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https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/business/international/taiwan-semiconductor-china-factory-chips.htmlCredit...Pichi Chuang/ReutersDec. 7, 2015As many of its competitors in the chip industry form partnerships in China, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said on Monday that it was taking a different route: setting up a new manufacturing plant without help from a local partner.The move is designed to protect its technology while playing to a China market brimming with makers of inexpensive smartphones. It is charting a course between keeping complex chip production facilities outside China and licensing technology to Chinese partners.In an announcement Monday, Taiwan Semiconductor said it had submitted an application to Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs to invest in an advanced chip production facility in Nanjing, China. The total value of the investment is expected to be about $3 billion, though a spokesman for the company said it expected to save money by using equipment from facilities in Taiwan and capitalizing on Chinese subsidies.In a nod to concerns about advanced chip protection technology being leaked to Chinese competitors, Taiwan Semiconductor said in a separate statement that by the time the facility in China is up and running, an advanced operation in Taiwan would be churning out chips a generation more sophisticated.The company added that it comprehensively protects its proprietary information and, in referring to its fabrication plant, emphasized that it would have whole ownership of the fab in China, which will help protect our intellectual property rights.Taiwan Semiconductors approach stands in contrast to some of its rivals and partners in chip making. With the Chinese government set to spend tens of billions of dollars to build its chip industry, many foreign companies have been setting up partnerships and licensing technology in China.During the past year, Qualcomm has partnered with the Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International to develop advanced chip production; Intel has invested in a subsidiary of Chinas new national chip champion, Tsinghua Unigroup; and IBM has licensed some of its chip technology to a smaller Chinese partner.As new links have grown, so, too, have concerns. In the United States, politicians and defense analysts say they are worried about Chinese theft of technology or advantages gained by close cooperation in the semiconductor industry. Advanced chip technology powers supercomputers that are used to manage defense systems, research new weapons and model things like nuclear detonations.With an economy still based heavily on the chip supply chain, Taiwans government has also been particularly careful about allowing its most advanced semiconductor firms, like Taiwan Semiconductor, to cooperate closely with China.Still, the recent spending spree by the Chinese government and chip companies has made a major impression on the island, and people in the industry in Taiwan acknowledge that the Chinese market is critical. For example, in its statement Taiwan Semiconductor said more than 50 percent of its revenue over the past five years had come from Chinese customers. | Business |
Credit...Carlos Lujan for The New York TimesDec. 25, 2015MADRID Lax lending and deadbeat borrowers nearly brought down the Spanish banking system a few years ago. Thats why the remnants of some of the failed banks are resorting to a time-honored form of loans with cant-miss collateral: pawnshops.When borrowers cannot repay, theres another way to recoup the money.A recent jewelry auction by the pawnshop of the Caja Madrid Foundation, a spinoff of the biggest failed savings bank, raised 909,000 euros, or about $994,000. Although bidding for some of the cheaper items started as low as 45, a 1950s Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet of white gold, diamonds and sapphires fetched 27,500.The proceeds did not plow back to the national governments bank bailout fund. Instead, they went to the nonprofit foundation that Caja Madrid has become, fully separate from its former owner, Bankia, which is now under government supervision. The money will help support a school for the deaf or autistic children of migrants, among other activities, as Caja Madrid continues trying to finance the community-support projects that have long been part of the social obligation of Spains cajas, or savings banks.That social-support role, as part of Spains approach to welfare, was an issue in Spains elections last weekend, in which the party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won the most votes but lost its parliamentary majority. There could be weeks of political uncertainty as the politicians try to form a coalition government. One thing unlikely to change is the need for the nonprofit caja foundations to continue supporting cultural and social services particularly in light of the yearslong