Street, too. Alexander Reid Ross, a disinformation expert who lectures at Portland State University in Oregon, told CNBC that it appears Ackman is going back and forth on different conspiracies '' and getting things wrong.

Reid Ross pointed to Ackman's latest tweets pertaining to the Wagner Group's armed rebellion in Russia.

"Ackman's profile seems to veer wildly and be attracted to statements that may seem interesting and extreme but end up wrong. For instance, on the latest Wagner rebellion, he shares one person saying in effect 'either [Vladimir] Putin kills Prigo [Yevgeny Prigozhin] or Moscow falls,' and in another case he supports the nation that Putin made the whole thing up," Reid Ross said. "This is veering wildly from one false assumption to the next one, both of which being mutually exclusive."

Ackman and CovidAs he apparently defended Kennedy's broadly debunked and criticized stances on vaccines, Ackman also injected himself into a Twitter battle involving Dr. Peter Jay Hotez, who has pushed back on misinformation related to the coronavirus and vaccines.

Podcast host Joe Rogan initially pushed the idea of having Hotez and Kennedy debate. Rogan, who has made his popular show a platform for celebrities as well as conspiracy theorists, offered to give $100,000 to a charity if the doctor was willing to come on his show to debate Kennedy. Ackman later said he would "add $150,000 to @joerogan's wager so now $250,000 can go to charity and the public can hear an open debate on an important topic."

Musk chimed in and said "Maybe @PeterHotez just hates charity." Hotez refused to debate Kennedy but did say he was willing to go on Rogan's show to discuss his own position on vaccines. He later said on Twitter that "a couple of antivaxers" showed up at his private residence in Texas "taunting" him to debate Kennedy.

At first, Ackman encouraged a debate between Kennedy and Hotez. Later, he walked back the idea and criticized the doctor, who says on his website that he worked in the "development of coronavirus vaccines including vaccines administered to over 100 million people in India and Indonesia."

"Based on my further research Hotez does not appear to be a credible advocate for vaccine policy in light of the repeated inaccuracies of his public statements during the crisis and potential conflicts he may have," Ackman tweeted to his more than 700,000 followers on June 19.

Hotez responded to Ackman on Twitter the next day.

"Awful to read Mr. Ackman's account of my activities. I have no pharma conflicts, I co-developed low-cost patent-free Covid vaccines for global health reaching 100 million doses. I never took a cent for any cable news/podcast/radio appearances," Hotez said.

"And you have the audacity to present phony conspiracy websites that monetize the internet as your evidence?"

'-- CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:10

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:09

Reid Snellenbarger said to have acted inappropriately at party he hosted over the weekend

Lazard fired a top restructuring banker after he was said to have acted inappropriately toward employees of the investment bank at a party he hosted over the weekend, people familiar with the matter said.

Reid Snellenbarger, who was a co-head of Lazard's North America restructuring practice and based in Chicago, was swiftly fired by Lazard. He had invited a group of Lazard financial-advisory employees to a gathering that wasn't sponsored by the firm, the people said.

A...

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Lazard fired a top restructuring banker after he was said to have acted inappropriately toward employees of the investment bank at a party he hosted over the weekend, people familiar with the matter said.

Reid Snellenbarger, who was a co-head of Lazard's North America restructuring practice and based in Chicago, was swiftly fired by Lazard. He had invited a group of Lazard financial-advisory employees to a gathering that wasn't sponsored by the firm, the people said.

A representative for Snellenbarger, 48 years old, declined to comment.

Lazard told employees Sunday that it had terminated a managing director it didn't name who ''behaved in a manner both inappropriate and incompatible with our values,'' according to a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal that was sent by Peter Orszag, who leads the firm's financial-advisory unit and is set to take over as its CEO.

''As we have said repeatedly, our goal is to be both commercial and collegial'--and as part of that, respecting our colleagues is non-negotiable. We will not tolerate inappropriate behavior,'' the memo reads.

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Bloomberg earlier reported on the memo without providing other details.

Lazard's restructuring business is one of the top advisers to companies in distress, raking in millions in advisory fees for deals that help clients shed debt and rightsize themselves, sometimes through bankruptcy.

Snellenbarger had been at Lazard for only a few months, having joined in April from rival Houlihan Lokey. He worked alongside North America restructuring and capital solutions co-heads Sanjeev Khemlani '--also new to the firm'-- Tyler Cowan and Brandon Aebersold.

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Snellenbarger has worked with clients including Gawker Media, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after a legal battle with the former professional wrestler known as Hulk Hogan, and engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton.

Lazard has been working to boost its stock price as it faces increasing competition and frustration among some in its ranks. Lazard in May said Orszag would succeed longtime Chief Executive Ken Jacobs in October.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:05

The World Health Organization and its partner organization, the Bill Gates-controlled GAVI, announced Wednesday that they will be flooding Africa with 18 million doses of malaria vaccines.

During a Wednesday press conference , WHO director Tedros Adhanom declared that 12 African countries will be receiving 18 million doses of malaria vaccine in the coming months, declaring that climate change is largely responsible for the continuing disease burden in the continent.

While it seems like great news at the surface, considering Africa's continuing malaria epidemic, we've again encountered a situation in which the ''cure'' appears to be more threatening than the disease itself.

Malaria indeed plagues the African continent. It is reported to be the culprit for the annual deaths of about half a million children in sub Saharan Africa.

And before the mid 20th century, there were few medical means to defeat parasite infestations, other than to improve sanitation and living standards. Today, there are several medications that prevent and treat malaria, but do not provide sterilizing immunity to the disease.

The only malaria ''vaccine'' that has been rolled out thus far is an injection called Mosquirix (RTS,S/AS01), which is produced by Big Pharma giant GSK.

Mosquirix not only does not provide sterilizing immunity, it requires 4 separate shots, and its supposed preventive effects only lasts a handful of months.

Additionally, the drug is not only seemingly worthless, but uniquely dangerous.

The largest Mosquirix trials produced shockingly poor results, with the vaccine cohort having much worse outcomes than the placebo group. The vaccine group displayed ten times higher risk of meningitis and cerebral malaria, and a doubling in the risk of death compared to the placebo group. Even if the shots ''work,'' they do not achieve any temporary or long term sterilizing immunity or significant efficacious benefit, so in no way would it reduce the actual disease burden.

Nonetheless, the notoriously corrupt and captured World Health Organization has given its stamp of approval for the dangerous vaccine, recommending it for at risk youth. They even baselessly claim on the WHO website that for every 200 malaria shots deployed, one child's life will be saved by the ''vaccine.''

Last year, UNICEF awarded GSK (which, again, is currently the lone supplier of malaria shots) with a $170 million contract for 18 million doses of its malaria injections ($9.44 per dose).

Now, Gates inc and its middleman partners have released a white paper detailing their roadmap for the deployment of these shots. They are seeking to establish a system in which 80-100 million shots are injected into the arms of sub Saharan African children on an annual basis by 2030. This would create a malaria vaccine industry in Africa that is poised to rake in close to $1 billion annually.

There is no evidence that these shots work to prevent malaria, but that hasn't stopped Big Pharma and global ''Public Health'' institutions from executing its designs upon the African continent.

The news out of Africa is remarkably timed with a continuing series of malaria scare stories coming out of the United States. Not to worry though, the corporate media will be sure to let you know that the Pfizer-backed BioNTech is working on its own malaria vaccine!

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:18

Full frame sun, Climate change, Heatwave hot sun, Global warming from the sun and burning

Chuchart Duangdaw | Moment | Getty Images

On Friday, the White House released a federally mandated report on solar geoengineering, which is an umbrella term that describes methods of reflecting sunlight away from the earth to cool the atmosphere.

The Biden-Harris administration has no plans underway to launch a comprehensive research program into solar radiation modification, according to a senior administration official.

But the report also says there is good logic for a cohesive research agenda on this topic.

"These unknowns, and the ever-evolving understanding of complex Earth systems, provide a compelling case for research to better understand both the potential benefits and risks," the report says.

The report comes from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and was produced to fulfill a congressional mandate included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed in 2022, which asked the White House to develop a "research governance framework to provide guidance on transparency, engagement, and risk management for publicly funded work in solar geoengineering research."

'Risk vs risk'For decades, solar radiation modification has been relegated to the realm of science fiction. But as the effects of climate change have become more obvious and dangerous, some argue that climate intervention may be less dangerous than the global warming that would happen without them.

Heat is a worthy adversary to mitigate '-- it's often called "the silent killer" '-- but solar radiation management would not address other implications of climate change, like ocean acidification or air pollution.

The White House report focuses on two methods of solar geoengineering.

Stratospheric aerosol injection is releasing particles of sulfur dioxide or another substance into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth. Marine cloud brightening is meant to improve the reflectivity of certain clouds by injecting sea salt or through other methods.

Fragmented research into solar radiation modification is already happening in federal science agencies, and research into topics like volcanic action and cloud-aerosol interactions could provide useful foundational knowledge.

Volcanic eruptions and large plumes of wildfire smoke provide a natural analog for engineered stratospheric aerosol injection. Ship tracks, which are clouds that form around ship exhaust, demonstrate the theory of marine cloud brightening.

But research into solar radiation management is limited and uncoordinated, leaving substantial gaps. Having a research plan would help the United States prepare for deployment of solar radiation modification by another government or a private body.

This chart shows the various forms that solar geoengineering could take. Courtesy: Chelsea Thompson, NOAA/CIRES.

Chelsea Thompson, NOAA/CIRES

Solar radiation management has the benefit of being fast. "SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years," the report says.

But it also has a lot of unknown risks '-- what the White House report called "known unknowns."

Stratospheric aerosol injection could accelerate ozone depletion and reduce biodiversity, for example. Other known unknows include potential changes in patterns of precipitation, sea-level rise, terrestrial vegetation, coral reefs, crop production and other ecosystem changes. It could also harm human health by increasing particulate matter, for instance.

In this context, the White House report calls for a "'risk vs. risk' framing," where solar geoengineering would be studied in an effort to quantify the specific risks involved in deploying versus not deploying it.

For example, allowing warming to proceed without solar radiation management might see more human death from extreme heat, but that would have to be compared against the health risks from more particulate matter in the air.

Critically, solar radiation modification is not a permanent solution. The only real solution to mitigating the effects of climate change is by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report from the White House says that a research agenda into solar radiation modification would sit next to "the foundational elements of greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and adaptation."

Also on Wednesday, the European Union also formally addressed solar geoengineering, saying it is not a climate solution and that not enough is understood about these interventions to deploy them.

Like the United States, the European Union also says that solar geoengineering is not a climate solution and says the current level of understanding of the implications of such interventions is not sufficient to deploy them.

"In the current state of development, a deliberate intervention in the Earth's natural systems, such as a solar radiation modification (SRM) deployment, represents an unacceptable level of risk for humans and the environment," the European Commission stated in documents released on Wednesday.

However, the European Union also said it would support international, collective research into the topic.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:16

The King and the Mayor of London have activated a climate clock which counts down the time left to balance global greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the Earth heating more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists have said that achieving this is vital to ensuring a safe and liveable planet as even sticking to 1.5C offered just a 50-50 chance of avoiding catastrophic tipping points that would heat the Earth beyond human control.

Almost every country has agreed to meet this target as part of the Paris Agreement in 2015, but experts have warned that after eight years the world is still not on track, with warming of around 2.7C currently predicted by 2100.

The climate clock has a countdown of six years and 24 days, at which point experts say the world will have used up the carbon budget for keeping to the Paris Agreement and the Earth will inevitably heat beyond 1.5C.

Mr Khan, alongside the King on stage at the Climate Innovation Forum in London, activated the clock with a large red button made from plastic washed up on the Gower Peninsula in Wales, which will be recycled into a plant pot and given to the King.

There are 150 versions of the clock around the UK, across London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Southampton.

A dominating image of the countdown will also broadcast in London's Piccadilly Circus for five days.

Nick Henry, chief executive and founder of Climate Action, said: ''We are honoured to be joined by His Majesty King Charles at the Climate Innovation Forum for the national climate clock switch on, during London Climate Action Week.

''This powerful illustration of the scale of the climate emergency also reminds us there is still time to avert disaster.

Mr Khan joined the King on stage at the Climate Innovation Forum

/ PA''We need to align all actors '' governments, cities, investors, businesses, and civil society '' to move at speed and at scale.

''It is vital that we embrace the pro-growth opportunity of the net-zero transition and turn ambition into transformational action.''

The King also met climate change minister Graham Stuart, who said on stage: ''We can be proud of the fact that we have decarbonised more than any other major economy on Earth.

''But it's not enough, and that's one of the reasons why we're funding innovation.

''I'm pleased to announce today that we've awarded £80 million to companies developing new clean technologies through our net-zero innovation portfolio.''

The King met some of these innovators, who are creating solutions to environmental problems, such as Futraheat, which works to capture and reuse waste heat from industrial processes, and Arda Biomaterials, which turns feedstocks into materials for fashion, home goods and other industries.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said on stage: ''This is not only a crisis that will happen in 20 or 30 years, this is a crisis that is here today.

''The pandemic globally cost seven million lives. And, of course, it's an awfully large number of people dying from Covid.

''But actually, pollution and climate change cost us seven to nine million lives every year.

''And some people would think OK, well this is something that is happening in faraway countries due to flooding, drought, extreme temperatures, but it is actually here, it's affecting us all.''

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:10

Britain has been drilled to comply with lockdown under a future pandemic through wearing face masks and working from home, the Chief Executive of the Government 'nudge unit' has said. The Telegraph has the story.

Professor David Halpern told the Telegraph that the country had ''practised the drill'' of wearing face masks and working from home and ''could redo it'' in a future crisis.

Last Tuesday, Matt Hancock told the public inquiry that Britain must be ready to combat future disease outbreaks with wider, earlier and more stringent lockdowns.

Speaking on the Lockdown Files podcast, the Government adviser Prof. Halpern predicted that the country would comply with another 'stay at home' order because they ''kind of know what the drill is''.

In an interview given before Mr. Hancock's testimony, the leading behavioural scientist even suggested that the nation's prior experience made it ''much easier to now imagine'' the population would accept future local restrictions.

Prof. Halpern said that while fear-based messaging in general is not effective, he defended its use in extreme circumstances.

''There are times when you do need to cut through'... particularly if you think people are wrongly calibrated,'' he said.

The suggestion that Britain might be primed to accept further social-distancing restrictions is likely to alarm lockdown-sceptics concerned by the collateral damage such measures cause.

When the pandemic hit, Mr Hancock's department enlisted the professor's Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) '' better known as the 'nudge unit' '' to provide them with ''frictionless access to behavioural expertise'', according to a £1 million contract.

BIT used earworm slogans such as 'hands, face, space' to maximise compliance with Covid rules.

In his most wide-ranging interview since March 2020, Prof Halpern explained that his unit's campaigns were devised to help reinforce new behaviours.

He said their posters acted as visual prompts so that ''when you go into a shop or somewhere else, it re-reminds you, it cues, it acts as a trigger for the behaviour''.

The professor said that this messaging encouraged mask-wearing, meaning people felt ''naked'' when they forgot to put one on.

''Put it this way,'' he said. ''You would feel like, 'Oh my God, I haven't got my mask'. You feel naked, right?''

Once the public has learnt a new behaviour, Prof. Halpern said: ''In principle, you can switch it back on.''

''You've got the beginning, particularly, of what is called a habit loop: if this has happened, then you should do that,'' he said.

Major disasters ''leave this enduring trace on society'', he explained. As well as knowing the drill, this ''quasi-evolutionary'' impact is a strong indicator of future behaviour, he claimed.

Faced with another contagious disease, the professor predicted that the British public would start wearing masks again ''relatively rapidly if they were persuaded''.

''They might protest, 'do we really have to do it?' [Showing] good healthy scepticism. But once you've exercised those muscles, they're more likely to be reused again,'' he said.

As a result, the British public '' having learnt to work from home '' would be more likely, he believed, to accept stay-at-home measures being used to clamp down on local outbreaks.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:08

So Delia was right! Research shows one in four British adults have never boiled an egg - and don't know how to Delia Smith's How To Cook series in 1999 was criticised for being too basic A Waitrose survey also showed 55 per cent have never baked a Victoria sponge By Colin Fernandez

Published: 19:00 EDT, 5 July 2023 | Updated: 19:11 EDT, 5 July 2023

When Delia Smith taught viewers how to boil eggs in her How To Cook series in 1999, she was mocked for passing on such basic culinary knowledge.

But it seems the TV favourite was ahead of her time.

Research by Waitrose has found that more than one in four British adults have never boiled an egg and don't even know how to.

The supermarket's survey of 4,000 people also found that only 18 per cent have made a salad dressing and 55 per cent have never baked a Victoria sponge cake.

Despite this apparent lack of skills, 35 per cent rated themselves as 'very good' or 'excellent cooks', and 45 per cent said they were 'fairly good cooks'.

Research by Waitrose has found that more than one in four British adults have never boiled an egg and don't even know how to (file image)

When Delia Smith (pictured in March) taught viewers how to boil eggs in her How To Cook series in 1999, she was mocked for passing on such basic culinary knowledge

But blunders in the kitchen were common '' 46 per cent divulged that they often get distracted and let pans boil over and 38 per cent revealed they have burnt something so badly that the smoke alarm went off.

When Delia taught us how to boil eggs, her fellow celebrity chef Gary Rhodes said it was 'insulting to people's intelligence' to show 'people how to boil water ... and should not be targeted at adults'.

But yesterday Martyn Lee, executive chef for Waitrose, said: 'Boiling an egg, like most things, is easy when you know how, but there are lots of ways to do it.

'Some people put them in boiling water, others put the eggs in cold water and then bring it to a boil, I've even seen some people on social media cook them in their air fryer.

'I find the most foolproof way can be to steam over boiling water for seven minutes. Perhaps it's the range of methods that's putting people off.'

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:08

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is being spread by ticks across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with scientists warning it is "highly likely" it will reach Britain

The virus is being spread by ticks ( Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

New cases of a deadly virus spread by ticks are emerging across with the world, including in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

An urgent health warning has been issued in what has been described as the current biggest threat to public health - which could be being accelerated by climate change.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) has recently broken out in Iraq and Namibia.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have reported two deaths.

It is "highly likely" the disease could reach Britain, according to insiders speaking to Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee last week.

During the hearing, James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, said CCHF could find its way to the UK "through our ticks at some point".

Scanning electron micrograph of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) ( Image:

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)The disease is caused by Nairovirus, a condition that is spread by ticks and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) one that has a fatality rate of between 10 and 40 percent.

Typically, the condition is found at small stages in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and in Asia, reports the Express.

So far, no recorded outbreaks in the US have been reported.

However, the disease could be expanding out of its usual territories and moving towards the likes of Britain and France due to climate change.

Speaking about the disease, Ali Mirazimi, a virologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in an April interview with Modern Diplomacy that the ticks were "moving up through Europe due to climate change, with longer and drier summers".

A patient suffering from Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever ( Image:

STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The likes of Spain were already seeing cases of the disease, Newsweek reported.

WHO notes CCHF is among the nine "priority diseases" it ranks, a system that lays bare the biggest public health risks.

Among the virus' symptoms include headaches, high fever, back and joint pain, stomach ache and vomiting.

In severe cases, WHO warns, jaundice, mood swings and sensory perception are encountered.

Iraq was reportedly in a major battle with the disease last year, with 212 incidents recorded between January 1 and May 22.

Of those, 169 were reported between April and May alone.

Agence France-Presse added in May that almost 100 additional cases - and 13 deaths - were so far in 2023 attributed to the toll in Iraq.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:06

Whether you've just been prescribed injectable Ozempic or you're a few days into your daily Rybelsus prescription, there's a good chance your doctor has asked you to consider some lifestyle adjustments. Part of a class of medications known as GLP-1s, semaglutide prescriptions (including Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and more) work in part to mimic a gut hormone that enables the pancreas to produce insulin when blood sugars spike. For those with diabetes, these medications help to lower a high HBA1C over time.

But semaglutide also simultaneously impacts how food interacts with your gastrointestinal tract in doing so; for patients prescribed Wegovy in particular, the drug may change the way your body processes meals which you may previously be used to eating regularly.

Doctors counsel patients who are being prescribed semaglutide about a range of lifestyle changes they'll need to make for meds to work as intended. This is particularly true when it comes to diet and nutrition, as certain foods and grocery staples may exacerbate side effects associated with semaglutide medications. Because semaglutide is so routinely linked to gastrointestinal (GI) distress, doctors also may broach other tactics to avoid these often painful and day-ruining side effects; tools such as portion control and limiting alcohol intake, for example.

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While it's true that restructuring your diet may indeed help you lessen side effects associated with semaglutide medications, most doctors aren't expecting patients to eliminate entire food groups altogether. It's more about careful moderation, especially over the first few doses of medication. Materials published by Novo Nordisk (the manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy) indicate that there aren't any specific foods patients must fully eliminate entirely '-- but foods high in fat, added sugars and saturated in caloric intake are known to not only potentially worsen side effects, but work against patients who are working to manage type 2 diabetes and clinical obesity.

Understanding Side Effects: Just how does what you eat impact you while you take semaglutide, you may wonder? Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and fleeting or chronic stomach pain; and while appetite is indeed minimized, for most, it is not fully erased. Some foods may worsen any potential vomiting or diarrhea, while others don't.

Read on to learn more about the kinds of dietary changes that may soften Ozempic side effects and other top-level tips from experts.

Editor's note: Weight loss, health and body image are complex subjects '-- we invite you to gain a broader perspective by reading our exploration into the hazards of diet culture.The author of this article is currently taking Ozempic as part of his prescribed medical treatment plan for type 2 diabetes. Our reporting has not been influenced by Novo Nordisk or any other pharmaceutical agency.

What doctors warn patients against before prescribing OzempicBecause Ozempic and other semaglutide medications slow down your gastrointestinal tract '-- which helps you feel fuller longer, stemming your appetite '-- nausea and other stomach-related side effects are common. Materials published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that almost 20% of all people on Ozempic, in particular, experience stomach pain and discomfort at some point. It's why semaglutide medication is often titrated, or dosed in increasing increments over a longer span of time, for many patients: to prevent severe, uncontrollable side effects.

There aren't foods that are entirely or fully restricted while on Ozempic '-- but doctors advise against some food groups because they delay what's known as gastric emptying. "It varies patient to patient, but fat intake and alcohol intake may prompt or worsen existing nausea, vomiting, heartburn, or reflux symptoms because of this," explains Todd Worley, M.D., FACS, an obesity medicine specialist and bariatric surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, who is commonly prescribing patients both Ozempic and Wegovy.

More importantly, patients are asked to minimize processed foods, highly caloric foods, added sugar and alcohol because in addition to potentially worsening GI symptoms, these food groups are known to impact blood sugar. Part of the nutritional counseling that many doctors conduct before prescribing semaglutide focuses on helping this medication better control insulin production; any foods that cause blood sugar spikes work against the purpose of the medication in the first place, which is why doctors advise against them.

Alongside focusing dietary efforts to help keep blood sugar low, Dr. Worley adds that patients who are just starting a semaglutide medication regimen are advised about the following lifestyle efforts.

"The first thing is that patients taking semaglutide need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, even more so in the summer months," Dr. Worley explains. Because semaglutide decreases appetite, especially initially, some patients may choose to reduce how much water they drink. "This can lead to some element of dehydration, which can lead to or exacerbate nausea, constipation, fatigue, malaise, dizziness or even more dangerous issues such as acute kidney injury." To best avoid this, Dr. Worley suggests drinking at least 64oz of water each day, but everyone's true hydration needs will differ based on their own activity level.

This is especially crucial as you first start injecting or taking semaglutide orally. "You may have a decreased appetite, but inadequate intake can equally equate to fatigue, malaise or dizziness, among other more serious issues like malnutrition," Dr. Worley says. "Semaglutide also leads to a decrease in the rate of gastric emptying, and so we need to account for this, as well. Along with their decreased appetite, patients will typically need to eat smaller meals. With decreased gastric emptying, they should also chew their food very well."

There isn't a one-size-fits-all nutritional solution for patients who are being prescribed semaglutide, but in general, many are advised to eat at least 60g of protein a day (including plant-based options!) to maintain muscle mass. "I would recommend half their plate is vegetables '-- and cooked are easier to digest in a person with decreased gastric emptying," Dr. Worley suggests. "A quarter of the plate is lean protein, and the last quarter may be a starch or a source of complex carbohydrates."

The best foods to eat while taking OzempicBecause there isn't one set "Ozempic diet" for all patients, many healthcare providers often ask those on semaglutide prescriptions to meet with registered dietitians and nutritionists to better understand their nutritional needs. There isn't just one kind of diet that is used to better treat type 2 diabetes or address clinical obesity '-- but in general, doctors ask patients to eat foods that are considered low-glycemic, meaning they do not raise or lower blood sugar levels rapidly after they are consumed. Eating these foods alongside low-fat, fiber-rich staples is also less likely to trigger or worsen gastrointestinal distress.

YelenaYemchuk // Getty Images

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), for those with diabetes specifically, you'll want to lean into low-glycemic foods that are high in protein naturally, packed with gut-friendly fiber and saturated in healthy fats. Frontloading your diet with fiber-rich foods can also help you feel full and more satiated for longer during the day. And for most patients, introducing new sources of dietary fiber into meals should be done slowly over time '-- too much fiber (and fiber supplements) may worsen gas, bloating or constipation in the end.

Alongside lowering calorie intakes and controlling portion sizes, these foods may have the best sort of effect on keeping blood sugars steady. Some examples of these kinds of foods and food groups include:

Fresh fruits that are considered diabetes-friendly due to sugar content, which includes apples, berries, peaches, pears and more.Vegetables of all kinds, including fiber-rich leafy greens. Whole grains and unprocessed starchy sides.Low- and non-fat dairy products, including yogurt, cottage cheese and milk.Most any meal or foods that are favored in low-fat, low-carbohydrate diets '-- some commonly referred programs, according to ADA materials, are the Mediterranean diet as well as vegetarian diets.While these general dietary tentpoles are applicable to most, all patients who are prescribed a semaglutide medication spend significant time discussing nutritional needs and lifestyle approaches with their primary care doctor and additional specialists as needed.

It is crucial that you seek medical advice about your diet and lifestyle from a healthcare provider that is familiar with your in-depth medical history, and is aware of any other medical conditions you may have.

SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY // Getty Images

Foods to avoid while on OzempicNothing is entirely off limits to those who are on Ozempic or other semaglutide medications '-- rather, moderating certain food groups can help you ease side effects and gastrointestinal symptoms if they are impacting you during treatment. "In general, patients should avoid added sugar and processed food '-- or what we may know as 'junk food' '-- as much as possible," Dr. Worley summarizes.

Minimizing the following foods may help reduce the likelihood of experiencing gastrointestinal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, heartburn and reflux symptoms, Dr. Worley explains.

1) High-fat foodsThis is a wide umbrella to consider, but generally focuses on fried foods and greasy meals that make use of full-fat dairy and oil-heavy styles of cooking. Research has long indicated that even those without diabetes or non-obese individuals can experience upset stomach and digestive issues when eating deep-fried foods, which means those on semaglutide medications are facing a higher likelihood of GI issues if they regularly eat fried, greasy meals.

2) Trans and saturated fatsClosely related to fried, greasy foods and snacks, highly saturated fats (including trans fats) are known to exacerbate GI issues. Every day staples like whole milk, heavy cream, full-fat cheese, butter, ice cream and most red meats may cause additional gastrointestinal distress for someone on Ozempic. You'll want to pivot to food groups that make use of healthier fats, namely monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, including lean fish, olive oil and most nuts.

3) Added sugarSugar has a way of sneaking into items you wouldn't expect '-- including foods like sauces and salad dressings, savory bakery items like bread, and frozen, ready-to-eat meals. For those with diabetes in particular, high-glycemic foods (or foods that contain a lot of sugar and subsequently spike blood sugar) can work against the nature of semaglutide medication. For that reason, you'll need to seriously budget how much candy, soda, fruit juice and dessert you enjoy. They should be heavily moderated and substituted when possible.

4) High-sodium foodsThis often translates into highly processed food, including grab-and-go snacks like potato chips, canned foods including soups and a lot found in drive-thrus or frozen aisles in the grocery store. Many Americans consume too much sodium currently; around 90% of all Americans over the age of two are eating too much salt, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Added sodium in your diet often increases blood pressure and leads to heart disease, a potentially deadly combo for anyone who is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Because added salt often is found in overtly caloric and fat-laden foods, seeing high sodium counts on a nutrition label should give you pause if you're worried about an upset stomach.

5) Refined carbohydratesFoods and grocery staples that are high in carbohydrates '-- especially those that are overly processed and don't offer many holistic nutrients '-- can easily spike your blood sugar. White bread, boxed pasta, sugary cereals and starchy bagels are prime examples of grocery staples that may wreck your blood sugar counts if you're not careful. Compared to whole, unprocessed grains that may add fiber and other nutrients into the mix, refined carbs miss many nutrients available in staples like wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat and farro. Fiber-rich carbohydrates are usually much easier to digest than others, too.

6) High-glycemic starchy vegetablesWhile you shouldn't often discriminate against vegetables available to you, some veggies are worth more nutritionally than others, especially when it comes to reducing risk of GI distress. Potatoes are a prime example: They may spike blood sugar when consumed due to their carbohydrate counts. Others to limit include corn, carrots, and peas. While all vegetables are nutritious and should be enjoyed as much as possible, swapping out starchy vegetables for diabetes-friendly options like broccoli, zucchini, or green beans can help your medication work better in the long run.

A special note about alcohol: Because semaglutide slows down digestion, eliminating alcohol or restricting it as much as possible may save you from irritating your stomach. Alcohol is a known irritant to gastrointestinal systems and, when combined with semaglutide, consumption may raise your risk of developing what's known as hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

Why can't I eat much on Ozempic?Ozempic and many other semaglutide-based medications work to suppress your appetite by influencing hormones in your body. They also cause your stomach to process food more slowly, leaving you feeling fuller, longer; all of this translates to many patients feeling less hungry than they've ever felt before, explains Dr. Worley.

If you're feeling nauseous while injecting or taking semaglutide medications, you're not alone '-- nausea and upset stomach are among the most commonly reported side effects for Ozempic, in particular. Healthcare providers have established that many side effects associated with Ozempic lessen as the patient increases their dosage and acclimates to the medication.

"Hydration is key to preventing or minimizing nausea, especially when starting semaglutide," Dr. Worley explains. "For more severe or refractory cases, people should contact their provider for guidance. Often times, a short-term antiemetic '-- or anti-vomit medication '-- may help during the initial few doses."

What you eat may also play a role in how hungry you feel while taking Ozempic and other semaglutide medications. Adapt your approach to meals with the following tips if you find your appetite is being hampered by side effects:

Eating smaller amounts with an increased frequency during the day; splitting meals into snacks over multiple hours, for exampleEating more slowly and chewing more thoroughly with each biteAvoiding alcohol consumptionCutting out spicy foodsReducing the amount of added sugar you eat to avoid sky-rocketing blood sugar spikesThe bottom line: There isn't a one-size-fits-all diet approach for those on Ozempic, Wegovy or other semaglutide medications currently on the market. Anyone starting a new medication regimen, including semaglutide, must consult their healthcare provider to ensure proper nutritional needs are being met. Doctors often direct their patients to see registered dietitians for this reason, and to address other damaging food habits that may be particularly risky for those with diabetes.Because semaglutide medications have been linked to side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation, streamlining your diet may help reduce the likelihood of experiencing these potentially chronic side effects. More often than not, foods outlined above make it harder for semaglutide medications to control insulin release, making it well worth your time to limit your exposure to added sugar, fatty, greasy meals, refined carbohydrates, alcohol and excessive sodium.

Health Editor

Zee Krstic is a health editor for Good Housekeeping, where he covers health and nutrition news, decodes diet and fitness trends and reviews the best products in the wellness aisle. Prior to joining GH in 2019, Zee fostered a nutrition background as an editor at Cooking Light and is continually developing his grasp of holistic health through collaboration with leading academic experts and clinical care providers. He has written about food and dining for Time, among other publications.

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Attending Endocrinologist at the Weill Cornell Medical College

Rekha Kumar, M.D. is recognized as an international leader in the field of obesity medicine. She is a practicing endocrinologist in New York City and served as the former medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Kumar has lectured internationally on the topic of the medical assessment and treatment of obesity. She has published several papers and textbook chapters in her field and serves as an associate editor of the journal Obesity. She is frequently quoted in the media on topics ranging from the diabetes epidemic in the United States to discussing fad diets, exercise trends, and the complications of Covid-19 in patients with obesity. Dr. Kumar's areas of expertise include the clinical assessment of patients' obesity and metabolic syndrome, the effect of obesity on reproductive health and fertility, as well as thyroid disease, and metabolic bone disease.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:05

The ever-expanding popularity of weight loss injectables has NYC moms clamoring to get their shots '-- even if it means resorting to ''shady'' and ''unethical'' measures.

Ozempic and Wegovy, brand name semaglutides initially designed for people with Type 2 diabetes, have surged in demand due to their controversial effectiveness as weight loss drugs.

And despite the FDA's warning against using off-brand semaglutide compounds due to their potential ''adverse effects,'' a shortage of brand-name drugs and their hefty $1,300-a-month price tag is motivating people to seek cheaper, more accessible options.

One 40-year-old fashion executive and mom of three who lives on the Upper East Side, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Post she is currently taking off-brand semaglutide in the hopes it will help her lose the excess baby weight, a ''hush-hush'' trend she said is permeating her affluent Manhattan neighborhood.

''You see people and they lost 30 pounds and have this face that is smaller,'' she said of the moms she knows who have mysteriously shrunk. Even though she suspects they are on semaglutide, she called Upper East Siders ''judgmental'' and suspects that ''Ozempic shaming'' keeps them from dishing out their diet secrets. She claims moms are more outspoken about it in other cities.

''I actually had the idea to take it after seeing a post in a Midwest moms group,'' she said. ''One mom asked a question about taking it, and there were like 200 replies of women saying, 'I took it, and I lost 50 pounds, and I had no side effects.'''

Some Upper East Side moms who feel pressure to lose baby weight are seeking out off-brand semaglutide to help them shed pounds '-- despite the risks. Note: This photo is a creative illustration and not an actual depiction of moms getting semaglutide from clinics.She called her primary care doctor a month ago to see if he could prescribe her a brand-name injectable to help her get back to her 118-pound pre-baby body. She's struggled to lose weight after giving birth to twins via IVF in 2018 and getting pregnant with a baby girl just 9 months later. The mom, who is 5'2'" said she lost 20 pounds on her own, but her weight loss plateaued, and she suffers ''a lot of pain'' in her legs.

'There are no randomized controlled trials defending that [compounded semaglutide is safe] nor is there any level of concrete data '

Dr. Disha Narang, endocrinologist and director of obesity medicine at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital''I said, 'Hey, I've heard a lot of moms taking it, and is it safe? And do you think I can get a prescription from you?''' she recalled. He said: '''Listen, it doesn't hurt, but you probably won't get covered by your insurance.' So, he didn't want to give me a prescription because I'm not obese, and I don't have diabetes.''

When her doctor said no, she Googled ''semaglutide New York'' and said she found Elite Health Center NYC.

''It's super shady,'' she said of her opinion on the weight loss center, but added it seemed ''legit enough'' after asking them questions over the phone. ''It was important to me that they had a real location. So I Googled them to see if they have a real storefront that they're not, you know, somewhere else,'' she said.

She added they ''seemed like they knew what they were doing,'' and that after filling out an intake form from them, she had a ''super fast'' phone call with a doctor and a prescription that same day.

''The doctor just wanted to make sure I was healthy and didn't have any kind of disease. He knew that I wanted the medication to lose weight, but he didn't really ask if I had an eating disorder or things like that,'' she said. ''He said I seemed like a great candidate,'' she said. She claims that they didn't order any medical labs, nor did she have to send any over.

A mom, who wished to remain anonymous, said she got a prescription for semaglutide after a telehealth consultation with Elite Health Center NYC. Pictured here is an ad from the clinic's website. elitehealthcenternyc.com''I thought it was just too easy, but then I Googled him and he's a real doctor, and apparently he's also a cannabis doctor,'' she alleged.

Around two weeks later, for $850 she said she got injectable semaglutide for the 12-week weight loss program delivered to her home. She's been prescribed a starter dose of .25mg. After one month of taking it, she's lost 5 pounds and said she hasn't experienced any adverse side effects, but said that she'll stop taking the meds if she does.

Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist and the director of Obesity Medicine at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in Illinois, told The Post compounded semaglutide is ''not FDA approved and we don't have any data on long-term efficacy.''

Furthermore, she said Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the makers of diabetes drugs tirzepatide and semaglutide, ''are going to be coming after a lot of these manufacturers that are making compounded substances.''

In a press release distributed last week, Novo Nordisk cited trademark issues and safety concerns and said it is taking steps to protect US patients ''from the unlawful marketing and sales of non-FDA approved counterfeit and compounded semaglutide products claiming to contain semaglutide, while reinforcing the responsible use of Novo Nordisk's FDA-approved medicines.''

''Novo Nordisk has commenced the filing of legal actions in the US against certain medical spas, weight loss or wellness clinics, and compounding pharmacies to cease and desist from false advertising, trademark infringement and/or unlawful sales of non-FDA approved compounded products claiming to contain semaglutide,'' said the release.

''These unlawful marketing and sales practices, including the use of Novo Nordisk trademarks in connection with these practices, have created a high risk of consumer confusion and deception as well as potential safety concerns,'' the release continues. ''Compounded products do not have the same safety, quality and effectiveness assurances as our FDA-approved drugs and may expose patients to health risks.''

Novo Nordisk added: ''No FDA-approved generic versions of semaglutide currently exist.''

The Post reached out to Eli Lilly for comment.

While the FDA issued warnings against compounded semaglutide, as of now, compounding semaglutide or prescribing it isn't against the law if there is a shortage of medication.

''When a drug is in shortage, compounders may be able to prepare a compounded version of that drug if they meet certain requirements in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. As of May 2023, Ozempic and Wegovy are both listed on FDA's Drug Shortages list,'' the FDA reports on its website.

The mom chose Elite Health Center NYC because they ''had a storefront'' and ''seemed like they knew what they were talking about.'' Though overall, she said the process seemed ''too easy.'' elitehealthcenternyc.comEven though drugs can be compounded during a shortage, it does not mean they are monitored for safety by the FDA.

''FDA has received adverse event reports after patients used compounded semaglutide. Patients should not use a compounded drug if an approved drug is available to treat a patient. Patients and health care professionals should understand that the agency does not review compounded versions of these drugs for safety, effectiveness, or quality,'' the FDA has declared.

''Patients should be aware that some products sold as 'semaglutide' may not contain the same active ingredient as FDA-approved semaglutide products and may be the salt formulations. Products containing these salts, such as semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate, have not been shown to be safe and effective.''

Multiple clinic reps told The Post the compounded semaglutides they prescribe to patients come from a ''trusted source'' that doesn't produce the meds with salt forms, and therefore they are safe. However, the FDA doesn't approve compounded substances, and they don't undergo the same level of scrutiny as FDA-approved drugs.

''There are no randomized controlled trials defending that, nor is there any level of concrete data,'' Dr. Narang said of people claiming compounded drugs are safe because they don't have salt forms. Because of this, she believes prescribing compounded semaglutide is ''unethical.'' Her opinion of compounded semaglutide is that it's ''not safe.''

The FDA has not yet responded to The Post's requests for comment.

Moms, like the Upper East Side fashion executive, are seeking out compounded semaglutide because they don't meet the criteria for insurance coverage for the brand name.

So far the only people who might qualify to get insurance coverage for FDA-approved Ozempic and Wegovy are those who meet national guidelines which include, ''a BMI of 27 or above with a metabolic comorbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and heart disease, or a BMI 30 or above without any other comorbidities,'' Narang explained.

Narang, who is a mom herself, said she ''absolutely understands the difficulty of getting off that last 10 to 15 pounds, but right now I'm not there to argue those guidelines specifications. We have a national crisis of obesity and increased weight, but we've got to go about this safely.''

Additionally, Narang said to be wary of anyone advertising a short term weight loss solution: ''The whole intent of weight management with semaglutide of any of the GLP-1 agonists is that's supposed to be a chronic therapy to be used longer term.''

Despite warnings from doctors, a simple Google search reveals that multiple telehealth weight loss programs and med spas in New York City are offering semaglutide injections, some of which are compounded.

In addition to Elite Health Center NYC, businesses like IV Drips, Drip Gym, ReBalance, and Skinney MedSpa advertise weight loss injectable services.

ReBalance and Skinney MedSpa did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment about what kind of injectables they use as well as their intake practices.

In response to being called ''shady'' by a client, an employee of Elite Health Center told The Post: ''We've been established in the weight loss management arena since 2013. Our reviews speak for themselves when it comes to our integrity and we are far from shady.''

''We're not a fly-by-night johnny-come-lately company trying to cash in on helping people lose weight.''

The Post also spoke with Dr. Anthony Colantonio, who is the main physician affiliated with Elite Health Center NYC. He is a physician licensed to practice medicine in New York and New Jersey and also has a medical marijuana certification. In addition to being a doctor, he is an attorney who is licensed to practice in New York.

Colantonio estimated that 80% of the patients he sees are women ''who have gained weight because of a previous pregnancy or pregnancy.''

When asked if he thought prescribing a semaglutide compound is safe he replied: ''The compounded semaglutide that I prescribe through Elite Health Center is as safe as the Wegovy and Ozempic that I prescribe to other patients whose insurance company is willing to pay for it.''

''There are semaglutide compounded products out there that are either semaglutide salts or acetate. I don't work with those compounds, I don't prescribe those compounds. I prescribe semaglutide which is the exact same medication as Wegovy and Ozempic without the added marketing and research costs.''

''Ozempic semaglutide is patented by Novo Nordisk and it's delivered in a pen injectable form for weight management, delivered as a pen injectable for diabetes and also available as an oral agent for the management of diabetes,'' said Dr. Narang. Getty Images 'There's zero research behind what they're saying. There is no evidence. Nothing.'

Dr. Disha Narang, on clinics ''taking advantage of people's desperation to lose weight.''He said he works with a pharmacy in Florida called Hallandale that he trusts and said that ''in this time that we're in, when Novo Nordisk has such a short supply of Ozempic and Wegovy, it is absolutely 100% safe to prescribe a compounded semaglutide as long as the physician is confident in the compounding pharmacy.''

And whether or not he'd have a patient do bloodwork prior to receiving a prescription, Colantonio said that, ''requiring labs depends on whether the patient has a serious medical issue'...things like diabetes and bone marrow, issues like red blood cell issues, white blood cell issues, any serious kidney or liver malfunction, if they have any pancreas issues, if they have any malignancies. Most of those patients have had laboratory values done by their personal medical doctor.''

''If those lab values are within a normal range and their doctor is confident that they don't need laboratory values, I might consider treating those patients,'' he continued. Though not all of his patients are required to have bloodwork.

''Other patients who do not necessarily require laboratory values are patients who are overweight and have no daily symptomatology and don't require testing of their organ function,'' he added.

Colantonio, who has an in-office practice and a telehealth practice, said he has patients fill out an intake form on their medical history and their family's medical information as well as their ''social history, behavior history, medications, surgery, things along those lines.''

He then meets with patients in his office or remotely and asks about ''recent physical examinations, recent surgery, and recent medical visits.''

''Based on my interaction with the patient and a thorough evaluation with the use of their medical forms, I make a decision whether the patient would be best served using semaglutide as a way to control their weight,'' he said. If prescribed medication, he said he starts patients on a dose of .25mg per week, then he'll double after 3-4 weeks if their ''side effects are under control.'' Patients can go up to 1.7mg per week.

Colantonio then has monthly check-ins with patients to track their progress.

When asked about the safety of simply telling a doctor a medical history over the phone and filling out forms, Narang said, ''That's not appropriate medical care.''

''There's no record there. Patients often don't know their medical history in detail. They don't know their labs. There's a reason why we're trained to be able to analyze this information and make a proper, medical decision and safe medical decision based on their history and prior workup,'' she said.

''Are they able to tell you what the risk of pancreatitis might be for that person or the risk of GI side effects for that person?'' she said.''It's really important to get a thorough history and you only end up being able to diagnose pancreatitis in the event itself, like in the E.R. and, you know, when they present with it,'' she said.

Bracha Banyan, a nurse practitioner and the founder of concierge medical service IV Drips, also touts compounded semaglutide. She called the injections a ''miracle helping hand'' for her clients, many of whom are moms looking to lose ''those last 10 to 15 pounds.''

''Drug compounding is often regarded as the process of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient. Compounding includes the combining of two or more drugs. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved'' reports the FDA's website. The brand name Ozempic is approved by the FDA. REUTERS''When you give birth you give your body up,'' said Banyan. ''[Moms] have a right to feel better about themselves and it doesn't mean you have to be wealthy to get there.''

Banyan said IV Drips is an ''extremely concierge luxury service'' that ''takes care of celebrities, and pretty much the top 10% income families in the world,'' but that she wanted to make a service more accessible to everyone. She said that while people can opt to take a brand-name drug with her service, they'd be paying around ''$5,000 just for five months,'' and that's ''not affordable for most of the population.''

''We have a monthly program '... the rate is so cheap, it's like amazing. It's $599 a month'...The compound is all taken from FDA-approved pharmaceutical companies and they compound it with B12,'' Banyan told The Post.

''You could buy Advil, you could buy Motrin, you could buy ibuprofen, at the end of the day the active ingredient is ibuprofen. Even when you buy Advil, it's just branding. It's the name and it still works the same,'' she explained of using the compounded drugs versus the brand name. She also claimed that ''a little bit of the half-life does change with Ozempic,'' and that ''sometimes people have less side effects [from] the semaglutide when it's compounded.''

Banyan said in addition to virtual consultations and house calls, people in her program get their own nurse practitioner and have ''check-ins all the time'' to make sure they're on track to lose their desired weight.

Even if they require labs and implement monitoring, Narang believes weight loss clinics offering compounded semaglutide are, ''absolutely taking advantage of people's desperation to lose weight.''

''There's zero research behind what they're saying. There is no evidence. Nothing,'' she said, referencing the lack of FDA findings.

Narang also offered her opinion on facilities that add B12 to their compounds. ''Coming up with their own 'concoctions' is suspect. Some med spas will fill various vitamins, B12, HCG etc. into their compounded substances and market it as a special cocktail,'' she said.

In response to questions over whether or not compounded medications are safe, Banyan replied: ''Compound pharmacies have regulations they have to follow. The importance of a brand or a company is the values that company or brand stands behind. Always make sure you are trusting in an established brand or company and that company is always implementing best standards of practice.''

Drip Gym, a clinic that began offering weight loss injectable services in March, told The Post it charges clients $499 a month ''which covers four weekly semaglutide shots.''

IV Drips offers a weight loss program for $599 a month that comes with a bloodwork review and lifestyle monitoring along with a semaglutide injection compounded with B12. ivdrips.com''Our clinic utilizes a generic version of semaglutide rather than brand-name medications like Ozempic or Wegovy,'' Drip Gym said. No FDA-approved generic versions of Wegovy or Ozempic exist and it's not known if they mean compounded semaglutide.

''In addition to our weight loss program, we also provide other services such as IV vitamin therapy, hydrafacials, body sculpting, and more,'' Drip Gym explained. Regarding questions about safety, the clinic said: ''We prioritize the safety of our clients and adhere to strict protocols.'' They said they couldn't comment on the safety of other clinics but that, ''It is important to select a clinic that has qualified medical professionals who can provide proper education about the medication being used, thoroughly explain potential side effects, and offer regular monitoring and support throughout the weight loss journey.''

Narang has a word of advice for moms looking to drop pounds.

''I think that I think that patients who are interested in losing weight, whatever BMI they're at, need to consult a doctor [who practices obesity medicine] and make sure that they're getting evidence-based information,'' urged Narang.

''And then here's my other question. I mean, these are women of childbearing age. We don't know what's in these compounded substances. Are these breastfeeding moms? Is that going to affect further fertility? We don't know this,'' she said.

Even for Upper East Side moms who go to an in-person weight loss clinic and manage to get insurance coverage for a brand-name prescription, getting ahold of the meds is no walk in Central Park.

A 38-year-old advertising executive and mom to a 3-year-old son who wished to remain anonymous is currently taking Wegovy after enlisting in a weight loss program at Weill Cornell '-- though she had to wait 6 months to get an appointment.

She didn't purposely seek out a weight loss injectable, it was her doctor who recommended she take Wegovy because she is clinically obese and has high cholesterol. She said her doctor did ''a lot of bloodwork'' before prescribing the drug, and since she sees other doctors at Cornell, they already had access to her medical records.

While Ozempic is approved by the FDA, compounded drugs are not. AFP via Getty Images''I was able to get my insurance to cover it, and I paid $0,'' she said. She is currently on a dose of 1.7mg.

She weighed 198 pounds when she started taking the medication in February, and since then has lost around 15 pounds ''without even trying.'' She hopes to lose at least 50 pounds.

What took the most effort was trying to find a pharmacy that would fill her prescription.

''At CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, any of the big retail pharmacies, it is very, very hard to find this drug. As soon as they stock up the people who already have prescriptions it's already done,'' she said. She tried mail-order pharmacies, and a mom-and-pop pharmacy across the street from her home, which carried it briefly but eventually stopped.

''Amazon was the only pharmacy I could find to get my prescriptions filled and sent to me,'' she said, adding they ran out of the last dosage she was taking. She was at 1mg and had a two-week supply left, and had to go up to 1.7mg to get her prescription filled.

Narang said her patients have experienced similar problems getting their prescriptions filled and their health has suffered because of it.

A shortage of Wegovy is making it hard for diabetics to get their meds in a timely manner. REUTERS''We're again in a shortage for Wegovy, so we can't get that for patients who have been treated with it for weight management last year because of the unprecedented demand for our patients with diabetes,'' she said. Since her patients were unable to get their meds in a timely manner, ''they regained the weight, their blood sugars went up.''

In addition to causing a shortage, the demand and prevalence of the drugs have led to a spike in ER visits nationwide for side effects like diarrhea, nausea, bloating, and blurred vision.

And while the mom in the program at Cornell said she hasn't been to the ER, nor has she had side effects akin to ''Ozempic butt'' or ''Ozempic finger,'' she suffered from ''severe constipation'' during her first six weeks on Wegovy.

On a positive note, she said she no longer has food cravings. ''That part of my brain is just shut off,'' she said, adding she also no longer feels the effects of alcohol when she drinks, so she tends to skip out on wine, which she calls ''empty calories.''

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:03

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Scientists are calling for obesity to be renamed to better help policymakers and the public understand and prevent the disease.

Researchers, including those from University College Cork in Ireland, said renaming would help avoid ongoing confusion about the term ''obesity'', which currently can refer to the disease of obesity, a BMI range or a combination of the two.

Their new study, published recently in the journal Obesity Reviews, highlights the different or conflicting understandings of the term ''obesity''.

Scientists called for reconsidering whether the term conveys the reality of the complex disease which centres on environmental, genetic, physiological, behavioural as well as developmental factors, and not on body weight or BMI.

While appetite-control medications like Ozempic (Semaglutide) are generating phenomenal demand worldwide, researchers said patients with obesity may be sent to the ''back of the queue'' based on the mistaken assumption that they do not need such drugs as those with diabetes.

A clearer terminology for the condition could play a better role in addressing this inequity, they said.

''Our focus should be on the underlying pathophysiology and not on body size. For people with the disease of obesity, treatment is not optional or cosmetic,'' study co-author Margaret Steele said.

''A different diagnostic term such as 'adiposity-based chronic disease' could more clearly convey the nature of this disease, and avoid the confusion and stigma that may occur if we keep using the term 'obesity', which has become synonymous with body size,'' Dr Steele said.

Adequately addressing the disease, according to scientists, requires distinguishing it clearly and unambiguously from high BMI.

While obesity as understood in clinical medicine meets the criteria to be considered a disease, its definition by BMI does not.

Some experts said recent guidance warning doctors against using Ozempic for obesity could also be problematic.

''Semaglutide is approved as a treatment for obesity, just as it is for diabetes. There is a deeply stigmatising idea out there that people with obesity are looking for an easy way out, that these medicines provide a low-effort alternative to healthy diet and lifestyle,'' said Francis Finucane, another author of the study.

''But for people living with the disease of obesity, these drugs don't make behavioural change unnecessary, nor do they make it easy '' they just make it possible,'' Dr Finucane said.

This is different from celebrities using drugs like Semaglutide to become ''fashionably'' thin.

''This is why we need to clarify what we mean by obesity. Many of the people we see on TikTok or Instagram reporting on their semaglutide journeys do not have the disease of obesity,'' Dr Steele explained.

''When we talk about treating and preventing obesity, our focus should be on healthy food environments, and appropriate treatment for people living with chronic metabolic diseases.''

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:02

Less than 24 hours after Monday's mass shooting in Philadelphia, in which a gunman dressed in a ski mask and body armor killed five people and injured two children, right-wing pockets of social media were exploding with speculation about the suspect's gender identity.

Among those fueling the speculation was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has been repeatedly criticized for amplifying conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQ sentiments. On Tuesday, Greene tweeted a link to an article by the right-wing media outlet The Post Millennial that includes an image from the suspect's Facebook page that appears to show him wearing women's clothing and jewelry.

''Another trans shooter,'' Greene declared in the tweet, which had been viewed more than 853,000 times as of Wednesday night.

A representative for Greene did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About an hour after Greene weighed in, conservative commentator Rogan O'Handley, who has over 945,000 followers on Twitter, shared the same article, which does not identify the suspect as transgender or speculate about his gender identity.

''Time to start having a national dialogue on Trans mass shooters that target children,'' O'Handley wrote, in part.

O'Handley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Secure America Now, a conservative nonprofit group with 3 million Facebook followers, wrote on the platform that the suspect had been ''revealed to be a trans'' Black Lives Matter activist. A representative for the group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robby Starbuck, a former Republican congressional candidate in Tennessee and ex-Hollywood music video producer who has more than 340,000 Twitter followers, also joined in, declaring that the shooter is transgender.

''Keep in mind that Democrats want you to let the trans Philidelphia mass shooter into the bathroom with your wife and daughters,'' Starbuck tweeted, referring to Philadelphia.

In a message to NBC News, Starbuck said it was "common sense" to assume that Carriker identifies as trans.

"I haven't seen many men wearing bras posing like this in multiple photos," Starbuck wrote. "Have you?"

Police announced Tuesday that they arrested Kimbrady Carriker, 40, on Monday night in connection with the shooting. At a news conference at a church Wednesday, prosecutors said the suspect had been arraigned and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon without a license and carrying firearms in public.

While he acknowledged the social media images that appear to show Carriker wearing women's clothing and jewelry, Asa Khalif, a member of the LGBTQ advisory committee for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, condemned the ''violent'' language coming from the ''conservative press'' about Carriker's gender identity and shared what the district attorney's office knows firsthand about Carriker's gender identity.

''The suspect has not identified themselves as trans. They have only identified themselves as male,'' Khalif said at Wednesday's news conference. ''But the language spewed out by the conservative press is violent and is dangerous, and it's targeting trans women of color. It's rallying the community to be violent, and we're better than that.''

Khalif condemned those who label trans people as ''killers.''

''They are the most vulnerable to violence,'' he said. ''They want to live their lives, and they have every right to do so, and we will not allow conservative bigots to use that type of language to attack trans people.''