government austerity that is a reason for Mr. Rajoys shaky political standing.Spains commercial banks, like Banco Santander and BBVA, have either bounced back from the crisis or they largely sidestepped it, buffered by their international operations. But the cajas that went bust trying to compete with the commercial banks have fared less well. That is why many of the cajas surviving offshoots have expanded their pawn-brokerage businesses as they seek alternative forms of funding.The trend is a throwback in many ways. Centuries ago, many of Spains cajas were set up as pawnshops under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, functioning as something akin to credit unions whose proceeds were meant to support the local community. In modern times, the clergy gradually ceded control of most cajas to regional politicians who started using them to help finance city projects.But the cajas eventually grew overly ambitious and acquisitive, losing their way in the frenzy that resulted in a Spanish real estate boom and bust. It was the collapse in mid-2012 of Bankia, a giant formed by the consolidation of Caja Madrid and six other cajas, that nearly brought the countrys financial system down with it. The fiasco required a 41 billion European Union rescue of Spanish banks.As Caja Madrid and many other caja foundations now try to revert to their roots, their goal is to get back on their financial feet so they can maintain their tradition of supporting community activities.This is where and how our business really started, so were returning to our origins, said Santiago Gil, director of Caja Madrids pawnshop, the Monte de Piedad de Madrid, which was founded in 1702.Until the financial crisis, cajas were obliged to reinvest into social projects whatever profits were not needed as capital reserves against bad loans. As their profits rose during the financing of Spains construction boom, so too did their funding of schools, libraries and art centers as well as some trophy investments like the Palace of Music, a planned concert hall in Madrid. In 2008, the cajas made a combined investment of more than 2 billion in social projects more than dispensed by the Spanish ministry in charge of social projects.ImageCredit...Carlos Lujan for The New York TimesAfter 2012, however, the cajas had to be restructured, leaving most of the foundations cut off from the banking revenue they had previously received. Even now, many are saddled by the legacy of the earlier excess.In Madrid, for instance, the Palace of Music building on the citys Gran Va thoroughfare has been for sale for three years. Caja Madrid acquired it for 33 million in 2008, with the blessing of Madrids city hall, as part of an ambitious plan to convert the 1920s building, formerly a movie theater, into a 1,700-seat concert hall. The project was halted in 2012 after the government seized Bankia.It seems to me that Madrid already had what it needed in terms of offering classical music, said Jos Guirao Cabrera, who took charge of Caja Madrids nonbanking activities at the start of 2013.Selling the concert hall building has proved a real headache, but its only been one of them, Mr. Guirao said. The problems of our financial system have largely been solved, he said, but the big forgotten victims of the financial crisis are the other investments and social projects.The foundation has also been trying to rent out some of the 90 office properties that Bankia acquired before its near-collapse. Some were to have become art centers. One of these has instead been leased to become the Barcelona flagship of Desigual, a fast-growing Spanish clothing company.Mr. Guirao predicted that his foundation would break even next year or at the latest in 2017, after reporting a loss of 15 million the year he took the helm.The pawnshops, and their auctions, are meant to be a big contributor to that effort.In an auction, the pawnshop not only recoups its loan if the object gets acquired but also keeps 12 percent of any profit. It also charges the buyer an administrative fee of 15 percent.Hctor Marfil, a director of Marfil, a family-owned jeweler based in Valencia, said his company started attending caja pawnshop auctions four years ago. Recently, he paid 38,500 for a sapphire ring, which he hopes to resell outside Spain for as much as 150,000 once he repairs it and gets the precious stone certified in Switzerland.Ive been finding jewelry in these auctions at prices you cant get anywhere else, Mr. Marfil said. Its one thing for an amateur who urgently needs a loan to accept a valuation for his jewelry. And its another for a professional to value that jewel in terms of what it could then fetch in New York or Hong Kong.But though the caja pawnbrokers are a venerable tradition, they need to move nimbly with the times.In the immediate aftermath of the banking crisis, pawnshops enjoyed a tailwind as Spanish banks curtailed their lending. But since Spain emerged from recession in late 2013, bank credit has improved. Whats more, the recent decline of gold prices has reduced the pawning value of jewelry.Were a 300-year-old business, but we need a business model that adapts not only to changes like that in the gold price, but also consumer changes in society, Mr. Gil said. While we used to pawn many books, we might soon instead have to accept iPads. | Business |