District Attorney Larry Krasner expressed similar sentiments.

''There are some people for whom hate is a full-time job,'' Krasner said. ''And if they can stay away from the facts and talk about nonsense, that's what they're going to do.''

Conservative lawmakers and right-wing pundits have increasingly tried to blame mass shootings on trans people or spread conspiracy theories started on far-right websites that shootings suspects are trans.

After a 2015 shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed three people, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spread the unsubstantiated theory that the shooter was transgender after a far-right outlet reported that the suspect had registered to vote as a woman.

Then, in 2018, some far-right websites and conservative critics claimed without evidence that a shooter who wounded three people at YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, California, was trans.

Last year, after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two adults died, users of 4chan, a forum website with little moderation, shared a photo of a trans woman and falsely claimed she was the deceased shooter, when, in reality, the woman was alive and lived in Georgia. Still, the conspiracy theory was widely shared online, including by Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; conservative commentator Candace Owens; and Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who was successfully sued for defamation for falsely claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012 was a hoax.

False claims that shooters are trans or that trans people are more likely to be violent have picked up steam since the November shooting at Club Q, a nightclub in Colorado Springs, which killed five people. In the days following the tragedy, lawyers for the shooter, Anderson Lee Aldrich, said Aldrich identifies as nonbinary and uses gender-neutral pronouns, sparking a tense debate online about the suspect's identity.

Then, in March, misinformation spread rampantly after six people died in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, authorities said they believed that the suspect '-- who was killed by police at the scene '-- was transgender, but they have yet to officially confirm the suspect's gender identity.

In recent days, some online users justified their speculation about the Philadelphia shooter's gender identity by pointing to authorities' use of gender-neutral pronouns in referring to the suspect. NBC News could find only one instance, at a news conference Tuesday, when a law enforcement officer used ''they/them'' pronouns to refer to Carriker. At the same news conference, other city officials later referred to Carriker as a ''man'' repeatedly.

The spread of misinformation about mass shooters' gender identities coincides with an unprecedented wave of state bills targeting LGBTQ people and an uptick in incidents of anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism.

More than 490 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country this year, and an estimated 77 have become law, according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union, with many of the bills directed at legislating the lives of trans people. Simultaneously, reports have shown a surge in anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism incidents in the U.S since June 2022.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:01

The rifle-wielding suspect who donned a bulletproof vest before allegedly shooting dead five men and injuring two children in Philadelphia has been identified as a Black Lives Matter supporter who shared gun-toting memes on social media.

Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was nabbed shortly after the bloodshed in the city's Kingsessing neighborhood Monday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, citing sources.

Cops haven't yet publicly disclosed the suspect's identity.

On his Facebook page, Carriker posted two pictures of himself wearing a bra, a women's top and earrings with his hair braided long in March, three months before the alleged shooting.

He also regularly posts about supporting Black Lives Matter, including supporting workers who protested in the Strike For Black Lives in July 2020.

Carriker allegedly shot five men dead and injured two children in Philadelphia. Kimbrady Carriker/Facebook Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was nabbed shortly after the bloodshed in the city's Kingsessing neighborhood. Kimbrady Carriker/FacebookPolice said the 40-year-old male suspect was armed with a rifle, pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and bulletproof vest when he fatally shot four men on the street and then chased and killed a fifth man inside a home.

A 2-year-old boy was shot four times in the legs, while a 13-year-old boy also suffered gunshot wounds to his legs, according to cops.

The gunman had fired at police as they chased him for several blocks before he eventually surrendered in an alley, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.

The rifle-wielding suspect donned a bulletproof vest before the alleged shooting. AP Police canvass the scene of Monday night's deadly shooting in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood. REUTERSCarriker also described himself as a computer engineer, and showed an interest in guns, posting pictures and memes of people with firearms.

One image featured a person holding a pistol with the caption: ''Wherefore art thou opposition so I may slide upon thine block and runneth down on thee.''

Another one of his posts showed footage of several kids firing off rounds from a rifle.

Carriker posted a video of a burning Philadelphia police car to Facebook in 2020. Kimbrady Carriker/FacebookIn May 2020, Carriker also posted a video to his Facebook of a burning Philadelphia police car that had been daubed with grafitti including ''ACAB'' '-- an acronym for ''All coppers are b'--''ds'' '-- and captioned it: ''I was there; where were you? #we matter.'' However, It is unclear if he had filmed the video himself.

The shooter, who was taken into custody without incident, didn't have any connection to the victims prior to the shooting, Outlaw added.

Carriker's old roommate, Tina Rosette, 49, told the Inquirer she was shocked to learn of his involvement in the shooting.

Kimbrady Carriker was taken into custody without incident. Kimbrady Carriker/Facebook''I didn't even know he had a gun,'' she said.

Rosette described Carriker as ''really smart, intelligent, creative'' and someone who loved computers, but said he had ''an aggressive approach to some things in life.''

She recalled him teaching young people how to fight ''purportedly'' in self-defense '-- but he failed to give them directions on when to stop.

Carriker was armed with a rifle, pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and bulletproof vest. AP/Steven M. Falk The suspect was nabbed shortly after the bloodshed in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood Monday night. AP A truck parked at the scene was riddled with bullet holes in the wake of the shooting. REUTERSRosette's daughter, Cianni Rosette, 24, who also lived with the alleged shooter, said Carriker had flashed a handgun several times.

''He was trying to get me comfortable around guns and stuff like that,'' she said.

The mother and daughter said they lived with Carriker in 2021 but moved out about a year ago.

At the scene of Monday night's shooting, officers said they found dozens of shell casings strewn across eight blocks. REUTERS Shell casings are marked across the street. TRACIE VAN AUKEN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThe elder Rosette said she believed he'd been in a ''dark place'' of late but she didn't know why.

Carriker had been arrested in 2003 and charged with possession of a weapon without a license, carrying a firearm in public and drug possession, according to Philadelphia court records.

Start your day with all you need to knowMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

He eventually pleaded guilty to having a firearm without a license and the other charges were dropped.

He was placed on three years' probation and made to pay over $1,000 in costs.

Carriker had at one point appeared to start his own company, LDS Frameworks, writing software and developing computer games, but it had been inactive since 2019.

At the scene of Monday night's shooting, officers said they found dozens of shell casings strewn across eight blocks.

''You can see there are several scenes out here,'' Outlaw said.

''We're canvassing the area to get as much as we can, to identify witnesses, to identify where cameras are located and to do everything to figure out the why,'' Outlaw said.

Cops have since identified the slain victims as Lashyd Merritt, 20, Dymir Stanton, 29, Ralph Moralis, 59, Daujan Brown, 15, and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31.

With Post wires

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:59

Days of unrest and rioting in France have spread overnight to neighbouring Switzerland, after spilling over into Belgium earlier in the week.

In the Swiss city of Lausanne, there were clashes between police and groups of protesters, most of them young '' an echo of the profile of many of the rioters in France. Seven people were detained, most of them teenagers, after several shop windows in Lausanne were smashed.

Around 100 people gathered on Saturday night in the centre of the city, which is located in the mainly French-speaking western part of Switzerland. Young people threw paving stones and at least one Molotov cocktail at officers, police said in a statement.

''Echoing the events and riots raging in France, more than a hundred youths gathered in central Lausanne and damaged businesses,'' the Lausanne police said in a statement.

Cobblestones and Molotov cocktails The violence began ''following several calls on social media'', police said, and ''several shop windows were smashed''.

''On multiple occasions, police officers had to disperse aggressive, hooded youths throwing cobblestones and a Molotov cocktail at them.''

''Quite clearly, what emerges from what we have seen is that these young people during the night were inspired by the situation in France,'' a Lausanne police spokesman added.

Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, the Lausanne councillor holding the security brief, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS that ''Nothing justifies these organised attempts to loot shops''.

''We did not have the start of a demonstration... We are facing people who organise themselves to break windows and seize goods,'' he said.

Swiss police detained six people aged between 15 and 17 '-- three girls and three boys, who had Portuguese, Somali, Bosnian, Swiss, Georgian and Serbian citizenship. They also detained a 24-year-old Swiss man. No police officers were injured.

On Thursday, about a dozen people were detained in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and several fires were brought under control.

France has seen five consecutive nights of rioting in towns and cities across the country. There were serious clashes between police and rioters in Marseille overnight.

The trouble began after police shot and killed a 17 year-old boy of Algerian descent in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Friday.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:59

A fund set up to help the French policeman whose killing of a 17-year-old set off riots across the country has been suspended at '‚¬1.6 million after a left-wing party asked prosecutors to outlaw it.

Jean Messiha, a hard-right television pundit, halted donations to the fund on the GoFundMe site that he opened at the weekend after Arthur Delaporte, a senior Socialist MP, wrote to the Paris prosecutor arguing that the account amounted to fraud and a breach of the peace.

The fund for the family of the 38-year-old policeman, and the rush of contributions, prompted outrage on the political left and criticism from President Macron's administration. ‰lisabeth Borne, the prime minister, said the fund's ''far-right origins'' had added to tension while youths, mainly of black and north African origin, were rioting.

The fund set up by Jean Messiha was subject to a claim that it amounted to a breach of the peace

FRANCOIS MORI/AP

The media have not named the officer, who is in detention on charges of the voluntary manslaughter of Nahel Merzouk, a teenager of Algerian-Moroccan background, during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre last week. A fund set up for Nahel has reached '‚¬330,000.

Messiha, 52, a senior French civil servant born in Egypt, said he was seeking to help the family of an officer who had only done his job. ''The political system has been mobilised for Nahel but who has been mobilised for the policeman and his family?'' he said on RMC radio. He said he would start a libel action against the Socialists.

Prosecutors have the power to annul the fund if they find it breaches laws on fraud and a ban on money-raising to pay for fines.

Polls have shown strong support for the police in the aftermath of the killing. A survey for le Point news site on Wednesday showed that 77 per cent of the French deemed the riots to have been ''unjustifiable''. Nearly 60 per cent of people who voted for Jean-Luc M(C)lenchon, the radical left-wing candidate in last year's presidential election, saw the riots as ''justifiable'', the poll showed.

The racial overtones in the perception of the riots were highlighted by a row over remarks by one of the most senior members of the conservative Republicans party. Bruno Retailleau, its leader in the Senate, was accused of ''crass racism'' by M(C)lenchon's France Unbowed party after he claimed that the young rioters, most of whom were French nationals, had undergone ''a regression to their ethnic roots''.

The notion that the riots are part of an ''ethnic war'' is promoted by ‰ric Zemmour, a radical anti-Islam campaigner who is close to the organiser of the policeman's fund.

Macron's administration was on the defensive after he suggested that social media should be silenced during episodes of tension because of their role in amplifying emotion and organising violence in the past week's events. Conservative politicians have called for Snapchat, TikTok and Telegram, the three platforms most used on the ethnic housing estates, to be temporarily suspended in times of strife.

''We have to think about the social networks, about the bans we'll have to put in place. When things get out of control, we might need to be able to regulate or cut them off,'' Macron told a meeting of mayors.

After the opposition accused Macron of seeking to emulate North Korea, Iran and China, his government watered down his remarks. ''That could mean suspending features . . . for example, some platforms have geolocation features allowing young people to meet at a certain spot, showing [violent] scenes and how to start fires,'' Olivier V(C)ran, the government spokesman, said.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:52

Image: Koshiro K (Shutterstock)

ChatGPT can be used for a wonderfully broad variety of applications'--with mixed results, of course. Less than a week after introducing its integration with Bing, ChatGPT pulled the plug on the collaboration as users discovered they could use it to bypass paywalled websites.

Generating Video Via Text? | Future Tech

Last week, OpenAI officially unveiled Browse with Bing for ChatGPT Plus, which would allow users to more effectively get answers to their questions via the search engine on the chatbot's mobile app, according to TechCrunch . OpenAI hoped that the beta feature would be most useful for current events as the company says that ChatGPT's training data doesn't extend beyond the year 2021. However, as of Monday, OpenAI has amended its original announcement of the feature in a blog post informing users that the feature will be shutting down.

''As of July 3, 2023, we've disabled the Browse with Bing beta feature out of an abundance of caution while we fix this in order to do right by content owners. We are working to bring the beta back as quickly as possible, and appreciate your understanding!'' Michael Schade of OpenAI wrote in the post.

Schade writes that the Browse feature may ''display content in ways we don't want'' as a reason for the shutdown, but Windows Central reports that users were able to bypass paywalls. The outlet points to the r/ChatGPT subreddit , in which a user posted that Browse with Bing basically turned the chatbot into a web browser that can display the full contents of a paywalled website when a user provides the chatbot with a URL.

Despite this hiccup, Microsoft and OpenAI have had quite a fruitful relationship as the tech corporation invested billions in the AI startup earlier this year . One of Microsoft's first moves was to add ChatGPT to the Bing search engine as a way to bolster the search engine against its main competitor Google. Last month, Microsoft announced it would be essentially doing the reverse'--sticking Bing into ChatGPT '--with Browse with Bing. Presumably, it will return when the kinks have been worked out.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:30

The Norwegian firm, Nel, announced its decision in May, nine months after Congress approved Biden's flagship climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The move takes 500 new jobs to the other side of the Atlantic, despite the European Union's efforts to position itself as the obvious place for clean tech investment.

Gas grab riles Europeans''There's not one single driver behind the decision to put it in the U.S.,'' Nel CEO H¥kon Volldal told POLITICO, pointing to the benefit of being close to customers and partners like General Motors, as well as the financial benefits of the IRA, the Biden-era CHIPS and Science Act that provides funding for technology development, and Michigan's own grants for green tech.

''If you take the IRA and the CHIPS Act together, we're talking about more than $400 billion,'' Volldal said. ''On top of that, you have subsidies for renewable power and so on. Europe is dwarfed by the numbers we see in the U.S.''

The global hydrogen industry was valued at more than $155 billion last year, and the EU plans to produce and import a total of 20 million tons of renewable hydrogen a year by 2030. Supporters say this will help replace natural gas, powering vehicles and generating electricity.

Now, though, the U.S. has its sights set on overtaking Europe when it comes to both hydrogen and the electrolyzers that extract it. The IRA introduced a $3-per-kilogram subsidy for green hydrogen and tens of billions of dollars in loans and other incentives for international investors to put money into the industry.

''A year ago, the EU clearly had the yellow jersey,'' Volldal said, referring to the garment that the fastest cyclist wears in the Tour de France. ''Now the U.S. has it.''

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis agrees. As the CEO of Hydrogen Europe, he's one of the continent's most influential lobbyists, having helped secure industry handouts worth billions of dollars. ''We have a very robust framework in the EU, but we fail to attract our own companies because it's all too complex,'' he said. ''We have ambitious targets, but we don't have simple and efficient instruments to incentivize businesses.

''In their typical bureaucratic way, the Europeans will kill this business,'' Chatzimarkakis said.

That leaves those who've helped launch the industry at risk of losing out, Chatzimarkakis added.

''Dung beetles spend hours rolling up balls of dung to attract females,'' he said. ''But there are some very smart dung beetles that just sit by the side and watch while others do hard work. Then they shoot in, take the dung ball, take the girl and run away with everything. That's Joe Biden.''

Revving up subsidies in MichiganMichigan wants to cement its growing reputation as a home for the hydrogen industry, hoping that the U.S. Department of Energy will designate it as one of four hydrogen development hubs in the country. That would make it eligible for even more money in the form of federal grants.

Luring Nel is a major early coup. The company is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of electrolyzers for hydrogen production, and its Michigan gigafactory will be one of the largest in the world.

''Hydrogen is one of the fuels for the future,'' Rep. Debbie Dingell , a Michigan Democrat who has worked with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to bring in green investment, said in an interview. ''We want to locate all kinds of different alternative technologies here.''

The White House has spent months responding to European criticism that its landmark energy policy is unfairly stealing business from U.S. allies on the continent. The administration counters that flooding the market with U.S. government funding is increasing the odds of success for companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

The IRA ''benefits both the United States and our partners and allies, contributing to the advancement of the clean energy sector globally and presenting significant opportunities for our partners,'' a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a statement. ''We continue to listen to our partners' perspectives ... and are turning the IRA into a source of economic growth and partnership.''

The spokesperson was granted anonymity to comment candidly on diplomatic relations.

The scale of the competition is now becoming clear. A senior European Commission official who has worked closely on the bloc's hydrogen industry incentives policy, granted anonymity to speak openly, acknowledged that Michigan and other U.S. states are becoming an attractive prospect for firms. ''The IRA has a tool we don't have '-- tax credits.''

In Europe, the official added, businesses have to go through a ''tendering process'' in which government agencies assess companies' proposals on their merits, with separate pots of money available for national and EU-level funds. But to get U.S. subsidies, ''they just have to meet certain requirements. That's attractive for industry.''

However, the official insisted Brussels isn't worried about losing jobs to the U.S. just yet. The EU is making '‚¬800 million in funding available for a pilot auction under its Hydrogen Bank scheme to help subsidize the cost of producing the gas, while a range of other incentives exists to kickstart the industry and more are still being planned, the official said. ''If the market is here, people will be here.''

America firstMona Dajani, global head of the renewable energy deals at the law firm Shearman and Sterling, said that after the passage of the IRA, countries from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are investing in clean energy projects in the U.S. at a rate she's not seen in her 25 years in the practice.

''The U.S. is now leading the way'' in overall clean tech investment, she said in an interview, echoing the Nel CEO's assessment. On a recent business trip to Europe, she went on, it was apparent that ''not everyone is happy'' about that perception.

''There are certain areas they are determined to lead in the clean tech revolution,'' Dajani said of European leaders. ''They're very much ahead of us with hydrogen. ... The problem is at the end of the day, the U.S. is offering massive subsidies to firms based in the U.S. These subsidies are spurring investments in the country, which will disadvantage companies based in Europe.''

Nel is ''the first of many we are going to see,'' said Brett Perlman, chief executive of the Center for Houston's Future, a group focused on making the sunny Gulf Coast city a hub for green hydrogen production.

''The IRA set the bar higher for Europe to think about how they can up their own ambition. It's having this effect where it's the U.S. spurring Europe,'' he said.

But David Hart, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, believes that the pressure to bring in businesses is good for industry as a whole. ''There is a competition between the U.S. and Europe for clean energy investment. Some people would view it as a race to the bottom. I view it as a race to the top.''

Hydrogen, he explains, is not as easy to transport as fossil gas, so there are limits to how much the U.S. can strengthen its hand as a future exporter. That means there will always be a commercial case for the fuel to be made in Europe as well.

Complaints from Brussels that the U.S. is stealing the industry away with larger incentives than the EU can manage are ''junk rhetoric,'' insists Pavel Molchanov, a Houston-based managing director and equity research analyst for the investment bank Raymond James. ''If European governments want to have more green hydrogen, write more checks.''

That's unfair to those who led the way in creating this industry, said Chatzimarkakis, the Hydrogen Europe CEO. ''As Europeans, we started it, and it was hard work,'' he insisted.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:27

Published July 4, 2023 Vaccines After 16 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. linked to international travel, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert on June 21, 2023, recommending that all eligible infants aged six months or older get an extra measles vaccine before traveling abroad this summer. Despite being licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use only in children 12 months of age and older, CDC officials say that under the ''right circumstances,'' such as traveling abroad this summer, children may be able to receive their first dose as early as six months of age.1

The health alert comes only a year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed Priorix, a new live measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for use in babies 12 months and older. Priorix was registered in Germany in 1997 and has been available in Europe and other countries since then.2 Shortly after the FDA licensed Priorix, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously in favor of allowing Priorix to be among the MMR vaccine products recommended on the childhood immunization schedule.

For the past five decades, Merck's MMR II vaccine, licensed in 1978, has been the sole source of MMR vaccine for infants and children in the U.S.3 Like Merck's MMR II vaccine, Priorix is a live attenuated vaccine with a similar dosage, safety and ingredient profile.4

More Americans are Questioning VaccinationsThe COVID-19 pandemic halted many routine health care activities for people in the United States, including pediatric well-child visits, and doctors' offices reported experiencing a significant drop in routine childhood vaccinations amid lockdowns and the adoption of virtual learning. COVID vaccine concerns and subsequent mandates for these experimental drugs prompted questioning and apprehension for many people concerning other vaccines.

In December 2022, more than one in three Americans voted against mandating the MMR vaccine in order for children to attend school, according to survey data published by the Kaiser Family Foundation. One month earlier, a joint report by the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) said that 40 million children did not receive at least one dose of the MMR vaccine in 2021. 1 5 6

Measles Outbreaks in Fully-Vaccinated Communities Not UncommonSimilar to COVID, public health professionals have urged getting vaccinated as the best way to avoid contracting measles. Also similar to COVID, measles outbreaks have often occurred in highly-vaccinated communities.7 The outbreaks were linked to vaccine failure, also known as ''breakthrough'' infections.

One of the largest measles outbreaks in North America to date occurred in Quebec, Canada, where vaccine coverage exceeded 95 percent of children.8 Additionally, a New York measles outbreak in 2011 was linked to vaccinated individuals.9 Another outbreak in British Columbia was later tied to a vaccinated child and documented as the first known case of vaccine-induced measles, otherwise known as ''atypical measles'' which is listed on the manufacturer's insert as a potential side effect.10 A study published in the 1990s, when vaccine uptake for measles was at its peak, attributed measles to a ''disease of immunized persons'' after evaluating 18 measles outbreaks in ''very highly immunized school populations.''11

Downplayed Antidote Reduces Risk of Measles Mortality by 87 Percent in BabiesA growing body of evidence has found that vitamin A is not only a viable treatment for measles, but vitamin A deficiency can even be a cause of more serious measles infections and complications. Vitamin A plays a critical role in immune function, so vitamin A deficiency not only makes individuals more susceptible to contracting the virus, but also affects the severity, duration, and morbidity associated with the illness.

Vitamin A deficiency is a rarity in the U.S., making measles complications and deaths far more common in low-income countries. However, studies have shown that those hospitalized with measles in the U.S. are commonly vitamin A deficient.12

One study published in the journal Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods'-- considered the gold standard in evidence-based medicine'--found that vitamin A reduces the risk of death from measles by 87 percent for children under two years old.13

The WHO and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) published a joint statement recommending vitamin A be given to all children diagnosed with measles in communities that are deficient. The language was subsequently updated to include all children with measles, suggesting that vitamin A supplementation is a viable treatment even in countries where measles isn't severe. Despite study findings and recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the WHO, vitamin A use for measles management in the U.S. has been limited.12

Priorix Promises Revenue Growth for GSKThe latest push for measles vaccination comes on the heels of pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna, which made tens of billions of dollars in profits from vaccine and therapeutic drug sales during the COVID pandemic, reporting sharply falling sales in the first half of 2023.14

''We remain skeptical that COVID revenues will grow in 2024 and beyond,'' JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note, adding that vaccination rates may fall even further than the substantial decline seen with booster shots last year.14

The new Priorix, Priorix Tetra, and chickenpox vaccine Varilrix, however, brought in a whopping $326 million for GSK.15

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Click here to view References:

1 Cobern J. CDC says infants should get extra measles vaccine prior to traveling abroad as cases rise. ABC News June 22, 2023.2 Precision Vaccinations. Priorix Vaccine. May 17, 2022.3 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine (PRIORIX): Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices '' United States, 2022. MMWR Nov. 18, 2022; 71(46): 1465-1470.4 Press Release. CDC vaccine group OKs new MMR, PCV vaccines for children. American Academy of Pediatrics June 22, 20225 McPhillips D. More than a third of parents oppose vaccine requirements in schools, KFF survey finds. CNN 16, 2022.6 Lunna L et al. KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: December 2022. Kaiser Family Foundation Dec. 16, 2022.7 Fisher BL. What Is Going On with Measles? The Science and Politics of Eradicating Measles. National Vaccine Information Center May 25, 2019.8 De Serres G et al. ''Largest measles epidemic in North America in a decade''Quebec, Canada, 2011: contribution of susceptibility, serendipity, and superspreading events.'' The Journal of infectious diseases 2013; 207(6): 990-8.9 Rose JB et al. Outbreak of Measles Among Persons With Prior Evidence of Immunity, New York City, 2011. Clinical Infectious Diseases May 2014; 58(9): 1205''1210.10 Murti M, Krajden M, Petric M, Hiebert J, Hemming F, Hefford B, Bigham M, Van Buynder P. Case of vaccine-associated measles five weeks post-immunisation. Euro Surveill 2013; 18(49): 20649.11 Poland GA, Jacobson RM. Failure to reach the goal of measles elimination. Apparent paradox of measles infections in immunized persons. Archives of Internal Medicine 1994; 154(16): 1815-20.12 Stinchfield PA, Orenstein WA. Vitamin A for the Management of Measles in the United States. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice July 2020; 28(4): 181-187.13 Yang HM, Mao M, Wan C. Vitamin A for treating measles in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005; Issue 4.f14 Erman M. Drug companies face COVID cliff in 2023 as sales set to plummet. Reuters Feb. 6, 2023.15 Shabong Y. GSK measles vaccine gets U.S. FDA approval. Reuters June 6, 2022.

12 ResponsesI will never agree with the CDC again as they are just looking for more money.

stop poisoning our children. the vaccines are poisonous stop the crimes upon humanity now!!!!!

CDC is an advertising agency for the pharmaceutical industry. It's authority is increasingly being recognized as diminished by its role as vaccine monger. We are entering a new age of regulatory nihilism.

Based on what scientific evidence? Oh, because big pharma says so.

Duplicitous criminals pushing their drugs on innocent children.

Here we go again. I had the measles when I was young, got spoiled by my mom, got over it and never had them again. Too many people think a shot or a pill is going to fix everything, and instead it makes their health worsen.

It's so ridiculous to consider 16 cases an outbreak among so many millions of children! I hate to see all the reactions that are going to happen to these poor children.

The risk of these vaccines out way the benefits'...If the media COWARDS were to tell the truth about what is happening in this country it would eliminate big harmas strangle hold on this country'...They will not say anything because of advertising revenue'...We are the most prescribed country in the world but not even close to being the healthiest ! The pandemic has revealed the truth about the pharmaceutical industry and people are starting to wake up..''.WE THE PEOPLE''

The measles virus destroys Cancer.

Wait a second'...so the CDC voted unanimously to allow the European Priorix MMR vaccine to be used for children traveling internationally. The Priorix vaccine is a LIVE vaccine and will be shedding the LIVE Measles, LIVE Mumps, and LIVE Rubella virus for at least 21 days while the recipient travels internationally.

OK, so let's give our US kids a live virus, spread it around to the countries we are traveling to, and then all of those kids, plus the new carriers that contracted from the live virus, can all return back to their homes and share measles, mumps, and rubella with their families and friends. SMH.

I saw several interviews with Michael Yon, a war journalist, who, has shown for months, the thousands of illegals immigrants walking in from the opened south borders, with all kinds of knowncontagious diseases. Malaria and measle as syphilis, were 3 I remember. why look any further where it's coming from!

Just a thought: wishing that this evening will bring back freedom and liberties!

Horrifying abuse of frightened people is taking place all the time with this outrageous vaccine schedule. I am frustrated with the people who just go along with it cos 'the doctor said it was safe' but, since covid, I am more understanding of the propaganda we are subjected to daily when a big corp has something to sell. Shame on them for pushing fear and shame on me for (often) being fearful about explaining to new parents the threat posed by childhood jabs and the reality of a beautiful, vibrant, immune tested-and-better for it, vaccine-free child!

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:04

As we move into a new shoulder season, folks in the Northern Hemisphere are putting together fall fits, while people in the Southern Hemisphere are breaking out their swimwear. Consumers everywhere may be looking to stock up their seasonal wardrobes'--and with that come new opportunities to be swayed on what clothes to buy. Enter the influencer.

Those flat rates can mean big bucks'--to the tune of four or five figures, even for influencers without global recognition. (Celebrities can charge up to six figures or more.)Many countries, including China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, require influencers to indicate when they are trying to influence you. But studies have found that sponsorship disclosures reduce engagement , and social-media sites are still chock full of advertisements masquerading as organic content '--much of which ends up on the feeds of people Gen Z or younger.

Other research has found that a sponsorship disclosure at the start or alongside content negatively affected how consumers felt about the featured product, while a disclosure at the end of a post had neutral or no effect'--no surprise that those ''clearly labeled'' disclosures are often just ''#ad'' labels slipped in at the end of a post.

Still, this kind of marketing can be a score for brands, influencers, and buyers alike. For example, research by McKinsey's Neira Hajro , Klemens Hjartar , Paul Jenkins , and Benjamim Vieira shows that finding products'--especially clothing'--that fit particular needs is a major concern for 23 percent of consumers.

If you're a young consumer, a popular strategy is to follow clothing influencers who have measurements similar to yours. If they look great in something, you probably will too'--which can help soothe the perennial no-changing-room challenge of digital shopping and encourage you to buy.

Smart marketing is crucial at a time when many people are tightening their belts'--for example, more than three-quarters of Gen Zers have adjusted their spending as a result of inflation. What's more, brand loyalty is already on the decline. Looking toward the future, people are becoming more comfortable with the seamless integration of different tech uses across their online presence as part of a move into the metaverse . How will you be shopping?

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:00

Lab-grown meat, which is cultured from animal cells, is often thought to be more environmentally friendly than beef because it's predicted to need less land, water and greenhouse gases than raising cattle. But in a preprint , not yet peer-reviewed, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that lab-grown or ''cultivated'' meat's environmental impact is likely to be ''orders of magnitude'' higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.

Researchers conducted a life-cycle assessment of the energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production and compared that with beef. One of the current challenges with lab-grown meat is the use of highly refined or purified growth media, the ingredients needed to help animal cells multiply. Currently, this method is similar to the biotechnology used to make pharmaceuticals. This sets up a critical question for cultured meat production: Is it a pharmaceutical product or a food product?

''If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,'' said lead author and doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. ''If this product continues to be produced using the ''pharma'' approach, it's going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.''

The scientists defined the global warming potential as the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each kilogram of meat produced. The study found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using these purified media is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.

A more climate friendly burger in the future? One of the goals of the industry is to eventually create lab-grown meat using primarily food-grade ingredients or cultures without the use of expensive and energy-intensive pharmaceutical grade ingredients and processes.

Under that scenario, researchers found cultured meat is much more environmentally competitive, but with a wide range. Cultured meat's global warming potential could be between 80% lower to 26% above that of conventional beef production, they calculate. While these results are more promising, the leap from ''pharma to food'' still represents a significant technical challenge for system scale-up.

''Our findings suggest that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment than conventional beef. It's not a panacea,'' said corresponding author Edward Spang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. ''It's possible we could reduce its environmental impact in the future, but it will require significant technical advancement to simultaneously increase the performance and decrease the cost of the cell culture media.''

Even the most efficient beef production systems reviewed in the study outperform cultured meat across all scenarios (both food and pharma), suggesting that investments to advance more climate-friendly beef production may yield greater reductions in emissions more quickly than investments in cultured meat.

Developing the technology that would allow the leap from ''pharma to food'' is among the goals of the UC Davis Cultivated Meat Consortium, a cross-disciplinary group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and educators researching cultivated meat. Other goals are to establish and evaluate cell lines that could be used to grow meat and find ways to create more structure in cultured meat.

Risner said even if lab-based meat doesn't result in a more climate-friendly burger, there is still valuable science to be learned from the endeavor.

''It may not lead to environmentally friendly commodity meat, but it could lead to less expensive pharmaceuticals, for example,'' said Risner. ''My concern would just be scaling this up too quickly and doing something harmful for the environment.''

Other authors include Yoonbin Kim and Justin Siegel of UC Davis and Cuong Nguyen of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The research was funded by the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and the National Science Foundation Growing Convergence Research grant.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:54

Exclusive Source: MegaJul. 5 2023, Published 6:38 p.m. ET

Madonna's brush with death was far worse than anyone knows, RadarOnline.com has exclusively been told.

When the Queen of Pop was found unresponsive on June 24, those who discovered her lifeless body were forced to administer a NARCAN injection, sources said.

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Source: MegaNARCAN is an emergency medical treatment commonly used to reverse the life-threatening effects of a suspected overdose. But it is also used to reverse acute septic shock in patients '-- a condition Madonna is said to have suffered.

The injection, commonly held in medical treatment kits of the rich and famous, is considered useful to increase blood pressure in the management of septic shock, a life-threatening condition that happens when blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level.

There is nothing at all to suggest the hitmaker needed NARCAN for the ill effects of any drug use.

A spokesperson for Madonna had no comment.

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While Madonna is now alert and is surrounded by family and friends while recovering at home, new details about the medical drama have come to light.

RadarOnline.com has been told her 10-year-old twins, Estere and Stella, who recently graduated from elementary school, were at the family home at the time of the incident.

The pop star was reportedly found by an assistant.

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Madonna's Friends Fear She'll End Up Like Michael JacksonMadonna Ignored Health Problems for Weeks Before Hospitalization for Bacterial Infection, Was Determined to Practice for Tour: SourcesMadonna's Family 'Feared They May Lose Her' After Pop Star Was Found Unresponsive in NYC Apartment Source: MegaArticle continues below advertisement

Madonna had pushed herself so hard to get ready for her 84-date world tour that she had relied upon painkillers to survive, sources said.

''She was working overtime, but she clearly burnt herself out and people around her have been politely reminding her that she is not 45 anymore, let alone 25,'' a source previously said, comparing her to younger stars like Taylor Swift and Pink.

''She needed to pace herself. Pushing herself so hard was extremely risky.''

One friend went so far as to express fear Madonna could have ended up like Michael Jackson, who died in the lead-up to his This Is It tour in 2009.

''Nobody would say it out loud but there were concerns about another Michael Jackson situation if she doesn't slow down a bit,'' the source added.

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Source: MegaThe tour has been postponed in light of the Grammy winner's health scare.

''We will share more details with you as soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows,'' her longtime manager, Guy Oseary, said.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:51

UPDATED EXCLUSIVE: Angel Studios' thriller Sound of Freedom starring Jim Caviezel has seen its presales spike to $10 million. This is before the pic's opening on July 4 in north of 2,600 locations.

Many rivals are tracking this semi-faith-based, based-on-a-true-story title about about former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, who took rescuing abducted children around the globe into his own hands. They're spotting a $20 million six-day start, impressive for a non-major-studio adult thriller. We'll see how this plays out. Currently, more than 1 million tickets have been snapped up for Sound of Freedom.

PREVIOUSLY, EXCLUSIVE: We all know post-pandemic that tentpoles work at the box office, but it's been hit and miss for everything else, especially indies movies. From out of nowhere, Angel Studios' Sound of Freedom, about Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent who left the department after he was frustrated with the U.S. rescue efforts with trafficked children in third-world countries, is racking up $7.2 million in ticket presales before its July 4th opening at 2,626 theaters, sources tell Deadline.

Angel is known for its faith-based fare, and I'm told this movie has some elements of that, though not entirely. Clearly a nerve has been struck with that demo as presales here are well in advance of Lionsgate's spring Christian hit Jesus Revolution, which opened to $15.8M. Rivals are indeed impressed by the amount of presales here for Sound of Freedom, especially since it's a non-major-studio movie. Another draw here for faith-based moviegoers is that Sound of Freedom stars Passion of the Christ thespian Jim Caviezel as Ballard. Oscar winner Mira Sorvino also headlines.

Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad back in 2013, which has conducted several sting operations to rescue children, some outside the U.S., and donated technology and funds to law-enforcement agencies that combat sex trafficking.

The film is opening on Independence Day given its patriotic themes.

The movie directed by Alejandro Monteverde, which he co-wrote with Rod Barr, was in the works at 20th Century Fox International pre-Disney merger. Producer Eduardo Verstegui wound up buying the film back and approached Angel, which was recently behind the Easter indie pic His Only Son, about the prophet Abraham, which opened to $5.5M and did over $12M domestic.

Angel Studios live-tracks their presales, now at 624,000-plus as of this post. The distrib has a goal of selling 2 million tickets per Sound of Freedom's Tuesday opening, which reps the number of kidnapped children in the world. Angel crowdfunded $5M for P&A expenses on Sound of Freedom, part of that policy is awarding their donators with 120% return. They executed a similar crowdfunding-marketing plan on His Only Son and I'm told they just cut checks to their donors.

It remains to be seen how the grosses play out here; faith-based audiences are big advance ticket buyers, however, this is nonetheless a heartbeat for the non-tentpole sector of the box office.

Here's the trailer to the movie:

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:49

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

An Oregon law that forbids recording in public without consent runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, a U.S. court has ruled.

James O'Keefe, founder Project Veritas, at the Values Voter Summit in Washington on Oct. 12, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)Oregon law 165.540, first enacted in 1955 and subsequently broadened to bar secret recording of conversations, is unconstitutional, Judge Sandra Ikuta, a George W. Bush appointee writing for the majority in the 2''1 ruling, said.

Exceptions to the prohibition include recording at public meetings, such as city council hearings; while a felony that endangers human life is being committed; and by law enforcement officers while performing their jobs.

The law is content-based because certain groups, such as the law enforcement officers, are treated different than others, Ms. Ikuta said. That means it has to be narrowly tailored for a compelling governmental interest, or survive a test known as strict scrutiny.

Oregon does not have a compelling interest in protecting people's privacy in public places, the majority ruled. Even if it did, the law is not tailored enough because Oregon has other laws that cover privacy concerns, such as a law allowing tort lawsuits by people who are recorded without consent.

The law ''burdens more protected speech than is necessary to achieve its stated interest,'' the judge wrote.

The judge also said that the law regulates speech to protect people's privacy but that many people in public places don't seek privacy. Instead of acknowledging that point, the law treats all speech in public the same.

When people talk in public places, the privacy of other individuals is only implicated if the speech is unwanted but the law does not incorporate that point, the majority said. They used the example of protesters who may want their conversations recorded in the hopes it will lead to publicity for their cause.

Ms. Ikuta was joined by Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, another George W. Bush appointee.

Judge Morgan Christen, an Obama appointee, wrote in a dissent that the law should be upheld because Oregon ''has a significant interest in preventing the secret recording of private conversations even when those conversations occur in public or semi-public locations.''

Ms. Christen also said the law is narrowly tailored to serve that interest.

Oregon is one of only five states that have laws in places banning recording in public places without consent. The others are Alaska, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Montana.

Many other states explicitly allow recording in public without consent while five states have no laws in place regarding the matter.

Earlier RulingThe new ruling overturns a previous decision by a lower court.

The journalism group Project Veritas challenged the law in 2020, arguing it could result in undercover reporters being criminally charged. People have refused to talk in the past when being told they were being recorded, the group said, meaning the law prevented reporters from exercising their First Amendment rights.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 09:42

If you reach 1000 listeners in a month and you convinced only 6% to support you with 50 cents, you would already earn $30. (60 people * 50 cents)

This article shows you three basic actions on how to increase your listener support for your Value4Value-enabled podcast using the experience and examples from fellow podcasters.

You get concrete suggestions and examples.

Bonus: We have a free support page for your podcast for you.

Even if your show is not yet Value4Value-enabled, you will find easy-to-follow advice to increase the support you get from your listeners!

Value4Value explained in 60 seconds (Skip if you know what it is)

We recommend reading this article first but feel free to jump straight to advanced actions

The number one reason people do not give is because they are not asked.

ðŸ'

Ask and people will give.

If you want to get people to support your podcast, you need to engage your audience and ask for their support. It only costs a few minutes and can have a huge impact on the success of your show.

The very least you should do.

Based on many successful creators, here are the top 3 actions they take to promote their show and get their audience to support them with donations.

Give reasons why you want them to support you. Calls to action work.

ðŸ...‰

In every episode, say that you would be very happy if they sent you some support and give them reasons. At best, ask for support briefly at the beginning, middle and end of each episode. This way, people that skip some parts also get to hear it.

Here is a concrete example of how you can "Ask your audience for support."

2. Thank your supporters!Read messages from supporters out loud.

ðŸ...‰

Read messages or questions from listeners and thank them. Listeners love to be appreciated. Mention the amount that was donated in Sats and ordinary currency to show how much it was - but appreciate any amount, especially when you are starting out.

Here is a concrete example of how you can "Thank your supporters!"

Another example of how you can thank your supporters is here.

3. Make it easy for listeners.Put the support link in your show notes and tell your audience where they find it.

ðŸ...‰

Make it as easy as possible to support your show. Put a link to your support page in your show notes, tell your audience exactly where they find it and what they can do with it.

Here is a concrete example of how you can "Make it easy for listeners."

1. Create your personal support site below

2. Copy and paste your support site into your show notes now!

ðŸ...‰

Remember, the effect of these steps will most likely not be immediate, but over the course of a few episodes, you will see increasing support!

Done? Awesome!Read on if you look for more inspiration or some advanced actions.Integrate the support link on all of your social media profiles

Tell listeners how much sats are worth in your local currency to give your listeners a better feeling of how much they are giving. Still, appreciate every cent!

List all the people who supported you in the show notes. You can find them by looking at your dashboard on conshax.app.

Share messages of supporters on social media!

Mention your other episodes to get listeners to listen to more of your content

Templates for you:What you could say on social mediaThank you to my supporters! I am always happy to get positive feedback for my show and your support helps me that I can continue doing this! The easiest way is to use my support link: [insert your support link]

How you could ask for donationsThank you to all my listeners! I am glad that I can bring you joy, entertainment, and information [insert what you think fits] with my show! If you can, I would immensely appreciate it, if you supported my show, because it helps me that I can continue doing this! In the show notes you find our support page! It lets you support me with lightning payments and a few sats. If you want to, you can also add a message to it! I am going to read all of your messages and some of them will even make it to the next episode! If you do not have a Lightning Wallet and want to try it out - you can easily get started with in three steps. The guide is also linked in my show notes!

Congrats, you are done with the basics - move on to more advanced actions here.

Also, don't forget to find your free, personal podcast supporter page! We put it here again just for your convenience so that you don't have to scroll back up again:

1. Create your personal support site below

2. Copy and paste your support site into your show notes now!

Let us know what you think about this post on Twitter, via our website, LinkedIn or by leaving a comment here!

Thank you for reading! - Share it if you liked it!

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 09:30

Image A recent Supreme Court decision won't necessarily hurt Democrats politically. Credit... J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press When I returned from a trip to China almost exactly eight years ago, I found my inbox full of requests from editors to write about two huge stories that unfolded while I was gone: the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage and the emergence of a surprising candidate who entered the race after my departure, Donald J. Trump.

Needless to say, my inbox this week after a couple of weeks off in the Pacific Northwest does not have nearly as many requests as it did in the wake of the Obergefell decision and Mr. Trump's trip down the escalator. But the requests I do have nonetheless center on a similar set of topics: a major Supreme Court decision, this time to end affirmative action programs, and two upstart candidates who weren't receiving a lot of attention before I left, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Chris Christie.

Court gives Democrats some coverAs I wrote at the time, the Supreme Court's decision to make same-sex marriage a fundamental right was probably politically advantageous for Republicans. Yes, the court decision was popular and the Republican position on same-sex marriage was increasingly unpopular, but that's precisely why that decision did them a favor: It all but removed the issue from political discourse, freeing Republicans from an issue that might have otherwise hobbled them.

In theory, something similar can be said for the court's affirmative action ruling, but this time with the decision helping Democrats. Here again, the court is taking a popular position that potentially frees a political party '-- this time the Democrats '-- from an issue that could hurt it, including with the fast-growing group of Asian American voters.

It's worth noting that this would be nothing like how the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade helped Democrats. Then, the court ruling sparked a backlash that energized liberals and gave Democrats a new campaign issue with appeal to the base and moderates alike. If the most recent case were to help Democrats, it would do so in nearly the opposite manner: To take advantage of the ruling politically, Democrats might need to stop talking about it.

It was fairly easy for Republican elites to stop talking about same-sex marriage in 2015, as many were already keen to move on from a losing political fight. It is not as obvious that Democratic elites are keen to move away from the fight over affirmative action or whether they even can, given their base's passion for racial equality.

About those other candidatesObviously, any analogy between the first few weeks of Mr. Trump's campaign and the slow emergence of Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Christie will be much more strained. For one, Mr. Christie and Mr. Kennedy were already making ripples in the race when I left, and I did think I might need to write about them at some point. In contrast, Mr. Trump couldn't have been further from my mind in mid-June 2015. Upon hearing about his bid on my return, I thought he might fade so quickly that I would never even have to write about him. Whatever you think about Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Christie, there's not much reason to think they simply might go ''pop.''

Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Christie don't have much in common '-- other than their unequivocally low chance of actually winning '-- but they have, in their own ways, become factors in the race simply by being the best or even only vessel for expressing explicit opposition to their party's front-runners, Joe Biden and Mr. Trump.

Image Chris Christie has been direct in his criticism of Donald Trump. Credit... John Tully for The New York Times Usually, willingness to oppose a front-runner isn't enough to distinguish an aspiring candidate. This year, it is. No current or former elected official has challenged the incumbent president thus far in the Democratic primary. And while many prominent Republicans appear willing to enter the race against Mr. Trump, few appear willing to directly, forcefully and consistently attack him. When they do attack him '-- as Ron DeSantis recently did for supporting L.G.B.T.Q. people a decade ago '-- it's often from the right, and not on the issues that animate the base of any hypothetical not-Trump coalition: relatively moderate, highly educated Republicans.

Of the two, Mr. Christie is probably the one who is most effectively fulfilling this demand for direct opposition to the front-runner. There may not be a large constituency for anti-Trump campaigning, but it exists and Mr. Christie is feeding it what it wants. Just as important, directly attacking Mr. Trump ensures a steady diet of media coverage.

All of this makes Mr. Christie a classic factional candidate, the kind that doesn't usually win presidential nominations but can nonetheless play an important role in the outcome of the campaign. If he gains the allegiance of those outright opposed to Mr. Trump, he'll deny an essential not-Trump voting bloc to another Republican who might have broader appeal throughout the party '-- say, Mr. DeSantis. This is most likely to play out in New Hampshire, where fragmentary survey data (often from Republican-aligned firms) shows Mr. Christie creeping up into the mid-to-high single digits.

Image Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a critic of vaccination. Credit... Ryan David Brown for The New York Times Mr. Kennedy is a more complicated case. With the help of a famous family name, he's nudged ahead of Marianne Williamson for the minor distinction of being Mr. Biden's top rival in Democratic primary polls. On average, Mr. Kennedy polls in the mid-teens, with some surveys still showing him in the single digits and one poll showing him above 20 percent. That's more than Mr. Christie can say.

But unlike Mr. Christie, Mr. Kennedy is not exactly feeding Biden skeptics what they want. Instead, he's advancing conspiracy theories, appearing on right-wing media and earning praise from conservative figures. And unlike Mr. Trump, whose most ardent opposition is probably toward the center, Mr. Biden is probably most vulnerable to a challenge from the ideological left. This is not what Mr. Kennedy is offering, and it's reflected in the polls. While Times/Siena polling last summer showed Mr. Biden most vulnerable among ''very liberal'' voters and on progressive issues, Mr. Kennedy actually fares much better among self-described moderates than liberals. He doesn't clearly fare better among younger Democrats than older ones, despite Mr. Biden's longstanding weakness among the younger group.

It's too early to say whether Mr. Kennedy's modest foothold among moderate and conservative Democrats reflects a constituency for anti-modernist, anti-establishment liberalism, or whether Mr. Kennedy's family name is simply getting him farther among less engaged Democrats, who are likelier to identify as moderate. Either way, his ability to play an important role in the race is limited by embracing conservatives and conspiratorial positions, even if he may continue to earn modest support in the race because of the absence of another prominent not-Biden option.

Nate Cohn is The Times's chief political analyst. He covers elections, polling and demographics for The Upshot. Before joining The Times in 2013, he was a staff writer for The New Republic. More about Nate Cohn

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 21:13

September 21, 2022US Senate Votes to Ratify Kigali Amendment to Phase Down Super Polluting HFCs

In a major victory for the planet, the US Senate voted to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down super climate pollutants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used primarily as refrigerants in air conditioners and other cooling equipment. The Kigali Amendment needed the approval of a two-thirds super-majority of the chamber. It is the first climate treaty to clear the Senate in decades.

May 23, 2022Time to Broaden Strategy to Avert Catastrophic Climate Change

Slashing emissions of carbon dioxide, by itself, cannot prevent catastrophic global warming. But a new study concludes that a strategy that simultaneously reduces emissions of other largely neglected climate pollutants would cut the rate of global warming in half and give the world a fighting chance to keep the climate safe for humanity.

September 17, 2021U.S.- EU Launch Pledge to Cut Super Climate Pollutant Methane

The United States and the European Union launched a global pledge to reduce methane emissions by nearly a third by 2030, as part of a broader effort to increase ambition to address the climate crisis. The launch was announced at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate hosted today by President Biden. This is the first time heads of State have pledged fast action to cut super climate pollutants to meet the 1.5°C temperature target of the Paris Agreement.

September 15, 2021Statement on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

As the world enters a crucial phase in the battle to combat climate change, International Ozone Day reminds us that the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is not only saving the stratospheric ozone layer and keeping us safe from harmful ultraviolet radiation but is also doing more than any other agreement to slow catastrophic global warming. As we celebrate the achievements of this planet-saving treaty, we also need to realize how much remains to be done.

May 6, 2021Cutting Methane Key to Keeping Earth From Warming Itself Beyond Human Control

Aggressively cutting methane emissions is the fastest and most effective way to reduce the rate of warming and keep the global average temperature from breaching the 1.5°C barrier above preindustrial levels, according to the Global Methane Assessment released today by UNEP and the CCAC. The Assessment calculates that available mitigation measures can cut emissions from human activities by 45 percent and avoid nearly 0.3 °C of warming by the 2040s.

January 27, 2021President Biden to Submit Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol for Senate Ratification

President Biden directed the State Dept. to prepare a transmittal package to the Senate for the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down potent HFCs. ''President Biden knows the Senate better than any president before him, and will be using the advice and consent process to build bipartisan support for this and future climate action, which the American people are demanding,'' said IGSD President, Durwood Zaelke.

IGSD works to promote just and sustainable societies and to protect the environment by advancing the understanding, development, and implementation of effective, and accountable systems of governance for sustainable development.

14 Jun

China Releases List to Guide and Promote Low-Global Warming Potential Alternatives to Ozone-Depleting SubstancesChina released a List of Recommended Alternatives to Ozone-Depleting Substances to guide and promote low-global warming potential alternatives to ozone-depleting substances (ODS). Although the List is not legally enforceable, it does play a major role in encouraging and supporting scientific research, technical development, and market deployment of ODS alternatives in China, consistent with China's obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

29 May

Fast Action Climate Mitigation Is Urgently Needed to Address China's Rising Temperatures and Increasing Weather ExtremesIn May 2023, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment released its annual Ecological and Environmental Status Bulletin for 2022. The Environmental Bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of China's ecological and environmental quality over the past year.

8 May

Policy Developments Highlight China's Efforts to Balance Energy Security and Carbon Neutrality Goals in the Energy SectorIn 2020, China announced the goals to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Subsequently, in 2021 and 2022, severe power shortage incidents heightened China's concerns over energy security. China has since issued a number of policy documents aiming to address the balance between energy security and its carbon emissions and carbon neutrality goals. This briefing aims to assist IGSD partners and climate champions in understanding the dynamics of reaching China's climate goals.

22 Mar

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Will Issue Advisory Opinion to Guide States on their Obligations to Address the Climate EmergencyThe Inter-American Court of Human Rights agreed to the request to issue an advisory opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights under Article 64(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights. The request for the advisory opinion, submitted to the Court on 9 January 2023 by the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Colombia, seeks to clarify the scope of State obligations to respond to the climate emergency within the framework of international human rights law.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 21:11

The Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) is a Washington D.C.-based left-of-center environmentalist organization. It works to strengthen environmental law and expand environmental governance institutions.

IGSD supports the Green New Deal and other radical environmentalist programs that would eliminate the use of conventional fuels. The organization also works with international organizations to promote agreements to combat climate change. The Institute has also engaged in lawsuits against energy companies to force them to pay for alleged damages to the environment. The organization is one of the largest U.S. government grant recipients among environmentalist organizations that supported the Green New Deal proposal.

OverviewIGSD targets professionals to push its environmentalist agenda, working with lawyers, political scientists, economists, and scientists. Within the United States, the Institute has established the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development at the University of California-Santa Barbara to provide a research basis for environmentalist projects. IGSD has also collaborated with American University's Washington College of Law on various projects and taught at American universities including Duke and Johns Hopkins.

IGSD also has a substantial international footprint, working with international organizations including the United Nations to encourage countries to sign various treaties to combat climate change. Within the United Nations, the Institute works as counsel to the United Nations Environment Programme's Economics and Trade Branch on issues of international law and economics. IGSD also works pro bono with some developing countries to advise them on trade negotiations and offers pro bono and reduced-cost representation to environmentalist organizations.

InitiativesIGSD is a prominent supporter of the Green New Deal. The proposal would set a hard cutoff date to completely phase conventional fuels out of the economy and would place new restrictions on industries ranging from agriculture to transportation. The Green New Deal would also expand the role of government in nearly every aspect of American life in pursuit of environmentalist policies.

In August of 2017, the IGSD established the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI). CCI supports lawsuits against energy companies to push for environmental regulation. CCI works to encourage citizen groups and governments to sue energy companies, billing the lawsuits as necessary to force polluters to pay for the damage of climate change instead of shifting the costs to taxpayers.

IGSD frequently seeks to expand top-down environmental regulations, claiming that current climate change policies, such as the Paris Climate Accords, are inadequate due to the opposition of fossil fuel companies. IGSD is also working to expand the Montreal Protocol to include more types of gases and chemicals as subjects for regulation. The Montreal Protocol originally phased out most ozone-depleting substances, but IGSD supports expanding the treaty to include phasing out the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, which are used in air conditioning among other appliances.

LeadershipDurwood Zaelke is the founder and president of the IGSD. Previously, he co-founded and worked as president of the Center for International Environmental Law.