Baker Mayfield: Drunk Arrest Embarrassed My Family Name ... I'm Sorry 2/28/2017 Baker Mayfield says he feels "shame, guilt, and embarrassment" after his drunken arrest in Arkansas this weekend ... calling it "the biggest mistake of my life." As we previously reported, the Oklahoma quarterback -- who finished 3rd in the 2016 Heisman voting -- allegedly ran from police after yelling profanities while wasted and covered in food. He was arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, fleeing and refusal to submit to arrest. Now, the 21-year-old has issued a statement apologizing to his family, friends, teammates, the school and everyone else in his life. "I made the biggest mistake of my life by putting myself in this situation," Mayfield said ... "I know that I represent the University of Oklahoma on a very large scale, therefore I know better than to bring bad attention and scrutiny to the school and people that I love." "The shame, guilt, and embarrassment I have felt over the past few days and continue to feel is something I would never wish upon anybody." "Due to the feeling of shame and guilt for misrepresenting our athletics department and specifically my football team, I have found it extremely difficult to be around my teammates the past few days. I feel as though I have failed them and let them down on many levels, so to all of my coaches and brothers, I am sorry for not being the leader you know I am." "To my parents and brother, I am extremely sorry for bringing this embarrassment to the Mayfield name." "I promise nothing like this mistake will ever happen again, I will make you all proud, and I will forever represent you win the way that you all deserve." "Lastly, but definitely not least, to all of the Sooner fans around the world I know I have brought shame to the university that we love." "I know that this adversity is directly caused by my own actions and I have nobody to blame but myself, but I will own up to it, look it in the face, and I will be a better person in the long run. "I will earn your respect back and prove that I can handle myself in every situation, on and off the field. With much love and regret, Baker Mayfield." He's due back in court in April. | Entertainment |
Credit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesJune 6, 2018LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. Democrats breathed sighs of relief on Wednesday as party candidates in Californias seven most competitive House races were set to advance to the general election and go on the offensive in those Republican-held districts, all of which Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.National Democratic groups spent more than $7 million this spring as part of an extraordinary intervention to avoid being locked out of Tuesdays top two California primary, in which the two leading vote-getters regardless of party move on to the general election this fall.Democrats were virtually certain to secure a slot in the general election against Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, and in the Southern California districts held by Representatives Ed Royce and Darrell Issa, who are retiring.House Democrats had staged a rescue mission in all three districts, by propping up their own favored candidates, attacking Republicans or a mix of both.Democratic Party leaders were, however, caught by surprise in the Central Valley district of Representative Jeff Denham, a Republican who easily won a place on the general election ballot.In the competition for the second spot in November, a Democrat was leading a little-known Republican candidate by less than a thousand votes.While 100 percent of the precincts were reporting vote counts in each of the contested districts, The Associated Press had not yet declared the top two finishers in some races because absentee ballots are trickling in and the gap between second and third place was narrow.But in key races, Democrats had sufficient margins to be poised to advance to November.There may be no state more crucial to Democrats hopes for taking back control of the House than California. If Democrats were to win each of the seven Republican-held districts Mrs. Clinton carried, the gains would amount to nearly a third of the 23 seats they need over all to flip the House.Here is a look at the results in those seven districts:39th Congressional DistrictYoung Kim, a Republican assemblywoman in this Orange County-based district, secured a spot in the general election in November. She will face a Democrat, Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran whom national Democrats spent heavily to help in a crowded primary race.Democrats have high hopes in this increasingly diverse district now that the veteran Representative Ed Royce is retiring. Republicans, though, are optimistic that their Korean-American nominee positions them well in a district that is filled with Asian and Hispanic voters.