FinancialsIn 2018, IGSD raised $9.9 million in revenue and spent $8.8 million. IGSD has received over $6.2 million in grants from the U.S. government since 2008. The grants have come mostly from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Commerce.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 21:11

Durwood Zaelke

Born15 May 1947NationalityAmericanEducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)Duke University School of Law (J.D.)OccupationInternational Environmental LawyerSpouseBarbara L. Shaw (1976-2013)Durwood Zaelke (born 15 May 1947) is an American environmental litigator, professor, author, and advocate. As President and founder of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) in Washington, D.C. and Paris, he currently focuses on fast mitigation strategies to protect the climate, including strategies to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (HFCs, black carbon, ground level ozone, methane), in the context of the need for speed to limit anthropogenic warming to 1.5 °C.[1]

At the Department of Justice during the early stages of his career, he helped to develop a strong basis of US environmental law prior to becoming one of the pioneers of international environmental law, notably in working to reduce ozone depletion and climate pollution by strengthening the Montreal Protocol. He co-authored the standard English language textbook on international environmental law and policy,[2] founded the international environmental law program at American University, and co-founded the program on governance for sustainable development at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Bren School.[3]

Education and early career [ edit ] Zaelke was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in California. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley, and received a BA from University of California, LA in 1969 and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1972, where he was an editor of the Duke Law Journal. He is a member of the bar in California,[4] the District of Columbia,[5] and Alaska.[6]

Zaelke began his legal career as the acting Editor-in-Chief of the Environmental Law Reporter at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) after graduating law school.[7] At ELI he also worked with Frederick R. Anderson on NEPA in the Courts: A Legal Analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act (Resources for the Future, 1973).[8] Later that year, Zaelke joined Adams, Duque & Hazeltine in Los Angeles as an associate (1973-1974).[7] Zaelke returned to the Environmental Law Institute in 1975 where he focused on the need for energy conservation during the OPEC oil embargo.[9]

Career [ edit ] 1978 - 1980: Special Litigation Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice [ edit ] In 1978, Zaelke joined the Department of Justice (DOJ) in what is now the Environment and Natural Resources Division. He was one of the three founding attorneys in a new section of the Justice Department'--the Policy, Legislation, and Special Litigation section within the Environment Division.[10]

During his tenure at the DOJ, Zaelke designed the federal government's initial hazardous waste enforcement strategy.[9] He led the investigation into several of the initial cases including the Justice-EPA investigation of hazardous waste dumping at Love Canal by Hooker Chemical Company, which was ultimately settled for $129 million, and helped pave the way for the Superfund law enacted in 1980.[11] In 1979 Zaelke led the Department's investigation into the accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station.[9]

1980 - 1989: Senior Attorney, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund [ edit ] Zaelke left the DOJ and headed north to Alaska in May 1980 to serve as the director and senior attorney for the Alaska office of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (SCLDF) (now Earthjustice).[10] His orders from Rick Sutherland, the Executive Director of SCLDF, were to show that cases could be won in Alaska '' or to shut down the office in six months.[7]

One of his initial cases blocked what would have been the world's largest open pit molybdenum mine by Rio Tinto - Zinc Corporation in Misty Fjords National Monument, which would have dumped 60,000 tons of toxic tailings a day into the pristine waters of the fjord and its rich salmon streams.[9] Zaelke's work helped conserve important resources in the Tongass National Forest, Admiralty Island National Monument, the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, among others.[12] He also worked closely with the Tlingit village of Angoon on Admiralty Island, the last remaining traditional Tlingit village in the world, helping protect Angoon's traditional subsistence hunting lands from clear cut logging.

After returning from Alaska, Zaelke directed the Washington, DC office of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and founded their international program.

1989 - 2003: Founder and President, CIEL [ edit ] While still at SCLDF, Zaelke was asked by Sebia Hawkins, then heading the South Pacific Campaign for Greenpeace,[13] to investigate litigation against Japan for whaling, only to find that no action could be brought by an NGO in the International Court of Justice.[9] He found international environmental law a pale shadow of the national law he was used to and set out with his colleagues to change this by starting a movement modeled after the public interest environmental law movement in the US.

In 1989, Zaelke co-founded the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Washington, DC and London, with his late wife Barbara L. Shaw, James Cameron,[14] Philippe Sands and Wendy Dinner.[15] CIEL is a public interest environmental law firm dedicated to strengthening and developing international and comparative environmental law, policy, and management throughout the world.[16]

While serving as president of CIEL, Zaelke accepted an appointment as director of the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE),[9] a global network of 4,000 environmental enforcement practitioners in over 150 countries, dedicated to raising awareness of compliance and enforcement across the regulatory cycle; developing networks for enforcement cooperation; and strengthening capacity to implement and enforce environmental requirements.

2003 '' present: Founder and President, IGSD [ edit ] In 2003, Zaelke left CIEL and founded the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), dedicated to applying the lessons of good governance to improve sustainable development, at all levels of government, as well as within the private sector.[9] For more than a decade, Zaelke has led IGSD's fast-action mitigation program, which was first described in Mario Molina, Durwood Zaelke, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Stephen O. Andersen, & Donald Kaniaru, Reducing abrupt climate change risk using the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions (2009), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.[17] He continued his role with INECE until 2015.

At Zaelke's helm, IGSD is working to strengthen the climate mitigation potential of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer by reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a harmful short-lived climate pollutant primarily used in refrigerants, through research, building awareness and global negotiating.[18] Zaelke and his colleagues contributed to the scientific foundation for these efforts by co-authoring several papers, including several in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2007)[19] and (2009),[20][17] the Review of European Compliance & International Environmental Law,[21] Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics,[22] among others.

Zaelke and IGSD's work for the better part of a decade leading a campaign to phase down HFCs culminated on 15 October 2016 when the Parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to adopt the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs.[23] A global phasedown of HFCs could avoid up to 0.5 °C of warming by 2100, with the initial schedule of the Kigali Amendment capturing about 90% of this potential, and can capture the rest with an accelerated schedule, or leapfrog strategy.[24] Considerably more warming can be avoided from fast implementation and parallel efforts to improve energy efficiency of air conditioners and other cooling equipment.[25] The Montreal Protocol's 2018 quadrennial Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion confirmed that beyond phasing down HFCs, improving the energy efficiency of air conditioners and other cooling equipment has the potential to double the climate benefits of the Kigali Amendment in the near-term.[24] IGSD continues work to promote the ratification and implementation of the Kigali amendment and improvements to energy efficiency equipment to achieve the full suite of climate benefits available.

At IGSD Zaelke also works to mitigate air pollution and other short-lived climate pollutants, including methane. Reducing methane emissions is essential for slowing warming this decade to limit temperatures to 1.5°C and can avoid nearly 0.3°C by 2040s, according to the recent Global Methane Assessment from the United Nations Environment Programme and the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (expert reviewed by IGSD).[26] Following the Global Methane Assessment and the launch of the Global Methane Pledge at COP26,[27] Zaelke is promoting the need for a global methane agreement, inspired by the Montreal Protocol and borrowing some of the architecture from the successful Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.[28]

In 2022 Zaelke was recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the 16 most influential people for climate and environment, among Washington DC's 500 most influential people.[29]

Writing and commentary [ edit ] Zaelke is the author, co-author, and editor of several books, publications, and commentaries.

In his 1993 article, Making Trade and Environmental Policies Mutually Reinforcing: Forging Competitive Sustainability, Zaelke proposed the concept of ''competitive sustainability'' with co-author Robert Z. Housman, defined as ''mechanisms for achieving sustainable development by harmonizing domestic and international environmental standards through the use of competitive forces which reward the cleanest and most efficient economic actors.''[30] Housman and Zaelke explained that a ''mutually reinforcing mechanism of incentives and disincentives at the international level would direct trade and environmental policies to attain sustainability goals. They also proposed that countries could coordinate and provide an ''upward harmonization'' of domestic and international environmental standards, with resulting effects of higher environmental and social protection.''[30]

He is co-author of the standard English language textbook on international environmental law and policy, International Environmental Law and Policy, Foundation Press 6th ed. 2022 (co-authored with David Hunter and James Salzman),[2] and Cut Super Climate Pollutants Now! The Ozone Treaty's Urgent Lessons for Speeding Up Climate Action, 2021, Changemakers Books (co-authored with Alan Miller and Dr. Stephen. O. Andersen).[31]

Zaelke co-chaired, with Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and UN Environment Program (UNEP) Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report (2020)[32] and the underlying assessment of the report, the Assessment of Climate and Development Benefits of Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling (2020),[33] authored under the guidance of a Steering Committee of leading scholars and government, think tank, and independent experts.

Zaelke also co-chaired with Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina, and Professor V. Ramanathan at the University of California, San Diego, the Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius: Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change report (2017), which identified scalable solutions to achieve rapid climate stability, authored by a team of 33 prominent scientists and policy experts.[34] He contributed to the University of California's climate change textbook, Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions (with Professor V. Ramanathan and J. Cole),[35] and a chapter on fluorinated gasses for ELI's Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (2019) (with N. Borgford- Parnell, & Dr. S. O. Andersen).[36]

He has also authored and co-authored many Op-Eds in leading publications including, The San Diego Union-Tribune,[37] The Hill,[38] Project Syndicate[39], The New York Times,[40], among others.[41]

Teaching [ edit ] Zaelke has taught various environmental courses and programs nationally and abroad including:[10]

1990 '' 2004: American University Washington College of Law, where he was the founder and co-director of the International & Comparative Environmental Law Program, and designed and taught a series of courses relating to international environmental law and policy;[42]1992: University of Nairobi/Widener summer program in Kenya, teaching International Environmental Law;1994: Duke Law School/Free University of Brussels summer program, teaching International Environmental Law and Policy;1996 '' 2013: American University's Summer Law Program in Paris and Geneva, co-founder, teaching International Environmental Institutions;[3]2000: Yale Law School, Visiting Lecturer, teaching International Environmental Law & Policy;[3]2003: Johns Hopkins University, teaching International Environmental Policy;[3]2003 '' Present: University of California, Santa Barbara, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, co-founder and co-director of the School's Program on Governance for Sustainable Development.[3]Honors [ edit ] 2022 Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People [ edit ] Washingtonian Magazine's list of the experts and advocates, outside the government, who are playing big roles in Washington's policy debates. Recognized for his efforts in climate and environment.[29]

2020 Beyond Duke Service and Leadership Award (Duke University) [ edit ] Awarded to "recognize alumni who have distinguished themselves through service to their community, their country or to society at large."[43]

2017 UN Ozone Political Leadership Award [ edit ] Awarded for ''extraordinary contributions in the development and implementation of the Montreal Protocol resulting in the successful phase-out of controlled substances or negotiations''.[44][45]

2017 UN Ozone Scientific Leadership Award [ edit ] Awarded for ''building and communicating the scientific foundation for the 2007 acceleration of the HCFC phaseout and the 2016 Kigali Amendment Kigali and decision to phase down HFCs and increase energy efficiency.'' Earned as part of the ''Guus Velders' Team,'' led by Dutch scientist Dr. Guus Velders, who conducted pioneering research on the climate benefits of the Montreal Protocol, building the foundation for the Kigali Amendment, shared with John S. Daniel, David W. Fahey, Marco Gonzalez, Mack McFarland, Guus J.M. Velders, and Stephen O. Andersen.[44][45]

2016 People to Watch, Environment & Energy Publishing, Special Series [ edit ] Awarded to ''key players on energy and environmental policy, people to watch this year in U.S. climate debates.''[46]

2009 CIEL International Environmental Law Award [ edit ] Awarded for ''having made outstanding contributions to the effort to achieve solutions to environmental problems through international law and institutions.'' Award shared with James Cameron, Wendy Dinner, Philippe Sands, and Barbara Lee Shaw.[15]

2008 EPA Climate Protection Award & Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award [ edit ] Awarded for ''outstanding efforts to protect the Earth's climate and stratospheric ozone layer.'' Awards shared with research fellow Scott Stone.[47] Zaelke and Stone were the only awardees to receive both an award for climate protection and an award for ozone protection.[48]

2007 Law Alumni Association's Charles S. Murphy Award (Duke University School of Law) [ edit ] Awarded to graduates ''who have devoted their careers to public service or education.''[42]

Personal life [ edit ] On 24 December 1976, Zaelke married Barbara Lee Shaw (1943 to 2013),[49] who co-founded CIEL and IGSD, and in 2000 founded the Maasai Girls Education Fund (MGEF) in Kenya and the U.S. which she directed until her death in 2013.[50] Zaelke remains a member of MGEF's board of directors.[51] Zaelke has two children and six grandchildren.[49]

References [ edit ] ^ "Durwood Zaelke". Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, People. ^ a b "Hunter, Salzman, and Zaelke's International Environmental Law and Policy, 6th". store.westacademic.com . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ a b c d e "Bren School - Faculty - Durwood Zaelke". www.bren.ucsb.edu . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Durwood Jerome Zaelke Jr #58716 - Attorney Licensee Search". members.calbar.ca.gov . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Bar Member/Attorney Search Results". ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Member Directories". Alaska Bar Association - Information about the mandatory Alaska Bar and the activities of the Alaska Bar Association . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ a b c "In the Public Interest" (PDF) . Duke Law Magazine. Winter 1989. ^ "NEPA in the Courts: A Legal Analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act". CRC Press . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ a b c d e f g "The Campaigner" (PDF) . Environmental Law Institute. 2008. ^ a b c "Alumni Profile: Durwood Zaelke" (PDF) . Duke Environmental Law. 2005. ^ "#638 Occidental to pay $129 million in Love Canal settlement". www.justice.gov . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Natural Partners - In the Serious Business of Conservation". www.npartners.org . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Sebia Hawkins | Biography, quotes, etc. | Activist FactsActivist Facts". Activist Facts . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Law and Policy". James Cameron & Co . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ a b "International Environmental Law Award Recipients '' CIEL Co-Founders & United Nations Environment Programme". Center for International Environmental Law. 2009. ^ "Our Mission". Center for International Environmental Law. ^ a b Molina, Mario; Zaelke, Durwood; Sarma, K. Madhava; Andersen, Stephen O.; Ramanathan, Veerabhadran; Kaniaru, Donald (2009-12-08). "Reducing abrupt climate change risk using the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (49): 20616''20621. doi:10.1073/pnas.0902568106. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2791591 . PMID 19822751. ^ "About IGSD". Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. ^ Velders, Guus J. M.; Andersen, Stephen O.; Daniel, John S.; Fahey, David W.; McFarland, Mack (2007-03-20). "The importance of the Montreal Protocol in protecting climate". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (12): 4814''4819. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.4814V. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610328104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 1817831 . PMID 17360370. ^ Velders, Guus J. M.; Fahey, David W.; Daniel, John S.; McFarland, Mack; Andersen, Stephen O. (2009-06-19). "The large contribution of projected HFC emissions to future climate forcing". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (27): 10949''10954. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10610949V. doi:10.1073/pnas.0902817106. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2700150 . PMID 19549868. ^ Zaelke, Durwood; Andersen, Stephen O.; Borgford'Parnell, Nathan (2012). "Strengthening Ambition for Climate Mitigation: The Role of the Montreal Protocol in Reducing Short-lived Climate Pollutants". Review of European Community & International Environmental Law. 21 (3): 231''242. doi:10.1111/reel.12010. ISSN 1467-9388. ^ Xu, Y.; Zaelke, D.; Velders, G. J. M.; Ramanathan, V. (2013-06-26). "The role of HFCs in mitigating 21st century climate change". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 13 (12): 6083''6089. Bibcode:2013ACP....13.6083X. doi:10.5194/acp-13-6083-2013 . ISSN 1680-7316. ^ Vidal, John (2016-10-15). "Kigali deal on HFCs is big step in fighting climate change". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ a b "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2018". www.esrl.noaa.gov . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Assessment of climate and development benefits of efficient and climate-friendly cooling". Climate & Clean Air Coalition . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ Environment, U. N. (2021-05-05). "Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions". UNEP - UN Environment Programme . Retrieved 2022-07-13 . ^ "Homepage | Global Methane Pledge". www.globalmethanepledge.org . Retrieved 2022-07-13 . ^ Zaelke, Durwood; Dreyfus, Gabrielle (2022-06-17). "Hurricane hell and climate punishment". The Hill . Retrieved 2022-07-13 . ^ a b "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People". Washingtonian. ^ a b Housman, Robert F.; Zaelke, Durwood (1993). "Making Trade and Environmental Policies Mutually Reinforcing: Forging Competitive Sustainability" (PDF) . Environmental Law. 23. ^ "Cut Super Climate Pollutants Now!". John Hunt Publishing. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. ^ "Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report '' Analysis". IEA . Retrieved 2021-03-05 . ^ "Assessment of climate and development benefits of efficient and climate-friendly cooling". Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). January 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-05. ^ Committee to Prevent Extreme Climate Change (2017). "Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius: Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change" (PDF) . Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. ^ Ramanathan, Veerabhadran; Aines, Roger; Auffhammer, Max; Barth, Matt; Cole, Jonathan; Forman, Fonna; Han, Hahrie; Jacobsen, Mark; Pellow, David (2019-09-04). Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions. ISBN 978-0-578-50847-4. ^ "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States: Summary and Key Recommendations | Environmental Law Institute". www.eli.org. 2018-10-11 . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Opinion: We want to cut global warming in half starting on Earth Day". The San Diego Union-Tribune. February 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-02-17. ^ "Opinion: Hurricane hell and climate punishment". The Hill. January 2021. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) ^ Zaelke, Durwood (2020-09-03). "Climate-Friendly Cooling Can Slow Global Warming | by Durwood Zaelke & Mario Molina". Project Syndicate . Retrieved 2021-03-05 . ^ Zaelke, Durwood J.; Bledsoe, Paul (2019-12-14). "Opinion | Our Future Depends on the Arctic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "IGSD Opinion Editorials". Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. ^ a b "Charles S. Murphy Award Presented to Durwood Zaelke '72". Duke University School of Law . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "Awards | Duke". alumni.duke.edu . Retrieved 2021-03-09 . ^ a b "30th Anniversary Awards Recipients" (PDF) . UNEP. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-05-23. ^ a b "Ozone Awards" (PDF) . Montreal Protocol Secretariat. 2017. ^ "CLIMATE: Diverse cast ready for post-Paris policy clashes". www.eenews.net . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ "05/19/2008: EPA Honors Climate Change, Ozone Layer Protection Award Winners". archive.epa.gov . Retrieved 2020-02-05 . ^ Viets, Alex (19 May 2008). "EPA Honors Champions for Protecting Climate, Ozone" (PDF) . Retrieved 14 September 2020 . ^ a b "Barbara Lee Shaw" (PDF) . Daily Nation, Commemorative Edition. 2013. ^ "History". Maasai Girls Education Fund. ^ "Team". Maasai Girls Education Fund.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:42

Nieuwsbericht | 04-07-2023 | 14:55

Niet meer tijdens de les een TikTokfilmpje kijken, een berichtje sturen aan een klasgenoot of een foto delen via Snapchat. In de klas zijn mobieltjes en bijvoorbeeld ook tablets of smartwatches vanaf 1 januari volgend jaar niet meer toegestaan omdat ze afleiden en ervoor zorgen dat leerlingen slechter presteren. Dat heeft minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (OCW) afgesproken met de VO-raad, AOb, CNV-onderwijs, FvOV, Ouders en Onderwijs en LAKS.

Alleen als de mobieltjes noodzakelijk zijn voor de inhoud van de les mogen ze worden gebruikt, bijvoorbeeld in een les over digitale vaardigheden. Het is aan de scholen zelf om hiervoor met leraren, ouders en leerlingen de exacte regels af te spreken zodat iedereen in de school precies weet wat wel en niet mag. Scholen kunnen zelf de keuze maken om mobieltjes helemaal uit de school te weren. Leerlingen die afhankelijk zijn van hun telefoon, bijvoorbeeld om medische redenen of vanwege een beperking, mogen deze wel gewoon gebruiken. Voor het speciaal onderwijs komen dan ook aangepaste afspraken.

Leren zonder afleiding Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (OCW): ''Ook al zijn mobieltjes haast verweven met ons leven, in de klas horen ze niet thuis. Daar moeten leerlingen zich kunnen concentreren en alle ruimte krijgen goed te leren. Mobieltjes verstoren dit, weten we uit wetenschappelijk onderzoek, met alle gevolgen van dien. Daar moeten we leerlingen tegen beschermen.''

Gesprek ­n de schoolDe komende tijd werken de betrokken organisaties de afspraak verder uit. Na de zomervakantie kunnen dan ook leraren, leerlingen en hun ouders met elkaar bespreken hoe dit er op hºn school precies gaat uitzien, zodat zij dit op 1 januari 2024 hebben geregeld. Eind volgend schooljaar wordt gevalueerd of de afspraak het gewenste effect heeft of dat eventueel toch een wettelijk verbod nodig is.

De afspraken zijn aangejaagd door de motie Peters/Beertema.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:42

The Netherlands said Tuesday it will ban mobile phones from classrooms in a bid to stop tech disrupting lessons.

Mobiles, tablets and smartwatches are getting in the way of students' learning and will not be allowed in class from next year, the Dutch government said.

''There is increasing evidence that mobile phones have a harmful effect during lessons'', it said. ''Pupils are less able to concentrate and their performance suffers.''

''For this reason, mobile phones, as well as tablets and smartwatches, will no longer be allowed in classrooms from January 1 2024.''

The government is asking school authorities to agree internal rules with teachers, parents and pupils by October.

The country's centre-right coalition has not yet imposed a formal ban, but says it reserves the right to do so after measuring progress next year.

Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf told parliament he hopes the move will usher in a ''cultural transformation'' and improve learning.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:34

ATLANTA '' June 20, 2023 '' NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a leading enterprise technology provider, today announced the successful migration of 24 million NCR DI Digital Banking users to Google Cloud's highly scalable and secure environment.

NCR DI Digital Banking's move to the Google Cloud environment benefits this client base of banks and credit unions by enabling faster time to market for new digital banking services. Additionally, by leveraging Google Cloud's powerful analytics capabilities, NCR Digital Banking clients can maximize data-driven innovation, actionable insights and exceptional customer experiences. This move also improves resilience, security and compliance capabilities for banks and credit unions.

With this step, NCR is better positioned to innovate the next generation of cloud-based financial services for community banks and credit unions.

''Our partnership with Google Cloud delivers unprecedented flexibility as well as robust data and business intelligence to our customers, helping them make better, more strategic decisions across their organizations,'' said Douglas Brown, president and general manager, NCR Digital Banking. ''We are proud to transform, connect and run digital first banking for hundreds of financial institutions and are confident this partnership with Google Cloud will drive continuous innovation.''

''NCR is bringing the power of cloud for data processing and data-driven decisioning to their impressive NCR DI Digital Banking customer base,'' said Toby Brown, Managing Director, Global Banking Solutions, Google Cloud. ''With Google Cloud, NCR's banks and credit unions are able to leverage secure, scalable cloud infrastructure that enables them to enhance compliance, facilitate stronger customer experiences and take steps to better future-proof their businesses.''

NCR worked closely with members of its client base of leading credit unions and community banks to complete this transformation in partnership with Google Cloud, a leading infrastructure, platform and industry solutions provider.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leader in transforming, connecting and running technology platforms for self-directed banking, stores and restaurants. NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with 35,000 employees globally. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Web site: www.ncr.com Twitter: @NCRCorporation Facebook: www.facebook.com/ncrcorp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ncr-corporation YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ncrcorporation

NCR Media Contact Scott SykesNCR Corporation scott.sykes@ncr.com

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:22

Is Google asserting ownership of the entire Internet? It appears that way, but other AI companies are thinking in the same direction. If data exists anywhere, Technocrats believe they have a right to possess it. Data is the Technocrat's heroin; and like addicts, they will bluster, lie, cheat and steal to feed their habit. '-- Technocraccy News & Trends Editor Patrick Wood

By: Thomas Germain via Gizmodo

Google updated its privacy policy over the weekend, explicitly saying the company reserves the right to scrape just about everything you post online to build its AI tools. If Google can read your words, assume they belong to the company now, and expect that they're nesting somewhere in the bowels of a chatbot.

''Google uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public,'' the new Google policy says. ''For example, we use publicly available information to help train Google's AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and Cloud AI capabilities.''

Fortunately for history fans, Google maintains a history of changes to its terms of service. The new language amends an existing policy, spelling out new ways your online musings might be used for the tech giant's AI tools work.

Previously, Google said the data would be used ''for language models,'' rather than ''AI models,'' and where the older policy just mentioned Google Translate, Bard and Cloud AI now make an appearance.

This is an unusual clause for a privacy policy. Typically, these policies describe ways that a business uses the information that you post on the company's own services. Here, it seems Google reserves the right to harvest and harness data posted on any part of the public web, as if the whole internet is the company's own AI playground. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The practice raises new and interesting privacy questions. People generally understand that public posts are public. But today, you need a new mental model of what it means to write something online. It's no longer a question of who can see the information, but how it could be used. There's a good chance that Bard and ChatGPT ingested your long forgotten blog posts or 15-year-old restaurant reviews. As you read this, the chatbots could be regurgitating some humonculoid version of your words in ways that are impossible to predict and difficult to understand.

Become Bulletproof Online Today With ZERO RISK!One of the less obvious complications of the post ChatGPT world is the question of where data-hungry chatbots sourced their information. Companies including Google and OpenAI scraped vast portions of the internet to fuel their robot habits. It's not at all clear that this is legal, and the next few years will see the courts wrestle with copyright questions that would have seemed like science fiction a few years ago. In the meantime, the phenomenon already affects consumers in some unexpected ways.

The overlords at Twitter and Reddit feel particularly aggrieved about the AI issue, and made controversial changes to lockdown their platforms. Both companies turned off free access to their API's which allowed anyone who pleased to download large quantities of posts. Ostensibly, that's meant to protect the social media sites from other companies harvesting their intellectual property, but it's had other consequences.

Twitter and Reddit's API changes broke third-party tools that many people used to access those sites. For a minute, it even seemed Twitter was going to force public entities such as weather, transit, and emergency services to pay if they wanted to Tweet, a move that the company walked back after a hailstorm of criticism.

Lately, web scraping is Elon Musk's favorite boogieman. Musk blamed a number of recent Twitter disasters on the company's need to stop others from pulling data off his site, even when the issues seem unrelated. Over the weekend, Twitter limited the number of tweets users were allowed to look at per day, rendering the service almost unusable. Musk said it was a necessary response to ''data scraping'' and ''system manipulation.'' However, most IT experts agreed the rate limiting was more likely a crisis response to technical problems born of mismanagement, incompetence, or both. Twitter did not answer Gizmodo's questions on the subject.

On Reddit, the effect of API changes was particularly noisy. Reddit is essentially run by unpaid moderators who keep the forums healthy. Mods of large subreddits tend to rely on third-party tools for their work, tools that are built on now inaccessible APIs. That sparked a mass protest, where moderators essentially shut Reddit down. Though the controversy is still playing out, it's likely to have permanent consequences as spurned moderators hang up their hats.

Sourced from Technocracy News & Trends

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:04

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: July 5, 2023 ~

The top chart above shows one of the most erratic eras in Federal Reserve policy-making history. In the 70s and early 80s, the Fed would slam on the brakes to bring down inflation by raising its benchmark rate (known as the Fed Funds rate), then slam its foot on the gas to revive the economy by cutting the Fed Funds rate. But because the Fed stopped raising rates too soon each time, it had to then raise rates to an ever staggering level to curb runaway inflation, eventually reaching over 20 percent in 1981.

Today, the Fed is woefully mindful of these mistakes. It is hoping to signal that it is planning higher interest rates for longer and follow through on that signal without killing the economy, and the markets, and the banks, and consumer confidence in the process.

The Fed has one giant albatross around its neck that it didn't have in the 70s. The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and 401(k) were created in the 70s. As of March 31 of this year, IRAs held $12.5 trillion in assets, according to the Investment Company Institute, while 401(k)s and similar forms of defined contribution plans held $9.8 trillion. When Americans see their retirement plans shrinking on their monthly or quarterly statements because the stock market is slumping because of Fed rate hikes, that can have a negative impact on consumer spending.

The Fed is very much aware that consumer spending represents more than two-thirds of GDP in the United States. (As of March 2023, consumer spending represented 68.37 percent of GDP.)

So, despite all of that talk from the Fed about its twin policy mandates of maximum employment and stable prices, it knows that if it kills the stock market it's going to kill consumer confidence, which will, in turn, negatively impact GDP growth. With that in mind, read our article on how, for the first time in its history, the New York Fed added a second trading desk in Chicago, not far from the S&P 500 futures market.

Which brings us to another curiosity '' the inexplicable rise in the Nasdaq versus the lackluster performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the warp speed Fed interest rate hikes in the 70s and early 80s and today. Year-to-date, through the close on Monday, July 3, Nasdaq had soared 32 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up a meager 3.8 percent.

As the second and third charts above show, this same curiosity occurred from January 1977 through December 31, 1980.

There is no sound rationale for this divergence in stock markets. There is only a four-letter word that explains the Nasdaq's behavior in both eras: hype. Today's surge in Nasdaq is being fueled by a handful of tech names, being hyped by the alleged wonders of Artificial Intelligence. In the prior era, it was an assortment of hype, including the potential for takeovers.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:49

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:39

Temu launched in the US only last September, but by February it had already risen to the top of Apple's App Store. Photo / Getty Images

A 30-second advertising slot at the Super Bowl is the world's priciest piece of screen real estate.