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee endorsed Mr. Cisneros in April and spent $2 million promoting him and attacking Republicans to keep their vote share down.And last month, state and national Democrats brokered a dtente between Mr. Cisneros and another party candidate, Andy Thorburn, after weeks of increasingly negative attacks between the two, who spent at least $6 million of their own money on the race. In the end, though, Mr. Cisneros significantly outpaced the other Democrats in the field, winning about 9,000 more votes than his closest party rival, Mr. Thorburn.48th Congressional DistrictImageCredit...Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York TimesMr. Rohrabacher was the top vote-getter in his Orange County district, while Harley Rouda and Hans Keirstead, both Democrats, were locked in an extraordinarily close race for the second slot. As of Wednesday evening, Mr. Keirstead had only 45 more votes than Mr. Rouda, with all precincts reporting but some late ballots still being tabulated.Both Democrats had over 1,000 votes more than Scott Baugh, a Republican, who had aimed to deny Democrats a chance to take on Mr. Rohrabacher in November.National Democratic groups spent heavily on the race to avoid a shutout, unleashing a series of attacks on Mr. Baugh and promoting Mr. Rouda.With his vocal support for Russia and a trail of controversial comments, Mr. Rohrabacher could be among the most vulnerable House Republicans in California this fall. Democrats in his affluent, Seal Beach-to-Laguna Beach district have been organizing against him for over a year.49th Congressional DistrictDiane Harkey, a Republican, was the leading vote-getter in the seat currently held by Mr. Issa and appeared most likely to face a Democrat, Mike Levin, in the general election.Ms. Harkey, a former assemblywoman, ran far ahead of any other Republican in the field. Mr. Levin, an environmental attorney, had a lead of nearly 2,000 votes ahead of another Democrat, Sara Jacobs, in a seat that stretches from Camp Pendleton south to La Jolla.Democrats nearly captured this affluent district in 2016, when Mr. Issa won by fewer than 2,000 votes. With Mr. Issa retiring, the seat will be one of the Democratic Partys top targets in November.Mr. Levin, a former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County, raised less money than Ms. Jacobs, but he benefited from building a solid political organization after entering the race early in 2017, ahead of some of his rivals.National Democrats did not get behind any candidate in this race, but they did broadcast ads to drive down support for Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, a Republican. Mr. Chavez will most likely finish in a distant sixth place.But Ms. Jacobs was not ready to concede Wednesday morning, saying in a statement that its important that every vote be counted, and were going to allow that process to continue.10th Congressional DistrictImageCredit...Josh Haner/The New York TimesRepresentative Jeff Denham, a Republican, was the top vote-getter and will most likely face a Democrat, Josh Harder, a venture capitalist in this heavily agricultural district in the San Joaquin Valley.But for much of the night Tuesday, Democrats were alarmed that they might be locked out of the November general election. Mr. Harder was narrowly leading a Republican candidate, Ted Howze, by about 900 votes.Mr. Harder, raising close to $1.5 million, had more money to campaign with than all the other Democratic candidates in the primary combined. But Mr. Harder was at risk of being denied a slot on the November ballot because the other five Democrats in the race split more than 30 percent of the vote. National Democrats had spent little money attempting to ensure they advanced a candidate into the general election.The district encompasses a large portion of the San Joaquin Valley, dominated by almond farms, and has been represented in Congress since 2013 by Mr. Denham. But it is not just farms that dominate economic life in the district: There is a large industrial base and a sliver of populous areas that serve as bedroom communities to the Bay Area and could offer Democrats hope in November.21st Congressional DistrictWith no Republican challengers to Representative David Valadao and only one Democrat T.J. Cox, a businessman on the ballot, the outcome of this race in the Central Valley was not much in question.Mr. Valadao, a Republican, has represented this district in Californias Central Valley since 2013, and is seeking a fourth term. Mrs. Clinton carried seven California districts that are currently represented by Republicans, and in those districts, Mr. Valadao may be most difficult to beat.Even as Mrs. Clinton was carrying the district with more than 60 percent of the vote, Mr. Valadao easily won re-election.And while the district is over 70 percent Latino, Democrats have found it more difficult to turn out Hispanic voters in nonpresidential years.Mr. Cox, though, will have ample funding: He had more than $440,000 as of last month.25th Congressional DistrictImageCredit...Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, via Associated PressRepresentative Steve Knight, a Republican in his second term, took the top spot in this Los Angeles County-based district, while Katie Hill, a Democrat, appeared poised to claim the second slot on the November ballot.Ms. Hill, who runs a nonprofit helping homeless people, was leading another Democratic candidate, Bryan Caforio, by more than 1,500 votes on Wednesday. She was lifted by Emilys List, the Democratic womens group, over Mr. Caforio, who ran against Mr. Knight in 2016.Mr. Knight is seen as one of the most at-risk House Republicans in California because of his changing district.A former Los Angeles police officer who served for years in the California Legislature before winning a seat in Congress, Mr. Knight represents a piece of northern Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The area had been reliably conservative, but a growing Hispanic population has raised hopes among Democrats that it can be flipped.Mrs. Clinton won the district by nearly seven points, and Democrats outnumber Republicans among registered voters.45th Congressional DistrictRepresentative Mimi Walters, a Republican in her second term, was the top vote-getter in this Orange County district. She will face a Democrat, Katie Porter, who is a consumer advocate and law professor.A strong progressive candidate, Ms. Porter was propelled by key endorsements from Senators Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Emilys List.In her career in Californias Legislature and in Congress, Ms. Walters has proved resilient. And she has nearly $1.6 million on hand. But Ms. Porter is likely to draw deep support from her allies in the national party in a district Mrs. Clinton carried by more than five points and that is increasingly made up of Asian and Hispanic voters. | Politics |
Sports of The TimesFeb. 12, 2014The relationship between those who consume sports and those who play them is changing, and probably not for the best. Fans are now part of the action as never before. Stadium sound systems exhort them to be as vocal as possible, and social media allow them to have an unfiltered dialogue with athletes in ways that sometimes uncover a raw ambivalence. Two volatile interactions in recent weeks suggest that the longstanding covenant between fans and players needs revision. Last month, Richard Sherman, a Seattle Seahawks defensive back, absorbed two weeks of criticism a good portion of it laced with racist invective for loudly proclaiming his greatness while denigrating the skills of an opponent. On Saturday, Marcus Smart, a talented Oklahoma State basketball player, made headlines by shoving a white Texas Tech fan whom Smart, at least initially, accused of calling him a racial slur. There was not much sympathy for Sherman and even less for Smart, who violated the No. 1 tenetof the arena gladiators do not confront the spectators and was suspended. But the reaction to Sherman and the circumstances that led to Smarts altercation suggest an eroding civility between fans and players. In a statement released a day after Saturdays incident, the Texas Tech fan involved in the altercation with Smartdenied that he had used a racial slur but acknowledged uttering a phrase that was just as personal, and just as unacceptable.And thats the point. The underlying premise of fan boisterousness is that sticks and stones will break an athletes bones, but words will never hurt. The existing covenant allows fans who are so inclined to scream back at Sherman or shout insults at Smart. Their offensive comments, like those of the fan at Texas Tech, fall in the range ofacceptable and in many instances typical fan behavior. The right to verbally abuse players and coaches, to distract the opponents, is a sport within the sport, and that sense of entitlement has long been allowed and even encouraged, as if its included in the price of a ticket.Now into this arena, and into this dynamic, strides Michael Sam, an all-American football player at Missouri who on Sunday made public what his teammates and friends already knew: that he is gay.Heaven only knows what fans will have in store for him.One can make the argument that the publics anger with Sherman and Smart was over their in-your-face-delivery. Sam delivered the news about his sexuality calmly and thoughtfully, and so he has been bathed in the relative light of compassion.But its only February. Fan attention has been divided among the Winter Olympics and college and professional basketball, and we still have a major league baseball season to contemplate before football returns. The true test for Sam will come later, after he is drafted and after he arrives in his new city.How will his teammates react?Some will grumble and growl; some may go out of their way to test and challenge. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma, in an interview with NFL Networklast week, said of the possibility of having a gay teammate:I think he would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted. I dont want people to just naturally assume, oh, were all homophobic. Thats really not the case. Imagine if hes the guy next to me, and you know, I get dressed, naked, taking a shower, the whole nine, and it just so happens he looks at me. How am I supposed to respond?Vilmas will become the minority view. (After Sam went public, Vilma went on CNN to clarify his comments, calling his shower remark a poor illustration.) After an embarrassing bullying scandal in Miami last season, the N.F.L. has put every team and every player on notice that it will have zero tolerance for harassment.The N.F.L. surely will not tolerate publicly expressed closed-mindedness around the subject of sexual orientation, just as the N.B.A. has fined star players like Roy Hibbert and Kobe Bryant for using homophobic slurs.Many of us find it easier to convene at the universal intersection ofsexual orientation than to negotiate the complicated streets ofrace. During football and basketball season, gigantic home entertainment systems blast race and ethnicity into Americas living rooms, from Compton-born, dreadlock-wearing, Stanford-educated Richard Sherman to a young star player like Marcus Smart who has had previous blowups. Will the reaction to Sam be different? The early reviews have offered hope. In the wake of Sams announcement, many fans, players and commentators urged the N.F.L. to draft and embrace him. Now that his cards are on the table, team owners, general managers and players will have to put theirs on the table as well. A layer of the onion has been peeled back by a talented player who has shouted: Im proudly gay. Now draft me. Some team will. And many fans will cheer.But others will remind us that there remain dark corners in need of light. | Sports |
TrilobitesNew research shows these ferocious insects dont just hunt like robots.VideoA praying mantis gets the bead on its prey, recorded at 1/10th of actual speed. Video by Dylan Scott.May 14, 2020A praying mantis watches intently as a fly bobs by. In less than a blink, shes snatched it up. When the tape is played back in slow motion, we see the mantis pause and calibrate, almost like an experienced baseball catcher who has realized shes dealing with a knuckleball.Its an impressive highlight reel. As detailed in a paper published this week in Biology Letters, its also evidence that mantises strike less like automatons and more like active hunters, calibrating their attacks to more efficiently capture their prey as it flies by at different speeds.Predatory animals are traditionally divided into two categories based on how they catch their meals. The first group, pursuit predators, run down their prey. The action heroes of the animal world, they tend to be flashy and attention-getting, whether theyre large like cheetahs or tiny like robber flies. Researchers have uncovered extraordinary examples of how flexible their pursuit can be, said Sergio Rossoni, who performed the new study as a masters student at the University of Sussex, and is now a zoology doctoral student at the University of Cambridge.The second group, known as sit-and-wait predators, skulk until the time is right, and then, bam they strike. In the past, such predators were thought to be quite stereotypical in their behavior, Mr. Rossoni said, almost like windup toys. Researchers had described praying mantis strikes in particular as always occurring at the same rate with the same movements, he said.Recently, though, this view has been called into question. Work on mantis shrimp, which deploy an ultrafast punch to smash their prey, has shown that they are able to vary their strike speed, and a 2016 study of praying mantises found that they displayed flexibility when catching stationary bugs. Mr. Rossoni and his then-supervisor Jeremy Niven, a zoology professor at the University of Sussex, decided to test praying mantises further, and see whether they varied their approach with slow or speedy prey.For his experiment, Mr. Rossoni placed one Madagascan marbled mantis at a time on a raised platform underneath a bright light. (Other species preferred to hunt upside-down, which made filming difficult.) He then swung a target either a dead bug, or a bead that looked like one toward the mantis on a transparent wire.VideoLets watch that strike again at full-speed. Video by Dylan Scott.The target could move at three speeds, each meant to approximate a different type of mantis prey. The slowest, 200 millimeters per second, is the average flight speed of a fruit fly. The fastest, 730 millimeters per second or a little over one and a half miles per hour mimicked a blow fly.He put eight different mantises through