The world's biggest brands plan their year around the marquee event, devoting their top creative minds and enlisting Hollywood celebrities to entertain the more than 100 million viewers who tune in. Only the most recognised names in advertising need apply.

But this year, a shopping app that few people had used bought not one, but two slots. Temu invited people to ''shop like a billionaire'', with an app selling clothing and household goods at seemingly impossible prices. The adverts cost the company a reported £11 million ($22.6m) '' the highest fee ever per second for a Super Bowl advert.

Temu launched in the US only last September, but by February it had already risen to the top of Apple's App Store.

Temu was launched in New Zealand in March and is the most downloaded app in New Zealand on Apple's App Store and on Google Play.

After launching in the UK at the end of April, it has become Britain's most-downloaded iPhone app over the past month.

More than seven million Britons have installed Temu, according to data compiled by research company Sensor Tower. Globally, it has hit 117 million downloads, making it one of the fastest-growing apps of all time. Monthly spending on the site has risen from an estimated US$192m ($313m) in January to US$700m ($1.1b) in June. Analysts at Tech Buzz China say total spending could hit $10 billion this year '' a sum it took Amazon 12 years to hit.

Social media is clogged with influencers posting their ''Temu hauls'' of imitation AirPods, extra-strong magnets and 98-pence water bottles. Photo / temu.comThe vibrant orange plastic packaging that orders are wrapped in have become an increasingly common sight in delivery vans and on doorsteps. And social media is clogged with influencers posting their ''Temu hauls'' of imitation AirPods, extra-strong magnets and $2 water bottles.

The app is owned by PDD, the Chinese e-commerce company behind Pinduoduo. It was founded less than a decade ago by Colin Huang, a 43-year-old serial entrepreneur who helped set up Google in China.

Huang's US$24b fortune makes him one of China's richest people, although unlike billionaires such as Alibaba's Jack Ma, he has largely shunned a public profile.

Colin Huang. Photo / FacebookHuang stepped down as PDD's chief executive and chairman in the years after its 2018 New York float, saying he wanted to focus on life sciences research, although he remains its biggest shareholder. The company is now run by co-founders Lei Chen and Jiazhen Zhao, while public interactions in the West are largely limited to routine quarterly investor calls.

Temu is able to dramatically undercut its Western rivals by shipping directly from warehouses in China to front doors, cutting out the higher costs of logistics networks in Britain, the US and Europe and taking advantage of its parent company's close relationships with Chinese suppliers.

It is not the first to try it: Alibaba, Wish.com and the fast-fashion seller Shein have all sought to attract Western shoppers by shipping directly from China.

Temu is able to dramatically undercut its Western rivals by shipping directly from warehouses in China to front doors.But none have taken off as rapidly as Temu, whose combination of aggressive pricing, free delivery and incessant marketing means it has threatened major online sellers such as Amazon. One e-commerce executive describes Temu's rise as ''scary''.

Temu has little in the way of brands or recognisable products on its site (one of its bestsellers, a set of headphones made by computer company Lenovo, is an exception).

Its website lacks the ordered lists of products on most shopping websites, instead displaying a seemingly random jumble of bargain gadgets, garments and toys.

Fomo (fear of missing out) is a key ingredient: many heavily discounted items are advertised as limited ''lightning deals''. A clock next to the words ''free shipping'' counts down to midnight, giving the impression of an expiring offer, at least until it resets the next day.

Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, says that shopping on Temu can be closer to entertainment than utility '' convenient, given that delivery times are typically more than a week.

''It's a way of getting a shopping fix, without having to spend a vast amount of money,'' he says. ''A lot of it is, quite honestly, buying for the sake of it, rather than buying because people need it.''

The app successfully keeps people hooked. The average user spends around 28 minutes a day on the app, according to Sensor Tower, nearly double the 16 minutes spent on Amazon.

For Western consumers, prices seem impossibly low. A two-pack of shower organisers retails for £6.56 ($13.50); an Amazon listing with identical images is advertised for £16.99 ($35). A £100 ($206) air fryer on Amazon retails for less than half that on Temu. On average, prices are roughly half that of its US rival.

The online shopping platform has quickly built up its market share by selling cheap everyday products shipped direct from China for low prices. Photo / TemuProducts are shipped directly from Temu warehouses in China, and the low value of each individual order means customs duties are largely avoided - in Britain, they kick in only at £135 ($280.75). Shipping costs are kept low through a deal with the Indonesian logistics giant J&T Express, which is itself making heavy losses on the contract in an attempt to boost market share ahead of an upcoming Hong Kong flotation.

The crucial ingredient, however, is relentless pressure on suppliers to keep prices low. Temu has used Pinduoduo's deep networks of manufacturers, many of whom are suffering through a downturn in Chinese consumer spending and looking for alternatives.

''What we're seeing in China domestically at the moment is a race to value,'' says Howard Lake, of research company Kantar. ''Consumption is struggling to recover post-Covid and Chinese consumers are still incredibly cautious. Long-term growth headroom in China is looking pretty stifled.''

Temu first courted domestic merchants who were looking to shift excess inventory, promising them a burgeoning new market of comparatively wealthy consumers.

Since then, however, it has increasingly relied on factory manufacturers and pitted them against one other. Each Monday, the company holds a ''reverse auction'', asking manufacturers to compete to offer it the lowest possible price for staple goods.

Suppliers are punished for too many faulty goods, or items that arrive late '' or threaten to crowd warehouses by arriving too early. Temu sets prices, often applying a markup of several times what it pays manufacturers. Merchants are not paid if items stored in Temu warehouses are not sold out within seven days, even if the company later sells them.

One Chinese report described the company's strategy as like boiling a frog: suppliers would never accept Temu's terms at the outset, but they have slowly been cooked.

Temu's own workplace is reportedly equally Darwinian: a ''horse racing'' strategy pits teams against each other to build new features and services. Teams who fail are disbanded, with managers demoted and employees occasionally cut.

Temu's other weapon has been a non-stop marketing blitz. Temu has not only followed TikTok's lead by spending huge sums on Facebook and App Store adverts; it has enlisted its own users to sign up new ones by offering them credit and free items. Photo / TemuTemu's other weapon has been a non-stop marketing blitz. Temu has not only followed TikTok's lead by spending huge sums on Facebook and App Store adverts; it has enlisted its own users to sign up new ones by offering them credit and free items.

Those who do register are subjected to a bombardment of emails and app notifications (a slew of text messages drove one disgruntled consumer to sue the company in May, claiming it amounted to being harassed).

If this sounds like a recipe for losing money, you would be correct. The combination of shipping costs, discounting and giveaways means Temu is losing an average of $30 per order, according to Wired, a huge loss considering the average order is just $25.

''You can't sell goods for $2 when it costs $20 or $30 to produce and ship them. That's just not a sustainable strategy,'' says Sky Canaves, an analyst at Insider Intelligence who says she expects prices to rise in future.

Temu can afford to lose billions for now, however. Profits at its US-listed parent company PDD tripled to $1.2b in the first quarter of the year, driven by the success of Pinduoduo, its Chinese operation. Temu reportedly expects to break even in 2025.

That assumes nobody stands in its way, which is hardly guaranteed. Temu's rise has come with increasing scrutiny of its Chinese ownership, which conspicuously avoided much of the Communist Party's tech crackdown of 2021. Temu's website says the app was founded in Boston, and its holding company moved headquarters from Shanghai to Dublin earlier this year.

That has not stopped pressure from US politicians, however. Last month, a Congressional committee said there was a ''high risk'' the site contains products made using forced labour in Xinjiang.

Montana, which is due to ban TikTok from next year, has said the app should not be used on government devices. In March, Pinduoduo was removed from Google's app download store over security concerns.

For now, though, Amazon seems rattled. The retail giant has refused to include Temu in its famous price-matching scheme, saying that the company did not meet standards such as those guarding against counterfeits. Some Chinese sellers have claimed that the company has started discounting goods in an effort to compete.

''Amazon has spent the last two decades training consumers that they should expect very fast delivery and infinite selection,'' says Juozas Kaziukėnas, of research firm Marketplace Pulse. ''But obviously they can never be as cheap as what Temu is.''

Temu did not respond to requests for comment.

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 15:32

Macron called for powers to 'cut off' social media in case of widespread violence like riots over the past week following the police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel MOpposition politicians from the left and right attacked the proposal, with one lawmaker comparing the French president to North Korea's Kim Jong-un in a tweet Published: 9:21pm, 5 Jul, 2023

Updated: 9:24pm, 5 Jul, 2023

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 15:32

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Wed, 05 Jul 2023 15:24

John Welsh, a 46-year-old father of two, moved to Portland a year ago, and he has a message for the thousands of people fleeing because crime and blight make the city feel unsafe: Try raising a transgender teenage daughter in Texas.

Welsh and his wife began to see that Portland was a better place for them when they came on a house-hunting trip in June 2021. They were out looking at properties, and their daughter, Ess, then 15, used her bus pass to go to the Japanese Garden from their Airbnb in Irvington.

''My wife said, 'You know, that's the first time in as long as I can remember that I've felt safe with her just going out and about somewhere,''' Welsh recalls.

That feeling helped seal the deal. Welsh and his family joined thousands of others leaving Texas, Florida and other states that are waging a culture war on LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are transgender. Many of these gender refugees are moving to Oregon because of its tolerant laws and lifestyle.

The influx is welcome, especially in Portland, where well-documented factors (crime, taxes, remote work) have resulted in population declines for the first time in a generation. Multnomah County lost population in the three years ending in July 2022, according to Portland State University's Population Research Center.

But tolerance'--along with Mount Hood and great beer'--could be the thing that keeps Portland vibrant.

A June poll by left-wing think tank Data for Progress showed that 43% of transgender adults and 41% of young adults ages 18-24 have considered moving to escape anti-trans legislation. Some 8% of both groups have already moved, the poll says.

Transgender people account for 0.6% of the adult population, according to a recent Gallup poll. Combining the figures from Gallup and Data for Progress, Erin Reed, a queer-rights researcher who writes the influential Substack Erin in the Morning, estimates that as many as 260,000 trans people have already fled red states for blue ones and that another 1 million are considering it.

''Should this trend persist,'' Reed writes on her Substack, ''we may witness the largest domestic migration crisis since the Dust Bowl.''

Source: Data for Progress.

Cue the Welsh family. They came to Stumptown from Round Rock, just outside of Austin, one of the fastest-growing cities in America. It may be Valhalla for guys like Elon Musk, but it's hell if you're trans, John Welsh says. When his daughter told the school she wanted to use the women's bathroom, the anti-queer, book banning group Moms for Liberty started protesting at school board meetings.

''They didn't call her out by name because they are not allowed to do that,'' Welsh says. ''But it was very clear that it was about her.''

Around the same time last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate for child abuse parents who approve gender-affirming care for their transgender children, including puberty-blocking drugs.

Welsh, his wife, Kristen, and Ess had seen enough. They packed up their car and left for Portland, leaving family and friends behind.

During the past month, WW spoke with families and individuals who made the same journey. If Portland is seeing an exodus of wealthy residents who are tired of high taxes that don't seem to fix anything, it may soon become a haven for people who have seen what else government can do to its citizens: oppress them.

Here are their stories.

Tiffany Rodriguez and her daughter Penelope fled Fort Worth for Sellwood. (Tim Saputo)

The Rodriguez Family - Fort Worth, Texas

Tiffany Rodriguez, 41, grew up in Texas and moved back to Fort Worth with her wife, Dana Ferrara Rodriguez, to be close to her extended family when she added a new member: Penelope, now age 6.

But after six years in San Diego, her home state felt dangerous for a lesbian couple. ''In Texas, we couldn't hold hands because you didn't know what would happen,'' Rodriguez says.

When her daughter was born, she and her wife worried that the clerk would go rogue and refuse to put them both on her birth certificate, even though it's been required by law since 2015. Being surrounded by Trump flags didn't exactly put her family at ease, either. ''You knew that a majority of your neighbors voted against the safety of your family,'' Rodriguez says.

Anti-trans legislation, combined with book bans (Texas topped the nation in the second half of 2022 with 438) and laws that allow most adults to carry guns without a permit, convinced Rodriguez it was time to shop for a new home.

She was working remotely for the American College of Healthcare Sciences in Portland, so Stumptown made sense. They visited, fell in love with Sellwood, and bought a house in May.

She and her family couldn't be happier, Rodriquez says. Most stores in Sellwood have Pride signs, making them feel safe on walks. Another plus: the Portland Thorns.

''In my 40 years of life, I had never seen both men and women root for a women's sports team,'' Rodriguez says. ''We went from feeling tolerated in Texas to feeling welcomed.''

Even a move to paradise has downsides, though. Rodriguez misses her parents, her brother, and her four nephews. Penelope films a YouTube diary for them every day to stay in touch.

Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map

The Krajcer Family - Austin, Texas

Before Karen Krajcer left Texas, she raised a little hell for trans rights and for her daughter Jessie, 11. She chanted at rallies. She testified before the Texas Legislature in Austin, where she lived.

It's not hyperbolic to describe Texas as a dystopia for trans people, Krajcer, 44, says. Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order to investigate parents for approving gender-affirming care meant she and her husband could be charged with child abuse for getting Jessie hormone treatments that, according to scientific studies, alleviate suicidal ideation in trans adolescents.

''Child Protective Services could throw me and my husband in jail,'' Krajcer says. ''Every time I say it, I hear how ludicrous it sounds. But this is the reality that is happening in our time. What would you do if your state was depriving your children of best-practice, lifesaving health care, and the penalty is that the state can put you in jail?''

The hypocrisy was unbearable for Krajcer. Hormones have been used for decades to block precocious puberty in cisgendered people, including her own sister.

In an article for The Nation, Krajcer described creating a ''safe folder'' for CPS investigators that contained, among other things, a letter from Jessie's pediatrician confirming her gender identity and proof of annual wellness checks, and another letter from her pediatric neurologist describing how gender dysphoria had harmed her mental health.

Abbott went further in June, signing a bill to ban hormone treatments and surgeries for transgender minors, but the Krajcer family was already gone'--to Portland.

''We're gender refugees,'' Krajcer says.

The move was hard and costly, she adds, but it was worth it. Krajcer even got to testify before the Oregon Legislature in favor of House Bill 2002, which, among other good things, requires Medicaid and private insurers to cover some gender-affirming surgeries.

''I knew we would feel safer in Portland,'' Krajcer says, ''but I didn't know we would be this happy.''

Carolyn Ward (Courtesy Carolyn Ward)

Carolyn Ward - Lexington, Kentucky

For trans people, there are many cities in Kentucky worse than Lexington. It's a college town, home to the University of Kentucky, so folks there are more tolerant.

But state laws apply to all cities, and Carolyn Ward didn't want to wait around to see what would come once Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was no longer in office in an overwhelmingly Republican state.

Ward, 28, had a lot to lose. She came out as trans in December 2019 and started hormone replacement therapy the following April. The treatment rescued her from debilitating depression. She and a friend (like a sister to her) heard good things about health care for trans people in Oregon, and they began plotting a move.

Ward got a job at Krispy Kreme and saved $5,000 by living with her parents'--a privilege, she says, many trans people don't have. They wanted to move to Portland, but it was too expensive, so they opted for another college town: Eugene. They arrived in November 2021, stayed in a Motel 6 for a month, then hopped from an RV rental to a studio apartment to a one-bedroom.

Despite all the moves, the odyssey has been worth it, Ward says. A doctor here doubled her dosage of estrogen and progesterone, and she feels much safer, to boot.

''In Kentucky, there was a risk that I would be clocked,'' Ward says, meaning she'd be identified as trans when she didn't want to be. ''In Eugene, trans people are much more normalized.''

Ward's move was prescient. In March, the Kentucky Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Beshear to pass one of the most punitive anti-trans bills in the country. It prohibits conversations about gender identity in schools, forbids trans students from using the bathroom that matches their gender, and bans all gender-affirming medical care for trans youth.

''I left a bit preemptively,'' Ward says. ''Rather than leave when the flames were consuming the room, I left when I smelled smoke.''

Some good news: Late last month, a federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked the law from taking effect while other courts hear challenges.

Jesse C. - Neosho, Missouri

As a trans person, Jesse C. had a lot to leave behind in Neosho (pop. 12,700).

The state is among the most conservative in the nation, and his divorced mother belonged to an evangelical sect founded by Harold Camping, a Christian radio broadcaster who proclaimed the world would end in fire and brimstone in 1994 (later amended to 2011).

Jesse, 27, lived under the specter of Apocalypse for years and thought Camping might be right when a milewide tornado ripped through nearby Joplin'--in 2011, no less'--and killed 158 people. After 2011 came and went (and Camping died in 2013 with the world still turning), Jesse had decisions to make.

''I grew up believing I wouldn't make it to adulthood because the world was going to end,'' says Jesse, who goes by he/she and her/him pronouns interchangeably.

He had always felt some gender dysphoria, and it became acute when he began menstruating. He wiggled his way into some ''not quite trans-specific care'' in Missouri and got birth control that eliminated his period. But that wasn't enough. He finished college, and when he didn't get into graduate schools that he wanted, he began eyeing Portland.

''I grew up viscerally aware that my existence would've been illegal if I had been born a decade earlier,'' Jesse says. ''In communities like that, the Portland area is one of the places you go.''

The economy was better here, too, he says. In Missouri, he made $8.16 an hour working in a youth shelter, a little more than half of Portland's $13.25 minimum wage at the time.

Budget conscious, Jesse got his name changed in Missouri, where it was cheaper. Then, in August 2020, Jesse and his partner at the time loaded up a U-Haul, hitched his Volvo sedan to the back, and headed west for a ''long and harrowing'' trip across the country. Their rig drank gas in the Rockies. They ran out of money in the Cascades and had to call a friend.

COVID was raging when they arrived, but Jesse managed to get a job at a youth shelter in Vancouver, Wash. He got transferred to a queer-specific shelter in Portland and now lives in unincorporated Clackamas County.

''I'm still way more comfortable with country life than city life,'' Jesse says.

The Portland area is the refuge he expected, he says. He's got a gender therapist and health insurance, things he lacked back in Missouri.

''All the cool things I had been reading about in Portland for forever are just things that my friends and I can do,'' Jesse says. ''The feeling is, holy shit, this is real.''

See more of Willamette Week's Pride 2023 coverage here!

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 20:37

KYIV '' Ukrainian officials and intelligence officers warned Russia could be preparing to blow up a nuclear power station, leading to a radioactive environmental disaster.

After the Kakhovka dam destruction last month, Kyiv fears the Kremlin plans to organize an explosion at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant '-- the largest in Europe '-- located in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russian workers have been told to leave the power station by July 5.

"There is a serious threat. Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the plant, which could lead to the release of dangerous substances into the air,'' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said to Spanish journalists in Kyiv over the weekend. ''We are discussing all this with our partners so that everyone understands why Russia is doing this and put pressure on the Russian Federation politically so that they don't even think about such a thing.''

Last week as the State Emergency Service of Ukraine conducted radioactive safety drills in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian Military Intelligence reported that a Russian military contingent, as well as Russian-backed nuclear power plant workers, were gradually leaving the plant.

''Among the first to leave the station were three Rosatom employees, who managed the actions of the Russians,'' Ukrainian military intelligence said in a statement. They were advised to leave by July 5. ''The personnel remaining at the station were instructed to blame Ukraine in case of any emergencies."

Maria Zakharova, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement the fact that Ukrainian officials conducted radioactive safety drills and set additional radiation measurement devices in several cities means ''Kyiv is preparing a false flag'' operation. However Zakharova provided no evidence for her claim. The plant is currently Russian controlled.

Earlier last month Ukrainian spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said Russia was ready to orchestrate a technological disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The part most likely to be blown up would be the artificial pond needed for cooling the power station, Budanov said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has not confirmed Ukraine's information that the cooling pond has been mined, although it also said it has not had full access to all sites at the plant.

According to the IAEA, its experts were able to inspect parts of the plant's cooling system, including some sections of the perimeter of the large cooling pond, which still has a stable level of water needed to cool down the reactors. The IAEA experts have also been conducting regular walk-downs across reactor units and other areas around the site. The IAEA said it still expected to gain access to other parts of the site including the cooling system.

In an earlier update on June 21, the IAEA said that while they did not see any visible mines around the cooling pond, experts were aware of previous placements of mines outside the plant perimeter and also at particular places inside, which Russian security personnel on site explained were for defensive purposes.

Zelenskyy has not backed down on his claims, saying Russians might blow up the power station at some point in future, even when it comes back under Ukrainian control, using mines that can be activated from a distance. "There can be remote mines '-- then to say that everything was fine under the control of the occupiers, but blew up as soon as it went back to Ukraine,'' Zelenskyy said.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 19:40

Open Society Foundations, one of the world's most prominent philanthropic networks, is gutting its staff, the organization said on Friday. Founded by billionaire George Soros, the group currently employs about 800 people globally; at least 40 percent of those workers will soon be out of jobs.

Earlier this month, Soros generated headlines after announcing that he was ceding control of Open Society to his 37-year-old son Alexander. The younger Soros quickly declared that he planned to chart a new course'--while maintaining his father's core liberal values'--telling The Wall Street Journal that he was ''more political'' than his dad.

Open Society issued a vague press release on Friday describing ''significant changes to the Foundations' operating model'' it planned to implement ''in the coming months'' in an effort to become more nimble. A spokesperson for the group told The Daily Beast in an email that those changes would entail significant layoffs.

''The Board has directed Open Society's senior leadership to proceed with the work necessary to implement this new approach in accordance with local requirements and obligations to our employees and representatives,'' the spokesperson added.

Samuel Brunson, who researches nonprofits at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, said the downsizing is not altogether surprising given that Alexander Soros may ''have different priorities and goals'' than his father. It's still too early to determine what, if anything, the cuts mean for the charitable sector at large, Brunson continued.

News of the layoffs was earlier reported by Bloomberg.

Open Society Origin StoryGeorge Soros, 92, launched a predecessor to Open Society in his native Hungary in 1984, with the initial goal of ''encouraging dissent behind the Iron Curtain.'' Over time, the foundation morphed into a much larger apparatus seeking to promote democratization, education, public health, and the arts. The group has disbursed more than $19 billion in grants over its lifetime, it says.

Soros spent a portion of his teenage years living under Nazi occupation; he and his family were Jewish and survived by obtaining ''false identity papers,'' according to an account of his childhood published by Open Society. He emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1947, where he took jobs as nightclub server and railway porter, before landing in the United States in 1956.

Soros made his fortune as a hedge fund manager; in 1992 he famously and controversially made an enormous profit (said to be in the realm of $1 billion) by betting against the British pound, which allegedly helped spark the financial crisis known as ''Black Wednesday.'' He was later dubbed ''the man who broke the Bank of England.''

As his influence has grown, Soros has frequently been the target of conspiracy theories and antisemitic attacks. ''The fact that I have become involved in so many different issues, and have taken controversial positions, is now actually working against me,'' he said in a 2020 documentary.

According to Brunson, Open Society's influence is ''pretty significant, but [also] probably less significant than its given credit (or blame) for. Soros has done a lot to preserve democracy, but he's been blamed for every ill that the Right wants a bogeyman for.''

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 19:17

As if carrying Homeowners insurance in California and Florida wasn't already subject to ridiculous increases in premiums, things are about to get a lot worse.

Effective with the July 1st notification, Reinsurance rates, these are companies who insure the insurance companies, are telling their clients there will be up to a 50% increase in cost for underwriting catastrophic coverage. Perhaps claims in the past few years have been higher; however, I suspect the issue amid the reinsurers is partly connected to the issue that surrounds banks and bond rates.

Back when interest rates were near zero, banks and reinsurers likely scooped up lots of Treasuries and bonds. As the Federal Reserve hikes rates those bonds have declined in value. When interest rates rise, newly issued bonds start paying higher returns to investors, which makes the older bonds with lower rates less attractive/valuable. The result is that most banks, and I suspect big reinsurance houses, have some amount of unrealized losses on their books.

Whatever the reason, the big reinsurance companies are now telling the insurance carriers their catastrophe rates are going up as high as 50%. Those insurance companies will then pass those rate hikes to the individual policy holders for commercial buildings, residential homes, cars, RV's etc. Bottom line, homeowner insurance rates are about to go up again with policy renewals, especially in Florida and California.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) '' U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance rates rose by as much as 50% at a key July 1 renewal date, broker Gallagher Re said in a report on Monday, with states such as California and Florida increasingly hit by wildfires and hurricanes.

Reinsurers insure insurance companies, and have been raising rates in recent years because of steepening losses, which industry players put down in part to the impact of climate change. Higher reinsurance rates can affect the premiums which insurers charge to their customers.

U.S. reinsurance rates for policies which previously faced claims for natural catastrophes rose 30-50%, Gallagher Re said.

Reinsurance rates for similar policies in Florida rose 30-40%, the broker added.

Some insurance firms have pulled out because of the risk of heavy losses. State Farm said in May it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California.

In Florida, ''all the major carriers (insurers) left and so you ended up with this market which is populated by a large number of very small, very thinly capitalised insurers which is exactly what you don't want,'' James Vickers, chairman international, reinsurance, at Gallagher Re told Reuters. (keep reading)

In Florida specifically, homeowners insurance costs have now generally risen higher than the mortgage payment for a middle-class family. This is not sustainable.

SCOOP:

I'm told by a source in Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) that the following insurance carriers that do business in Florida are allegedly in very bad financial shape and are possibly on the brink of collapsing before the end of the year. This is being covered'...

'-- Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 3, 2023

Not Good !

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 17:22

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Her best friend Diala came out behind her and also fainted.

Over the next hour, nine other girls and one boy at the Federal 1 public secondary school would spontaneously collapse in their classrooms, in the bathroom, and in the school's courtyard. Another 22 students would report other unusual symptoms like vomiting and headaches.

Esmeralda's mom, Gladys, got a text message from her niece, Esmeralda's cousin, telling her to come to the school immediately. She found Esmeralda lying on the pavement in the school's central courtyard, unable to speak or stand. Diala was slumped beside her. A cluster of other sick children lay on their backs.

"Esmeralda fainted and started convulsing on the ground," Diala said later. "I didn't expect to faint too, but then I woke up on the ground. I couldn't breathe right, it was really fast, and my eyes were red."

Several of the affected students reported smelling something smoky '-- Esmeralda said it reminded her of the smell of leaves burning up in the mountains '-- leading to suspicion marijuana was involved. But drug tests later came up negative. Several students also remembered seeing a powder in the bathroom that had a distinct, mustard-like hue. School administrators later turned up a sandwich bag with chicken soup base and a toxicology report came up clean for drugs.

At the hospital, doctors concluded Esmeralda and the others had suffered a panic attack. By the next morning, all of the children appeared to have fully recovered. Classes resumed the next week.

Esmeralda Eva Alicia L(C)piz for Insider Two weeks later, on October 7, at a middle school in Bochil, a rural pueblo 150 miles from Tapachula at the northern edge of the Mexican state of Chiapas, at least 68 children fainted, vomited, or became disoriented. Dozens were hospitalized. An affected girl told a reporter from the magazine Gatopardo that her mouth felt like it was "crawling with ants." This time, tests found traces of cocaine in four of the affected students.

Four days after that, on October 11, there was a second incident at Federal 1 in Tapachula; this time, 18 children '-- again, mostly girls '-- fainted.

Once again, Gladys got a frantic text and rushed to the school. She found her daughter walking and talking normally. But when Esmerelda went back inside to use the girls' bathroom, she again smelled the strange burning odor and thought she saw blood. Through a cloud of dizziness, she made it back outside. "Mami I don't feel good," she told Gladys, and fainted.

Yet again, within twelve hours, Esmeralda was back to normal.

But this time, the school shut down while administrators puzzled over what to do next. A team of canines swept the halls, searching for drugs. None were found.