dozens of swings, filming each with a high-speed camera. He then analyzed the insects recorded moves.The strike of a praying mantis has two phases. In the first, the approach phase, a mantis extends its arms up and outward. In the second, the sweep phase, the mantis scoops the prey out of the air and pulls it in to eat.Mr. Rossoni and Dr. Niven found that the mantises did indeed adjust their strike speed, according to how quickly the target was moving. Most of that modulation occurred in the approach phase when presented with a slower target, the mantises would raise their limbs more slowly or pause in the middle, in a zombielike pose.And if they initially miscalculated the speed of their prey, the mantises would often correct their own mistakes with a similar pause, Mr. Rossoni said. Considering that some of the strikes are less than a tenth of a second, this is quite extraordinary.It also adds to a growing conversation about what insects from wasps that can logically infer to ants that can roll down inclines are capable of.Historically, they were viewed more as almost miniature robots that were following very simple sets of rules, Dr. Niven said. I think that there is new research coming out that suggests that that rule book might be much more complicated. | science |
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/sports/baseball/schilling-has-cancer.htmlSports BriefingFeb. 6, 2014Curt Schilling, a star pitcher turned television analyst, said Wednesday that he has cancer. Schilling, who spent 20 years in the major leagues before retiring in 2009, announced the news in a statement released by ESPN. It did not say what type of cancer Schilling has or what his prognosis might be. The ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said that Schilling was taking a leave of absence. Schilling, 47, won three World Series titles, with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001) and the Boston Red Sox (2004 and 2007). He won 216 games.Schilling made news recently after the failure of 38 Studios, a video game company he founded and owned in Rhode Island with the help of a $75 million state loan. The company went bankrupt last year, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook to pay back tens of millions of dollars. Schilling said he invested and lost as much as $50 million. | Sports |
Credit...Craig Ruttle/Associated PressNov. 9, 2018HONG KONG They have been called the worlds biggest boy band, and they were even recently enlisted to speak at the United Nations the first K-pop group ever given such an honor.But proving that even world-famous pop groups are not immune to political tensions, a Japanese television station abruptly canceled a live performance by the chart-topping South Korean band, BTS, on Thursday amid an uproar over a T-shirt once worn by one of the bands members.The T-shirt featured the well-known historical image of a billowing mushroom cloud rising over the Japanese city of Nagasaki, and some said it glorified the Americans use of atomic bombs against Japan at the end of World War II.After we talked to the bands agency about the members intention in wearing the T-shirt, we have regrettably decided to call off their performance at this time, read a statement posted on the website of Music Station, a program on the Japanese television network TV Asahi.In a statement on its official website, BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, apologized to fans for the cancellation, though they did not mention the T-shirt.The article of clothing in question was said to have been worn by Jimin, 23, one of the bands seven members, in a 2017 episode of the groups reality television show, BTS: Bon Voyage. The T-shirt shows the mushroom cloud over Nagasaki just moments after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city on Aug. 9, 1945, instantly killing more than 70,000 civilians.A block of repeating text printed on the T-shirt alongside the image reads: PATRIOTISM OUR HISTORY LIBERATION KOREA.The incident tapped into the deep well of resentment that still roils relations between the two countries, more than seven decades after Imperial Japans defeat in World War II liberated the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule (it was subsequently divided into North and South Korea). Aug. 15 is still commemorated annually by both North and South Korea as Victory Over Japan Day.Those historical tensions flared up last month when a South Korean court ordered a leading Japanese steel maker to compensate Korean men who were slave laborers during World War II.Relations between the two countries remain strained by other wartime legacies, like the Korean comfort women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels. Many South Koreans say Japans apologies and reparations over that issue have not been sufficient.The T-shirt incident was a small but embarrassing setback for BTS, which has seen overwhelming success in recent years with its ever-changing rotation of hair colors and musical