Over the next two months, episodes of mass fainting were reported in at least six middle schools in four Mexican states, hundreds of miles apart, affecting 227 children, most of them girls. Several students were sick for days or weeks.

Mexican President Andr(C)s Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences.

But Gladys and the other parents felt they were getting no closer to an answer.

The theoriesGladys didn't buy the doctors' verdict that Esmerelda had suffered a panic attack.

Like other parents, she worried her daughter had been drugged. During the first hospital visit, the family had paid extra for blood tests for marijuana, cocaine, opioids, methamphetamine, and other amphetamines. The tests cost 350 pesos, or around eighteen dollars. It was a hefty expense.

The tests all came up negative, but Gladys remained skeptical. "It's possible there's something going on at the school and they don't want us to find out," she said.

She later ordered a second test, from a better resourced and more expensive lab in Mexico City. Months passed and the results never arrived.

A diverse set of theories was floated on social media and in the Mexican press: fertilizer poisoning, a rare bacterial illness, "probable smoke inhalation." An article in El Pais, a Spanish paper, posited an "unknown substance" could have been hiding in water sources. Other news sites mentioned a possible gas leak.

In time, the consensus mostly settled around drugs. The episodes were evidence of a rise in adolescent drug use, or, even more frightening, of a twisted play by drug cartels.

Proof of this, such as it was, mostly came down to the fact that the first episodes had occurred in Chiapas '-- a well-worn path at the southern edge of Mexico for drug and migrant smugglers heading north from Central America. The cartel theory was further fueled in mid-October, when investigators in Bochil announced they were looking for a man with a large tattoo who was seen hanging around the school on the day of the fainting episodes.

Gladys and Esmeralda Eva Alicia L(C)piz for Insider Luis Villagrn, a prominent migrant advocate in Tapachula who happened to have nieces enrolled at Federal 1, said the episodes could be part of a cartel initiation ritual, where teen-aged recruits would be tasked with drugging their peers to prove their loyalty.

While the majority of the parents avoided the press, Gladys agreed to multiple interviews.

She was incensed that Esmeralda and the others were being vilified, and that investigators were dragging their feet and banking on the public simply moving on. "They need to do something, because what if a child dies?"

If Esmeralda and her cousins bristled at this, Gladys would tell them: "Look at the news that's coming out and how they're saying you were the bad guys!"

'Putting a lid on the truth'After the fainting episodes became national news, I was among a throng of journalists who traveled down to Tapachula from Mexico City. Journalists packed into the sidewalk in front of Federal 1, which is located in a quiet residential neighborhood near the center of town.

One parent, who identified herself only as Susanna because she worried her son would be targeted in retaliation for her speaking out, said she believed drugs were involved, most likely brought in by the adolescents themselves.

The school was "definitely putting a lid on the truth," and she was sure there would be a third fainting episode. "You know why? Because there's no punishment for the person responsible."

Indeed, Tapachula was awash in rumors.

Diala's mother tried to enroll her daughter in another school but Diala was rejected. Since she had been among those who fainted, administrators there said they were worried Diala was an addict and would bring drugs to class.

Gladys joined dozens of parents at a press conference in front of Federal 1, where they asked for greater transparency from the school and the local district attorney. A banner went up saying "We demand an immediate response!" in large, red lettering.

On October 18, Esmeralda and six other students from the original episode were called to the Chiapas district attorney's office to be questioned by a psychologist.

"These depositions are going to give us lines of investigation," the lead investigator, Jos(C) Eduardo Morales Montes, told us. A specialist in cases involving children, his office was investigating the episodes in Tapachula and Bochil. "If one child says they gave candy to someone else, we're going to follow that thread until we know what role which foods played."

Over four hours, the kids were interviewed one by one. Each child was made to stick their thumbs in blue ink for prints, and they mischievously pressed the leftover ink on their fingers into the arms of their friends and parents, making little, smudgy tattoos. As each emerged from their interview, the others teasingly demanded to know if they'd cried.

On the drive back to the neighborhood, everyone sat silently, except Esmeralda and Diala, who whispered to one another as they shared a bag of Doritos.

Students by the kiosks across from the Federal 1 school in Tapachula, Mexico. Eva Alicia L(C)piz for Insider But little seemed to come of those interviews. As various investigations reached their close, locals were left with muddled summaries and dead ends, rather than answers.

An internal report from the Chiapas DA's office would later tentatively list the cause of the second episode as "probable intoxication through food." But, on the very next page, the report listed "probable transmission through the air" as the culprit.

In another report, the Bochil episode was blamed on "probable intoxication with stimulants." The theory in that case was that water at the school had been spiked with cocaine, which explained why four of the students had tested positive for the drug, but didn't seem to account for the fact that 64 other students, who had tested negative for the drug, had also fainted.

The families in Tapachula, Bochil, and the other affected towns further north near Mexico City '-- Tlaxcala and Hidalgo '-- expressed frustration that their children could still be in danger. But there was little they could do.

I returned home to Mexico City along with the last of the national media, resigned that we might never know what was behind the brief but alarming epidemic of fainting spells.

'I've been anticipating something like this'Back in Mexico City, I learned that not everyone had given up.

Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Mel(C)ndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. When I reached him at his office at Universidad Aut"noma Nacional de M(C)xico, the country's premier medical school, he told me that he had gathered what had been collected by investigators in the affected states and conducted his own analysis.

One by one, he had ruled out almost every possible theory.

Drugs '-- still the favored narrative '-- could be excluded, Pantoja Mel(C)ndez said, since nearly all of the affected students had tested negative for the most common recreational drugs. "If it were drugs, we would already know," he said. (As for the four children in Bochil and one student from Hidalgo who had tested positive for cocaine, Pantoja Mel(C)ndez noted that they could have used the drug weeks or months prior to the incident, since cocaine tests are extremely sensitive.)

Streptococcal bacteria from contaminated food, insecticide poisoning tied to nearby farms, or heatstroke, were plausible explanations, but would have required a multitude of coincidences to occur simultaneously.

Because the symptom onset was immediate '-- many of the students, including Esmeralda, did not feel sick before fainting '-- Pantoja Mel(C)ndez says the epidemic could not have been caused by anything ingested orally, as the internal organs would have no time to process the toxin.

The pattern of spread through the schools did not match an inhaled toxin either. The epidemic left a scattered signature, instead of taking out entire classrooms as is customary in cases of aerial contamination. Furthermore, many of the schools are not close enough to farms and factories to be affected by pesticides, fertilizers or other industrial chemicals.

There was only one possibility remaining in his view - albeit an unlikely one: mass hysteria, otherwise known as mass psychogenic illness.

Intrigued, I set up a Zoom call with one of the world's leading experts on mass hysteria, Dr. Robert Bartholomew, a psychology professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Bartholomew has a graying mustache and a habit of interrupting himself as he talks. In his Zoom background is a bookshelf featuring a large volume on the Roswell UFO sightings.

For years, he has collected cases of mass psychogenic illness like coins or pokemon cards, and maintains a database of 3,500 examples going back to the Middle Ages. Since the nineties, he has written over 60 academic papers and several books on the subject.

"I've been anticipating something like this for years," he told me.

The Federal 1 school in Tapachula. Eva Alicia L(C)piz for Insider In fact, mass hysteria was the theory put forward by a medical team in Veracruz, following fainting episodes at the state's T(C)cnica 67 school on October 17, after a microbiological analysis of food and water samples taken from the school had revealed no bacteria, drugs, or toxins.

Mexican President Lopez Obrador had also hinted at the theory during his daily press conference on October 25, calling the fainting episodes a "mass effect". But the idea got little traction as his own government seemed focused on investigating unintentional poisoning.

It was almost Christmas when we spoke, and Bartholomew told me he planned to devote his winter break to researching the Mexican fainting episodes. Soon, Bartholomew was busily requesting documents from the district attorney's office in Tapachula.

Still skeptical, I contacted another mass hysteria expert, Dr. Simon Wessley, a professor at Kings College in London, and told him about the fainting spells. He replied in an email, and agreed that the facts appeared to be consistent with an epidemic of mass psychogenic illness.

"It looks like a new case," he said.

'An extension of our senses' Mass hysteria is a rare psychological phenomenon where one person exhibits an unexpected behavior like fainting, screaming, or twitching, and then others in the person's proximity replicate the symptoms involuntarily.

Outbreaks can last a matter of hours, or months, and they occur especially in environments with a strict hierarchy and where people spend a lot of time together, like places of work, religious centers, and schools. While it is often contagious among people who are emotionally close, like Diala seeing Esmeralda faint and then fainting herself, it can also spread between people in the same space who don't know each other.

In the Middle Ages, mass hysteria was known as "dancing mania"; an uncontrollable need to dance. During the renaissance and later the Puritan era, mass hysteria was given religious significance, and sufferers were labeled as witches or were thought to be possessed by demons.

In modern times, cases have often been triggered by a strange odor, like the burning smell in Tapachula. The odor is perceived as a threat, which sparks a fight or flight response.

Adolescents, specifically adolescent girls, are more susceptible to mass psychosis, but it is unknown exactly why. In all but one of the fainting episodes in Southern Mexico this fall, more girls were affected than boys. The only previous documented case of mass psychogenic illness in Mexico was at a girls' boarding school in 2007.

"Adolescents tend to be more naive to the way the world works, right? They're more likely to believe in things like conspiracy theories, bigfoot, space aliens," Bartholomew said. "I know I did when I was that age."

School groups have been the quintessential setting for cases of mass psychogenic illness in this century and the last. In 1962 in Kanshasa, Tanzania, over 1,000 schoolchildren were affected by fits of uncontrollable laughter for months. In 1965 in Blackburn, England, 141 adolescent schoolgirls fainted in one day. Several had fainted from fatigue at a church service and were made to sit in a hallway to recover, where they were seen by their classmates walking through, which is likely how the epidemic spread.

In the early aughts, refugee children in Sweden began experiencing a new psychological condition in which they retreated into a state of reduced consciousness dubbed "resignation syndrome." Between 2016 and 2018, fifty children at a school in Pyuthan, Nepal would cry and shout en masse in periodic episodes.

A diagnosis of mass psychogenic illness can be contentious. It is perhaps uncomfortable for doctors and local officials to blame a psychological effect, especially when people are presenting with physical symptoms that could suggest there's a concrete danger to a community.

In 2011, several students at a high school in Leroy, New York developed uncontrollable twitching and began to garble their words. When the diagnosis of mass psychogenic illness was presented by the New York State Health Department, parents appeared on national television to campaign to get it discredited.

What made the episodes in Mexico so interesting, Bartholomew said, is that they may represent something relatively new, because they spread without immediate social contact between the people affected.

How could hysteria spread across hundreds of miles, through multiple different states, between people who never physically interacted?

'Maybe we'll finally get some answers'From the outset, the working assumption had been that there was no connection between the middle schools where fainting episodes had been reported.

But in late March, Pantoja-Melendez heard from an epidemiologist in Veracruz who gave him information that challenged that assumption. During her visit to the T(C)cnica 67 school, several students mentioned that they were part of a WhatsApp group that also included students from Federal 1 in Tapachula. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez.

It was the first concrete social media connection between two pools of affected people.

I had mentioned Pantoja Mel(C)ndez and Bartholomew to one another and soon discovered that they were working together. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

The first signal that this could happen had come during the COVID lockdowns in the UK, when an epidemic of tics was identified in teen girls in the UK, and then in several other countries. The tics appeared to have started after they watched TikTok videos about people with Tourette's syndrome.

In Mexico, according to Bartholomew, as word spread over special media, messaging platforms, and in the news about a "poisoning" or a cartel attack in Tapachula, so too did fear of it spreading to more schools. This, Bartholomew said, led to other kids replicating the very symptoms they'd heard about, often after they sensed something out of place, like a weird smell.

"It used to be that you had to be there. You had to be in the room," Bartholomew said. "But now social media is an extension of our senses, and we're always playing catch up'... I think we are on the verge of a much bigger, global epidemic."

Eight months after that first episode in Tapachula, Pantoja Mel(C)ndez and Bartholomew are now the only people left investigating the fainting epidemic. Their focus now is mapping out how each episode is linked to the ones that followed.

This summer, teams from Pantoja Mel(C)ndez's university are set to visit the six affected schools to interview students and their parents about their social media use and what they had heard about other schools in the days preceding each fainting episode.

Their working theory is that the Internet, coupled with the psychological and developmental disturbance of the pandemic, was the agent of transmission for a mass hysteria episode.

"These children were in their homes for almost two years. That is significant in relation to the connection between the brain and the immune system," Pantoja-Melendez explained. "We've seen all sorts of weird things happen the past year."

Esmeralda Eva Alicia L(C)piz for Insider Back in Tapachula, Esmeralda is the only one among the 11 students who fainted in that first episode who's still enrolled at Federal 1. The other ten, including Diala, have transferred out.

I called Gladys to tell her about Pantoja Mel(C)ndez and Bartholomew's theory, and to let her know the team of epidemiologists would be coming to Tapachula. She still suspects her daughter was drugged, but she told me she was keeping an open mind.

After such painful uncertainty, Gladys says it's meaningful to her that someone cares enough to see the investigation through. "Maybe we'll finally get some answers," she said.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 17:00

In September 2024, less than two months before the next U.S. presidential election, the United Nations will host a landmark ''Summit of the Future,'' where member nations will adopt a Pact for the Future. The agreement will solidify numerous policy reforms offered by the U.N. over the past two years as part of its sweeping Our Common Agenda platform.

Although there are numerous radical proposals included in the agenda, perhaps none are more important than the U.N. plan for a new ''emergency platform,'' a stunning proposal to give the U.N. significant powers in the event of future ''global shocks,'' such as another worldwide pandemic.

Many of the details of the U.N. emergency platform were laid out in a March 2023 policy paper titled ''Strengthening the International Response to Complex Global Shocks '-- An Emergency Platform.'' In the paper, the U.N. secretary-general writes, ''I propose that the General Assembly provide the Secretary-General and the United Nations system with a standing authority to convene and operationalize automatically an Emergency Platform in the event of a future complex global shock of sufficient scale, severity and reach.''

Once triggered, the emergency platform would give the U.N. the ability to ''actively promote and drive an international response that places the principles of equity and solidarity at the centre of its work.'' The U.N. would bring together the ''stakeholders'' of the world, including academics, governments, private sector actors, and ''international financial institutions'' to ensure there is a unified, global response to the crisis.

The emergency platform would also give the United Nations the power to ''Ensure that all participating actors make commitments that can contribute meaningfully to the response and that they are held to account for delivery on those commitments.''

In other words, the United Nations would be given unprecedented authority over the public and private sectors of huge swaths of the world, all in the name of battling a yet unknown crisis.

It Gets WorseAs difficult as it might be to believe, the story gets even worse from here. Although the duration of the emergency platform would initially be set for a ''finite period,'' at ''the end of that period, the Secretary-General could extend the work of an Emergency Platform if required,'' according to the United Nations' own policy proposal.

That means the secretary-general would have the authority to keep the emergency platform in place indefinitely, all without reauthorization from member nations.

What kind of ''global shock'' would trigger the emergency platform? The U.N. provides several possible examples in its formal proposal, including a ''major climatic event,'' ''future pandemic risks,'' a ''global digital connectivity disruption,'' ''major event in outer space,'' and, my personal favorite, ''unforeseen risks, ('black swan' events).''

This isn't to say that these incredibly broad categories would be the only potential justifications allowed to trigger the emergency platform. The proposal makes clear that it ''would allow the convening role of the United Nations to be maximized in the face of crises with global reach and should be 'agnostic as to the type of crisis,' as we do not know what type of global shock we may face in the future.''

Further, ''The Secretary-General would decide when to convene an Emergency Platform in response to a complex global shock.''

Or, put in simpler terms, a ''global shock'' is whatever the U.N.'s leadership says it is, triggered whenever the U.N. desires.

Biden Admin Supports the ProposalThe emergency platform proposal might be the biggest attempted power grab in the history of the United Nations, but as shocking as it is, it pales in comparison to the Biden administration's treatment of this extremist proposal.

Rather than assert America's independence and sovereignty, the White House has expressed its support for the emergency platform. U.S. Ambassador Chris Lu noted in at least two March 2022 speeches that the Biden administration backs the emergency platform, along with numerous other proposals included in ''Our Common Agenda.''

The emergency platform would centralize an immense amount of power and influence, giving the United Nations greater control over the lives of Americans than it has ever had before. And rather than stand up for Americans' rights, President Biden has already agreed to sell us out.

If the emergency platform is approved, the United States as we know it could cease to exist. That sounds dire, but it's true. We either stand for freedom now or risk everything come September 2024.

Justin Haskins (Jhaskins@heartland.org) is the director of the Socialism Research Center at The Heartland Institute and a New York Times bestselling author.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 17:00

The Summit of the Future (September 2024) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people's lives. (C)UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Multilateral solutions for a better tomorrowMajor global shocks in recent years '' including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the triple planetary crisis, among others '' have challenged our international institutions. Unity around our shared principles and common goals is both crucial and urgent.

The Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people's lives. Building on the SDG Summit in 2023, Member States will consider ways to lay the foundations for more effective global cooperation that can deal with today's challenges as well as new threats in the future.

Road to the Summit of the Future2021Our Common AgendaThe Secretary-General responded to this call with Our Common Agenda, a wake-up call to speed up implementation of the SDGs as well as recommendations to address strategic gaps in global governance arrangements. It called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on multilateral solutions to current and future problems.

2023SDGSummitMarking the mid-point of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the SDG Summit in 2023 will be convened on 18-19 September 2023 to ''mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals''.

2022-2024Summit of the FutureHaving welcomed the submission of Our Common Agenda, the General Assembly passed a resolution in 2022 (A/RES/76/307) to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024. Practical consultations on preparations for the Summit begin in February 2023 and a Ministerial meeting will take place this year. The Summit of the Future will build upon the SDG Summit and breathe new life into the multilateral system so that it can deliver on the promises of the United Nations Charter and the 2030 Agenda.

2024Pact for the FutureAn action-oriented Pact for the Future will be endorsed by Heads of State/Government at the Summit, showcasing global solidarity for current and future generations.

Basis of the SummitThe 75th Anniversary of the United Nations was marked in June 2020 with a declaration by Member States that included 12 overarching commitments along with a request to the Secretary-General for recommendations to address both current and future challenges. In September 2021, the Secretary-General responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and propel the commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration. In some cases, the proposals addressed gaps that emerged since 2015, requiring new intergovernmental agreements. The report, therefore, called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on readying ourselves for a future that is rife with risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly welcomed the submission of the ''rich and substantive'' report and agreed to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by a ministerial meeting in 2023. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations on issues they decide to take forward.

Work on the Summit has already commenced in 2023The Secretary-General updated the General Assembly in August 2022 and February 2023 on progress relating to Our Common Agenda discussing the Summit.

He will also release a series of Policy Briefs starting in March 2023 in anticipation of Member State preparations.

Practical consultations on preparations for the Summit began in February 2023, spearheaded by co-facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Germany and Namibia to the UN.

Meetings and consultations are taking place on a broad array of proposals, including with Member States, regional groups, the UN system, and multi-stakeholder partners.

A Ministerial meeting is planned for September 2023 to prepare for the Summit of the Future.

Intergovernmental ConsultationsAreas of Potential ActionMember States will ultimately decide the outcome of the Summit of the Future, but the Secretary-General has outlined an ambitious agenda for their consideration. These are further elaborated in the Secretary-General's Our Common Agenda Policy Briefs.

Account for the future: practical steps to take account of the long-term impact of our decisions, fulfilling a long-standing commitment Member States have made to future generations;Better respond to global shocks: put in place a stronger international response playbook for complex global shocks, maximizing the use of the Secretary-General's convening power in the form of an Emergency Platform;Meaningfully include young people:'¯systematically include young people in global decision-making;Measure human progress more effectively: agree on metrics beyond GDP so that decisions on debt relief, concessional funding, and international cooperation take account of vulnerability, well-being, sustainability, and other vital measures of progress.Agree on a vision of digital technology as a motor for human progress that can deliver full benefits while minimizing potential harm;Commit to integrity in public information: achieve an information ecosystem (notably online) that is inclusive and safe for all, perhaps via a code of conduct;Reform the international financial architecture: to ensure it delivers more effectively and fairly for everyone and particularly the Global South, including through objectives that are aligned with the SDGs, debt sustainability, a global financial safety net, and more;Advance the peaceful and sustainable use of outer space: update norms governing the use of and behaviour in space so that it is peaceful, secure and sustainable for the benefit of all;Agree a new agenda for peace: update our understanding of all forms and domains of threats and adapt our toolbox to prevent and manage hostilities on land, at sea, in space, and in cyberspace;Transform education: achieve a fundamental shift in how education is seen and treated including in relation to the purpose of education; the learning environment; the teaching profession; harnessing digital transformation; investing in education; and multilateral support for quality education for all.UN 2.0: adapt basic UN practices on data, communications, innovation, strategic foresight, performance and results, and more, so it is better positioned to support all the above and face the challenges of tomorrow.Member States may also elect to include in the Pact ideas and proposals from the forthcoming report of the Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 16:44

Young adults who use social media to browse content of other users are more likely to experience anxiety, depression and stress than more active users who share their own content, a new study has found.

Previous studies into the impact of social media have found contradictory evidence of the impact of on the users' mental health. Some studies have found users felt it had a negative impact, whereas others have found that forming a wider social circle online can have a positive effect.

In this new study, published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, researchers from Bournemouth University focussed on the different ways in which young adults (aged 18 '' 34) engage with social media platforms to see if that made a difference.

The researchers surveyed 288 young adults to understand the relationship between different styles of engagement with social media, feelings of loneliness and psychological distress.

''According to the Office for National Statistics, the highest levels of loneliness are found in young adults,'' explained Dr Constantina Panourgia, Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at Bournemouth University. ''Social media holds significant importance for this group of young people '' while some individuals talk highly about it, other demonise it. Previous studies have tended to look at specific platforms or the amount of time spent online. However, our aim was to delve deeper and investigate the different ways in which people engage with social media, regardless of which platforms they use.''

Three types of social media use were looked at '' passive (users who exclusively browse content by other users), Active non-social (users who post their own content but do not have direct engagement with other users), and Active Social (posting own content and interacting with other users' posts).

The findings showed that increased passive social media use was linked to elevated levels of anxiety, depression and stress. Interestingly, creating and sharing content but without interacting directly with others online (active non-social) had a positive impact on stress.

''This finding highlights the positive aspects of active non-social media use, such as public content sharing, that allows users to receive feedback, such as likes and positive comments to their posts, but without the demands of direct social interactions. In other words, active non-social media users do not experience the additional pressures from constantly participating or initiating conversations with other people online which can be mentally exhausting'' explained Dr Panourgia.

Zoe Taylor who led the study whilst a student at BU said, ''We noted that the manner in which users engage with social media plays a crucial role in their psychological wellbeing. Individuals who passively use social media tend to experience greater feelings of loneliness which can subsequently lead to increased psychological distress. A unique aspect of this study is that it explored specific aspects of active use that has been previously overlooked in research.''

The findings also showed that loneliness explained the relationship between passive use and the negative mental health impacts.

''Passive social media does not provide opportunities for communication and self-disclosure which are known to promote connectedness and social support . So, users may feel isolated and excluded, leading to exacerbated feelings of loneliness and subsequently to increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression,'' Dr Panourgia added.

The researchers advise that social users could reflect more on their motives behind their engagement with social media, and learn more about the risks and benefits from different types of use.

''Rather than advocating for strict social media restrictions, it would be advantageous to help young adults comprehend their needs for social media use and also the risks associated with passive social media use,'' Dr Panourgia concluded.

04/07/2023 Important updates for the IT self-service portal You can now leave our IT Services team feedback via a new compliments and complaints form on their self-service portal. The emails you receive once an incident or request has been resolved will also have a new look.

03/07/2023 Reduced Estates support on Friday 7 July On Friday 7 July there will be reduced support from the Estates Team. Find out how this might affect you.

03/07/2023 BU rises into the top 50 in the THE Young University Rankings 2023 Bournemouth University has risen to 41st in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings 2023.

03/07/2023 Fire safety advice for students It is important to be aware of how to prevent fire, and how to stay safe if you are alerted to or discover a fire '' whether you are at home or on campus.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 16:43

Loneliness may the increase risk of heart disease in diabetes patients, according to new research .

Scientists have found being lonely to be a bigger risk factor for coronary heart disease - a condition where the blood vessels supplying the heart are narrowed or blocked - than diet, exercise, smoking and depression.

The researchers said their findings, published in the European Heart Journal, highlight the importance of meaningful social relationships to stay healthy.

Study author Professor Lu Qi, of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, said: "The quality of social contact appears to be more important for heart health in people with diabetes than the number of engagements

"We should not downplay the importantance of loneliness on physical and emotional health.

"I would encourage patients with diabetes who feel lonely to join a group or class and try to make friends with people who have shared interests."

Researchers studied data from the UK Biobank - an online database of medical and lifestyle records from more than half a million Britons - involving more than 18,000 adults aged between 37 to 73.

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1:09 What are the signs and symptoms of diabetes?These people had diabetes but no heart disease at the start of the 10 year-long study.

The researchers used questionnaires to assess loneliness and other factors that may affect relationships such as body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diet, alcohol, smoking, and medications, blood pressure, cholesterol and control of blood sugar.

Over the course of more than a decade, more than 3,000 people developed heart disease, which included coronary heart disease or stroke.

Read more:How the government plans to address the NHS staffing crisisObesity patients made to feel like 'second-class citizens'

The researchers found those who scored the highest in loneliness had a 26% greater risk of heart disease, compared to people with lower scores.

The team also found loneliness to be a bigger risk factor for heart disease than diet, exercise, smoking and depression - but showed a weaker influence when compared to kidney function, cholesterol and BMI.

Professor Qi said: "Loneliness ranked higher as a predisposing factor for cardiovascular disease than several lifestyle habits.

"We also found that for patients with diabetes, the consequence of physical risk factors (i.e. poorly controlled blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and poor kidney function) was greater in those who were lonely compared to those who were not."

"The findings suggest that asking patients with diabetes about loneliness should become part of standard assessment, with referral of those affected to mental health services."

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Archived Version

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 16:42

Clinical Relevance: Semaglutide and DA5-CH offer promising potential as new treatments for Parkinson's disease

Semaglutide and DA5-CH offer new therapeutic possibilities for Parkinson's disease.DA5-CH demonstrates superior effectiveness compared to semaglutide in reducing PD symptoms and enhancing brain function in a rodent model.Both compounds have the potential to alleviate motor symptoms, increase dopamine production, mitigate inflammation, and manage insulin resistance in Parkinson's disease. A new compound that acts like ''Ozempic for the brain'' might help reduce inflammation associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). In a study using rats with a Parkinson's-like condition, it improved symptoms and enhanced brain function.

Researchers have long observed insulin resistance in the brains of individuals with PD, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder without a known cure. Enter semaglutide, a novel treatment initially developed for type 2 diabetes. Currently undergoing a phase II clinical trial for PD patients, semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

Semaglutide is sold under the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy. Originally used for the long-term management of type 2 diabetes and obesity, it has recently gained traction as a transformative weight loss drug.

''Medication initially designed to deal with diabetes have proven good protecting results in many various animal fashions of central nervous system illness,'' Christian H¶lscher, a professor at the Henan University of Chinese Medicine and the chief scientific officer at Kariya, told the news outlet , Psypost.

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Outperforming Semaglutide Promising results from previous phase II trials involving PD patients have been seen with older GLP-1 receptor agonists, including exendin-4 and liraglutide. Building upon this progress, researchers have now developed a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist called DA5-CH. What sets DA5-CH apart is its ability to effectively cross the brain-blood barrier, a protective gateway that often poses challenges for drug delivery to the brain. In research, DA5-CH exhibits an even higher brain-blood barrier penetration rate than semaglutide.

To investigate the potential of both semaglutide and DA5-CH, researchers conducted a study using a rat model of PD induced by 6-OHDA lesions. 6-OHDA neurotoxins selectively destroy dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons in the brain. Researchers administered a dose of 25 nmol/kg of either semaglutide or DA5-CH to the rats for 30 days following the lesion.

Both drugs demonstrated positive outcomes. They effectively reduced apomorphine-induced rotational behavior. Rats treated with a drug called apomorphine exhibit this specific movement pattern observed in animal models of Parkinson's disease. The animals tend to rotate or turn repeatedly in one direction, a behavior used as a measure to assess the effectiveness of potential treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Additional Findings Are Encouraging They also alleviated dopamine depletion and mitigated the inflammatory response in the damaged striatum area of the rats' brains. This was evidenced by reduced levels of IL-1β and TNF-α, two markers of inflammation. Notably, DA5-CH demonstrated greater effectiveness compared to semaglutide across every measure.

Additionally, both drugs exhibited neuroprotective effects by safeguarding dopaminergic neurons and increasing the expression of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase in the substantia nigra, a brain region critically affected in PD. Increasing the expression of this enzyme in the context of PD could have potential therapeutic benefits for humans, the researchers speculated.

Tyrosine hydroxylase is responsible for the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a critical role in controlling movement and coordination. In PD, there is a progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra. This dopamine depletion leads to the characteristic motor symptoms of PD, such as tremors, rigidity, and impaired balance.Increasing tyrosine hydroxylase expression enhances the production of dopamine, which can help compensate for the deficit caused by neuronal loss. By doing so, these drugs have the potential to alleviate motor symptoms and improve motor function in individuals with PD.

Furthermore, the drugs demonstrated the ability to reduce levels of monomer and aggregated α-synuclein, proteins associated with PD pathology. Another significant finding was the reduction of insulin resistance. Here again, DA5-CH proved more potent than semaglutide.

Future Prospects These results indicate that while semaglutide showed promise in this PD model, DA5-CH emerged as the superior candidate. Its enhanced ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier suggests that it may hold greater therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative disorders like PD compared to GLP-1 receptor agonists that face challenges in reaching the brain.

''The take-home message is that these drugs are genuinely protective in the brain, and that we are not very far away from one of these drugs coming to the market as a drug treatment to slow down or stop Parkinson's disease,'' H¶lscher said. ''Our novel dual agonist is designed to treat Parkinson's and works better than the GLP-1 class drugs that are on the market to treat type 2 diabetes.''

DA5-CH is currently in phase I trials. H¶lscher said they will enter a phase II clinical trial next year. He hoped these early results will ultimately translate from animal models into meaningful clinical benefits. Scientists are studying GLP-1 drug use in the treatment of a variety of other conditions including Alzheimer's disease and substance use disorders.

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 16:41

Ex-Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili appears to have suffered drastic weight loss since being imprisoned in his country of birth

Images have appeared online showing Mikhail Saakashvili, the jailed former president of Georgia, appearing to be severely emaciated during an online court hearing.

The video footage and photos were posted on Monday, showing a grey-haired Saakashvili pulling up his shirt to show the state of his body. The former president, who was arrested in Georgia in October 2021, is serving a combined six years in prison for abuse of power and covering up evidence about a banker's murder.

The images have triggered fresh condemnation from Ukraine, which granted Saakashvili citizenship in 2015 after he fled Georgia. Kiev has accused Tbilisi of mistreating the pro-Western former leader, who also served as governor of Odessa Region, before resigning in 2016.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has refused requests from Kiev to pardon Saakashvili, so that he can receive medical treatment abroad.

Mikhail Podoliak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, reacted to the new photos of Saakashvili by accusing Georgia of torturing its former head of state ''slowly and cynically'' to curry favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He claimed that the Tbilisi government was ruining its ''European prospects'' and making Georgia ''synonymous with cannibalism.''

Georgia continues to slowly and cynically torture its ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. An incredible historical... suicide. What is this? Do you really want to get the encouragement of the Russians so badly? Do you really want to be Putin's favorite and obedient vassals? Do you'... pic.twitter.com/fZWD72BjPm

'-- Ð'ихайÐ>>о ПодоÐ>>як (@Podolyak_M) July 3, 2023Saakashvili, 55, has gone on hunger strikes since his arrest. His weight reportedly dropped from 115kg (254 pounds) in October 2021 to 74kg last December. He claimed earlier this year that he had been poisoned with high-density metals by ''Russian agents'' while in custody.

The Georgian government has accused Saakashvili of faking the severity of his illness and released footage of the inmate last December, showing his ''offensive and aggressive behavior'' toward hospital staffers. ''This footage clearly shows that Mikheil Saakashvili is dissembling in order to obstruct the enforcement of justice and mislead the public and international partners,'' the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service said at the time. Georgian medics have blamed his dramatic weight loss on his refusals to eat.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, called the latest footage of Saakashvili ''horrifying.'' He added: ''President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili refuses to pardon Saakashvili. He is obviously in a bad state and needs medical treatment.''

Georgia has faced international pressure to join in US-led sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Air traffic between Georgia and Russia resumed in May under a decree signed by Putin.

Saakashvili was president from 2004 to 2013, and launched an attack against the breakaway republic of South Ossetia in August 2008. The attack killed a number of Russian peacekeepers in the region, triggering a five-day conflict between Tbilisi and Moscow.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:54

On Friday, two women demonstrating outside the Moms for Liberty summit at the Museum for the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, explained they were protesting the event because the organization supports banning books. Upon being pressed for examples of such prohibitions, the duo failed to provide any names.

In a video posted on Twitter, The Post Millennial's Editor-in-Chief Libby Emmons asked the women why they were protesting. One of the women answered of the group, "It gives them some credibility when they're actually a hate group supporting divisiveness, supporting banning books, supporting harm to trans children or gays and lesbians. And I'm here to protest that."

"Well I've been hearing more and more about Moms for Liberty and I think it's very scary given the state of our country right now." the second woman said. "...they are a growing right-wing group and they've been named that and, you know, we have to do all we can to protect democracy. And they're doing everything that's the opposite. You know, they're anti-gay, anti-trans, banning books that are so important for young people to have in their schools."

Emmons asked the pair to provide a few titles of banned literature that they thought should remain in the schools.

"I don't really know the titles," the first woman responded. "...but there's one that where there was just a mention at the very end of the book that Johnny has ... a family with two moms or Sam is a family with two dads, and because of that one line, they wanted the whole book banned, and they did ban it, and I think, I think that's what's now you've got children in those classrooms. Who will have two moms or two dads, And now they don't get to see themselves represented at all in any of the books that they get to read."

"They're also pointing out books with people of color in the text, and that's just so wrong. That's discriminatory. Children, like Martha, just said, need to see all kinds of people and read everything," the second woman claimed.

Moms for Liberty began their annual summit on Thursday in Philidelphia hosting most of their events at the Philadelphia Marriot Downtown. The organization of moms, who routinely express concern about the content children are being taught in modern schools, hosted a wide range of speakers, including GOP presidential candidates former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley.

The event saw violent protests earlier this week in an attempt to shut the venue down. Attendees of the Moms for Liberty functions were reportedly harassed by protestors as they exited the event venues.

The Southern Poverty Law Center deemed the organization an extremist group last month, along with other parent rights organizations, specifically calling out its use of shirts and signs reading, "we do NOT CO-PARENT with the GOVERNMENT." It also claimed that Moms For Liberty and other similar groups, which it deems a part of a "right-wing mobilization" effort, have "grown into an anti-student inclusion movement that targets any inclusive curriculum that contains discussions of race, discrimination and LGBTQ identities."

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Roger Stone, a GOP political operative and close confidant of Donald Trump, said that the former president told him classified documents pertaining to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy are "so horrible you wouldn't believe it."

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) finished its records review on Friday, in accordance with a memo by President Joe Biden that instructed the posting of documents containing new information associated with the President John F. Kennedy (JFK) Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that 99 percent of records associated with the assassination are available for public consumption through NARA. Biden has declassified more than 16,000 related documents since 2021, including 1,103 last week, and more than 2,600 overall since December 2022.

"Even he, Trump, held back 20 percent of the documents," Stone told Jack Posobiec of Human Events, part of the GOP nonprofit Turning Point USA. "When I had the occasion to ask him about that, I said, 'Why didn't you let it all out?'

"He said, 'I can't tell you, it's so horrible you wouldn't believe it. Someday you'll find out.' That was the sum total of it and he didn't want to talk further about it. He kicked the can down the road to President Joe Biden."

A spokesperson for the presidential campaign of Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JFK's nephew, told Newsweek on Tuesday: "We will never know for sure until these documents are made public in full. After 60 years, there are no national security concerns. The American people deserve to know their own history."

As a result of congressional passage of the JFK Records Act of 1992, the release of related records had to occur by October 2017.

Trump did not start declassifying JFK-related records until after October 2017, citing intelligence agencies and sources potentially being compromised. He reportedly declassified tens of thousands of documents during his term.

Documents released in December offered some new insight into alleged JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and how he was being surveilled by the CIA, as well as his involvement with the agency on an operation months before the killing.

But historians have expressed a lukewarm reaction to the documents as providing a wider glimpse into JFK's death.

Stone said he asked Trump in the early stages of his presidency what he would do with JFK-related records.

Weeks before the scheduled release date in 2017, Trump allegedly asked Stone, "Why hasn't anyone brought this to my attention?"

When Trump told Stone that said sources and methods would be exposed, Stone responded that most sources are dead and that the public deserved to know the details.

Newsweek reached out to Stone by text message for comment.

Former President Donald Trump (left) at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center on June 10, 2023 in Columbus, Georgia. Roger Stone (right) waits for Trump's arrival at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. Stone said he discussed classified John F. Kennedy assassination documents with Trump. Anna Moneymaker/Getty; Joe Raedle/Getty"As I have reiterated throughout my Presidency, I fully support the Act's aim to maximize transparency by disclosing all information in records concerning the assassination, except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise," Biden said in a memo released Friday by the White House in accordance with NARA's records release.

Biden added that acting archivist Colleen Shogan told him the process was complete and recommended that he postpone the public release of certain redacted information in the records certified as part of the December 2022 memo.

Biden was also instructed by NARA to provide its National Declassification Center (NDC) with transparency plans that will be used "to ensure appropriate continued release of information as specific identified harm dissipates, then triggering public disclosure."

"I have every confidence that the NDC's implementation of these plans offers a clear path forward for public transparency and the timely release of additional information as circumstances warrant," Shogan said in a statement.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:14

Media caption, Watch: White House responds to cocaine found in West Wing

The US Secret Service is investigating how cocaine was found at the White House on Sunday night, with visitor logs and footage combed for clues.

The discovery in the West Wing, which contains the Oval Office and other working areas for presidential aides and staff, led to a brief evacuation.

Secret Service agents found the powder during a routine inspection in an area that is accessible to tour groups.

President Joe Biden and his family were at Camp David in Maryland at the time.

A senior law enforcement official told the BBC's US partner CBS News the substance was found in a storage facility routinely used by White House staff and guests to store mobile phones.

The White House complex was closed as a precaution at around 20:45 local time (00:45 GMT) on Sunday after it was discovered.

A preliminary test later confirmed the substance was cocaine.

The Secret Service will lead a full review of how it got into the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.

White House staff are permitted to give tours of some parts of the West Wing to friends and family. Visitors who are not accredited staff must store mobile phones and other personal belongings in cubicles.

"It was in one of the cubbies," a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, The drug was found in the heart of one of the world's most carefully guarded buildings

Speaking at a daily press briefing on Wednesday, Ms Jean-Pierre said that the area where the cocaine was discovered is a "heavily travelled" part of the White House.

"We have confidence that the Secret Service are going to get to the bottom of this," she said.

President Biden was briefed on the matter, Ms Jean-Pierre added. Mr Biden did not answer reporters' questions about the incident on Wednesday.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, a top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the Secret Service's director with a list of questions about how such a drug could end up in one of the world's most carefully guarded buildings.

He asked about the White House's security and visitor screening process, and how many times drugs have previously been discovered at the presidential mansion.

Cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

The West Wing is a large, multi-level part of the White House that contains the offices of the president of the United States, including the Oval Office and the Situation Room.

It also houses the offices of the vice-president, the White House chief of staff, the press secretary, and hundreds of other staff who have access.

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Woke Hollywood liberal actor Richard Gere is set to testify against Italy's former interior minister Matteo Salvini over his refusal to allow a Spanish ship filled with refugees to dock in an Italian port in 2019.Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser)Over the weekend, a video featuring the Hollywood actor Richard Gere went viral on Twitter. The video showed the 72-year-old actor standing near the water as he pleaded for his fans to send money to ''Open Arms,'' a group that's responsible for rescuing the boat of refugees Matteo Salvini refused entry into Italy in 2019.

In the video, the leftist actor is surrounded by all male refugees who Gere appears to be bragging about helping to smuggle into Italy against the wishes of the majority of Italians.

''All hands onboard would have been lost,'' the 72-year-old actor dramatically states in the video.

The Hollywood actor told added, ''I already came to Lampedusa two or three years ago to visit the migrant hotspot, so I knew the situation first-hand. They are people who have lived horrible stories. They have suffered a lot. They call them migrants, but they are refugees who need help.''

Trending: Woke Hiking Groups Create Segregated Hiking Paths For People of Color Who Fear Running Into a ''Prejudiced'' Hiker

Watch:

Why doesn't Richard Gere invite these ''refugees'' to live in his mansion instead of making them Europe's burden?

pic.twitter.com/UsWWwMGMwM

'-- Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 3, 2023

But it's who's standing with Gere in the video that should be raising a lot of eyebrows, as liberals seem to be ignoring the fact that much like the illegal aliens who are crossing the border into the USA via the Mexican border, a shockingly high number of these invaders are military-aged men. Where are the women and children? Are the women and children coming from the mostly Muslim population of the Middle East and Africa not oppressed?

Furthermore, why is woke actor Richard Gere whining about the mistreatment of uninvited refugees like the military-aged young man seen below wearing a substantial gold chain around his neck when America's wide open borders are causing women and children to be raped and tortured by Mexican drug cartels and coyotes, while Hollywood liberals look the other way?

Curiously, Gere never mentions the crime and the refusal to assimilate into the cultures in the countries where these refugees land. The current violent riots and burning of cities in France serve as the perfect example of an open-borders experiment gone horribly wrong.

Photos shared over the weekend show France is in very big trouble. Go here for more details.The Guardian explains how Richard Gere is planning to testify against Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini

Prosecutors in Sicily have accused Salvini of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for blocking the NGO vessel Open Arms from docking in August 2019 as part of his closed-ports policy. Onboard were 147 people rescued in the Mediterranean. During the standoff, as the ship was anchored off the island of Lampedusa, some people threw themselves overboard in desperation.

When Gere, who at the time was on holiday with his family in Tuscany, heard about the stranded ship, he spoke to the NGO and traveled to Sicily to join the charity and to help deliver food and supplies to the people onboard.

After 19 days, all of the migrants and refugees were allowed to disembark in Lampedusa. Salvini said he had only been doing his job by refusing entry to the ship.

''I'm going on trial for having defended my country?'' he said. ''I'll go with my head held high, also in your name,'' he previously told the media.

Last week, lawyers representing Open Arms filed a list of witnesses ready to testify against Salvini, including Gere. When contacted by the Guardian, Open Arms confirmed that Gere was willing to testify, should a judge allow it. The court's decision is expected on 23 October.

''If someone wants to turn the trial into a show and wants to see Richard Gere, let him go to the cinema, not to a court,'' Salvini told the press. ''I know him as an actor, but I don't understand what kind of lessons he wants to give me,'' he added, promising to ask for an autograph for his mother.

Europeans have been suffering the effects of allowing mass migration from Africa and the Middle East into their communities, where the mostly Muslim male population of refugees refuses to assimilate with the culture in the communities where they've been transplanted.

In France, the Muslim migrant community has been rioting, burning down cities, and attacking innocent French citizens, including the mayor of Paris and his young family, after a young Muslim refugee was killed by police.

A local French police chief warns that the rioters are not simply rioting, ''It's war!'' he says, adding, ''They want to kill us!''

Local French police chief 'They aren't riots, it's war '...They want to kill us'.#FranceRiots #FranceHasFallen #FranceOnFire pic.twitter.com/ypcAmFLYOM

'-- Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) July 3, 2023

But let's talk about how an American woke actor is in a foreign country fighting to help flood it with refugees.

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July 5, 2023 | 5:08pm

Aubrey O'Day claims her long-rumored affair with Donald Trump Jr. began ''in a gay club bathroom.''

During a recent appearance on Michael Cohen's ''Mea Culpa'' podcast, the 39-year-old reflected on the first time that she and the former president's oldest son allegedly had sex.

''I was hosting a gay club and our first time going out together '-- he wanted to see me so bad '-- and I told him, 'Well, I'm gonna be at a gay club tonight','' she claimed.

''So Don shows up to the gay club '-- and I'm talking about this is one of the biggest gay parties in New York, it's a huge f'--king club,'' she continued. ''Everybody was in a g-string or less.''

Aubrey O'Day claimed the first time she had sex with Donald Trump Jr. was in a gay bar. aubreyoday/InstagramWhile the former MTV star thought there was ''no way'' Trump, 45, would have a good time, she claimed he was ''super comfortable'' '-- despite his current anti-LGBTQIA+ views.

''I looked at his Instagram for the first time in years and saw all kinds of jokes of belittling the gay community '... and I thought to myself, 'Man, you were super comfortable in that gay club.'''

''In fact, so comfortable that we ended up going to the bathroom and, for the first time, had sex in a gay club bathroom,'' she alleged.

She claimed the politician met her at a bar where she was hosting an event. Getty ImagesAlthough that was the first time the pair allegedly got physical, the former Danity Kane frontwoman claimed they shared a strong emotional bond before then.

According to O'Day, the pair allegedly had ''building love for each other'' while working on ''Celebrity Apprentice'' in 2011.

''I think we noticed pretty quickly that we laughed every time everyone else wasn't,'' she explained. ''We would wink at each other when something was funny but nobody else was willing to admit it '... We just saw each other's soul in one another.''

Their alleged tryst reportedly began in 2011 after meeting on ''Celebrity Apprentice.'' Getty Images Things allegedly didn't get physical between the two until filming wrapped in 2011. FilmMagicMeanwhile, Trump was married to his first wife, Vanessa Trump, at the time of the alleged affair. The pair, who were married from 2005 until 2018, share five children.

However, a source previously claimed to us that Donald Jr. was so serious about O'Day, that he allegedly told Vanessa he was leaving her for the singer.

Yet according to a second informant, his family allegedly ''pressured him to stay in his marriage.''

Donald Jr. was married to his first wife, Vanessa, at the time of the alleged affair. Getty ImagesDespite previously claiming that she and Donald Jr. were ''soulmates,'' O'Day said she doesn't even recognize the socialite-turned-politician anymore.

''You know what a bleeding-heart liberal I am, and you know how I'm a social justice warrior since I was born and raised by one,'' the songstress told Cohen.

''There is no way that I could have ever loved somebody like what we see today. So, that goes to show you how much transformation or potential posturing the man is doing or has done since the man that I would call my soulmate.''

Despite Donald Jr. allegedly wanting to leave Vanessa for O'Day, his family apparently talked him out of it. AP For more Page Six you love '...

Listen to our weekly ''We Hear'' podcastSubscribe to our daily newsletterShop our exclusive merchThe former MTV star discussed the love-filled affair for the first time in an interview with Page Six last year.

''I love him. Love, loved, love. I'll always have love for him,'' the singer told us.

''But I saw him choose a life that was inauthentic '-- for status, power, whatever it is,'' she added. ''I'm so disappointed in what he became.''

O'Day previously called the politician her ''soulmate.'' aubreyoday/InstagramIn fact, their break up was so difficult that O'Day ''gave up'' on finding true love again.

''I think to find what him and I had is probably going to be very, very difficult. And I'm not banking on it,'' she said.

Donald Jr. has never addressed the alleged affair and did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment.

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Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:42

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell was stunned Wednesday over revelations cocaine had been found in the West Wing of the White House.

Mitchell called the discovery ''unusual,'' adding she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. (RELATED: 'He's An Addict': 'The View' Co-Hosts Attempt To Defend Hunter Biden Attending State Dinner After Guilty Plea)

''We have just learned that a Formal Lab has confirmed the suspicion that that white powdery substance found in the West Wing on Sunday was in fact positive for cocaine. The discovery led to a brief evacuation of the White House Sunday night. Joining us now is NBC White House Correspondent Mike Memoli. So Mike, where do things stand now? This is so unusual. You and I have covered the White House for years. I can't even fathom anything like this having been found before in the West Wing, and I go back to the 70s at the White House. So this is pretty, pretty wild.''

The Secret Service confirmed Wednesday the white substance found Sunday in the West Wing library tested positive for cocaine. The discovery came just two days after President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was seen leaving the executive mansion.

The Secret Service initially thought the substance was anthrax when it was discovered during a routine security sweep, prompting an evacuation of the building.

It is unclear how the substance got into the building.

The White House has not spoken out about the discovery. Hunter has been public about his struggle with addiction, which began prior to Biden taking office.

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''I did the calculation,'' testified

in front of the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Given five Amish people died in Lancaster County, PA, ''the Amish died at a rate 90 times lower than the infection fatality rate of the United States of America.''

''Now, how is that possible?''

asked. ''It's possible because the Amish aren't vaccinated. And because the Amish didn't follow a single guideline of the CDC,'' he answered.

''They did not lock down. They did not mask. They did not social distance, They did not vaccinate, and there were no mandates in the Amish community to get vaccinated. They basically ignored every single guideline that the CDC gave us. Ignoring those guidelines meant a death rate 90 times lower than the rest of America.''

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Here's the video transcript for those who want to read more:

Let's talk about the Amish. Yesterday, I drove to Lancaster County (Pennsylvania). I drove to Amish country. I drove from house to house to house. I actually went to the house of a relative of Gideon King. He's the one person, the only known person in the Amish community who supposedly died from COVID '-- that I'm aware of.

Now, they say there may be up to five people in Lancaster County who died from COVID, but I was unable to get the names of five people. I offered a $2,500 reward on Twitter. Hey, give me the names of more than five people in Lancaster County who died from COVID. Not a single person was able to name more than one person. They all named Gideon King. One guy.

So, I actually went to the house of Sam King, who's a relative of Gideon King. And I talked to Sam. He doesn't know if Gideon actually died from COVID or not. He died in the hospital. They think it was COVID, but maybe he died from the COVID hospital protocols. Okay.

So, you look at the Amish. I did the calculation. Let's say there were five Amish people '-- because people say, I think there were maybe a few, or maybe there were five Amish people. And then I asked them, okay, can you name them? And nobody can name them.

But let's say that we could name them '-- and there were five Amish people who died. That means the Amish died at a rate 90 times lower than the infection fatality rate of the United States of America. The Amish died at 90 times lower rate from COVID than America '-- than the rest of America.

Now, how is that possible? It's possible because the Amish aren't vaccinated. And because the Amish didn't follow a single guideline of the CDC. They did not lock down. They did not mask. They did not social distance, They did not vaccinate, and there were no mandates in the Amish community to get vaccinated. They basically ignored every single guideline that the CDC gave us. Ignoring those guidelines meant a death rate 90 times lower than the rest of America.

So you talk about taking guidance from the WHO? Why don't we copy what works? In fact, wouldn't it be great to say in the next pandemic that Pennsylvania will take guidance from the Amish instead of the WHO? And you will be much, much better off.

Share

breaks down the numbers in more detail on his Substack page:

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On Sunday, the White House grounds were evacuated after an initially unidentified item was found. A United States Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the event , saying:

U.S. Secret Service Uniform Division Officers located an unknown item on the White House complex.

As a precaution, the White House grounds were evacuated, and the DC Fire Departments Hazmat team responded.

A hazmat team responded to the area of 18th St and Pennsylvania Ave, and the Secret Service blocked roadways around the White House. All roads have re-opened since, according to the spokesperson.

D.C. Emergency Medical officials later deemed the item to be ''non-hazardous.'' The substance is reported to be cocaine hydrochloride.

The U.S. Secret Service has closed several roads near the White House due to the presence of unknown substances near the White House, the reason for this is not yet known.#WhiteHouse #UnitedStates pic.twitter.com/FTUvmT6g9Z

'-- Ahmad (@its_Ahmad_Word) July 3, 2023

Emergency respondents were photographed behind the gates near the West Wing of the White House.

Vehicles have gone down West Executive pic.twitter.com/ZvFTERp5NK

'-- Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) July 3, 2023

🚨#UPDATE: DC Fire Hazmat officials reports they have found a substance that tests positive for Cocaine Hydrochloride near the White House

'-- R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 3, 2023

A Radio clip from D.C. Fire Hazmat reporting the testing result as cocaine hydrochloride was published on the internet.

BREAKING: Cocaine Hydrochloride spotted near West Executive Wing pic.twitter.com/cJLr2rnEDU

'-- The Triune Times (@TriuneTimes) July 3, 2023

Some media outlets and social media users have informed audiences that cocaine hydrochloride is a local anesthetic agent used by doctors in nasal mucous membranes prior to surgery'... which is true '-- two FDA-approved products Numbrino and Goprelto, are nasal sprays in liquid form.

So a large amount of cocaine hydrochloride was found outside the WH. The stuff is used as a nostril numbing agent before surgery.

I have several questions

'-- Kelly D ðŸŸ...🟧 (@KellDA) July 3, 2023

Cocaine hydrochloride nasal solution is used to numb the mucous membrane inside the nose before a medical procedure or surgery. This medicine is a local anesthetic. https://t.co/IMOnoiW4N6

'-- Gundam Ver. Chu 👍 (@SoulinkChu) July 3, 2023

Since the reports coming from the White House don't seem to indicate a lot of nasal spray was found, well before prepared into a solution, the substance comes in its solid form, and under those circumstances, cocaine hydrochloride is the technical name for'... cocaine. In less formal settings, this may be called ''a bag of coke.''

Even if the ''medical product'' story didn't have the glaring issue that powdered cocaine doesn't actually have FDA approval, the legal drugs available on the market are rarely used. The Drug Enforcement Administration published a fact sheet in 2020 stating that the FDA approved drugs are less effective than other products on the market and rarely used:

Which drugs cause similar effects? Other stimulants, such as amphetamine and methamphetamine, cause effects similar to cocaine that vary mainly in degree. What is its legal status in the United States? Cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and has an accepted medical use for treatment in the United States. Cocaine hydrochloride solution (4 percent and 10 percent) is used primarily as a topical local anesthetic for the upper respiratory tract. It also is used to reduce bleeding of the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat, and nasal cavities. However, more effective products have been developed for these purposes, and cocaine is now rarely used medically in the United States.

However, more effective products have been developed for these purposes, and cocaine is now rarely used medically in the United States.

Cocaine hydrochloride? You mean cocaine?? Lmaooooooo pic.twitter.com/ZcCLtg9mpn

'-- Love bug (@74Lovebug14) July 3, 2023

Prior to the discovery of definitely cocaine and not nasal spray, authorities were searching for a suspect related to an early morning improvised explosive incident, damaging three businesses in the northeastern part of the city with Molotov-cocktail-type devices. As previously reported:

A series of explosive devices and a ''Molotov cocktail-style object'' detonated outside three northeast Washington D.C. businesses early Sunday morning, causing no deaths or injuries but leaving the city on edge. There was some damage to the buildings, with broken windows and debris. The suspect has not been caught as of this writing, and the police are asking for assistance.

These events have not been reported to be related at this time, while both raise concerns and leave unanswered questions in our nation's capital.

Investigations continue into the origins of the package.

Read More:

Suspect Detonates Series of Explosive Devices in Washington, D.C., Still on the Loose

Trending on RedState Videos

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Tue, 04 Jul 2023 16:46

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