influences. This year, the band was not only the first K-pop band to reach the top spot on the Billboard Artist 100 Chart, it did so twice in the span of a few months.In August, BTS broke Taylor Swifts record for biggest YouTube video debut, racking up 45 million views for their video Idol in just 24 hours. In October, they finished off the North American leg of their Love Yourself world tour with a sold-out performance to a crowd of about 40,000 at Citi Field in New York City.The band has waded into potentially taboo topics before, and members have been particularly outspoken about their support for gay rights.But back home, relations between their native country and Japan have been something of a political minefield. In September, Korean fans lashed out at the bands management agency, Big Hit Entertainment, after reports emerged about BTSs plans to release a Japanese-language single written by the prominent Japanese producer Yasushi Akimoto.Known for creating the popular Japanese girl band AKB48, Mr. Akimoto had angered Korean fans in the past by featuring the rising sun flag seen by many as a painful symbol of Japanese imperialism in some of AKB48s costumes. As a result of the backlash, BTS removed the single, titled Bird, from its latest Japanese album, which was released on Wednesday.According to South Korean media, the designer of the T-shirt for the Korean street fashion brand Ourhistory has apologized, saying he did not intend for the design to be construed as anti-Japanese.Despite the outcry in Japan, the groups many die-hard fans, who are known as the Army, seemed undeterred. On Friday, the bands newly released single Fake Love/Airplane Pt. 2 remained at the top of the Japanese music singles chart, according to Oricon, a Japanese music statistics website. | World |
April 3, 2016MANILA Four sailors from Malaysia were kidnapped off a cargo ship passing close to the southern Philippines on Friday night, less than a week after 10 sailors from Indonesia were abducted nearby, according to police officials from the three countries.The seizure of the men on Friday was the latest in a series of kidnappings in the lawless waters and coastlines of the southern Philippines in the past year.More than 18 foreign citizens are being held in the southern Philippines by kidnap-for-ransom groups pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, the Philippine military said.On Friday, eight armed men in a speedboat stopped a Malaysian cargo ship, the Masfive 6, about 6:15 p.m. near Ligitan, a small island off the eastern coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah, the state police commissioner, Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun, told the Malaysian government-run news agency, Bernama.The vessel was empty after unloading a shipment of timber in Manila and was released by the armed men along with five crew members from Indonesia and Myanmar, the Malaysian police said.All four of the abducted sailors are from the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo, the police said.A spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, Charles Jose, said Sunday that the Philippines was in the process of verifying the abduction.Also on Sunday, Col. Restituto Padilla Jr., a spokesman for the armed forces of the Philippines, said the military was working with Malaysian officials to investigate.On March 26, armed men in a speedboat kidnapped 10 Indonesian sailors from a tugboat near the same area of the southwestern Philippines. The Indonesian police said later that the kidnappers had contacted the Indonesian owner of the vessel and had made ransom demands.Marc Singer, a director with Pacific Strategies & Assessments, a risk mitigation firm that tracks insurgent groups in the Philippines, said both recent abductions were probably the work of a criminal organization called the Muktadir group.The Muktadir family has been engaged in piracy, gunrunning and human trafficking in waters off the southern Philippines for generations and in recent years effectively served as subcontractors for the Abu Sayyaf group, Mr. Singer said, referring to a notorious militant organization in the region.The Muktadir group has the fastest speedboats in the area and often commits abductions and then hands over the victims to the Abu Sayyaf, which handles ransom negotiations, Mr. Singer said. Several members of the group are wanted under arrest warrants for kidnapping in the Philippines and Malaysia.In September, the Abu Sayyaf abducted two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipino from a resort in the southern Philippines. The group has released videos demanding ransom in return for their release.In the past year, the group has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror organization, but the Philippine military has said the group did not receive direct support from the Islamic State and operated more as a criminal gang than as ideologically driven rebels.The Philippine government signed a preliminary peace deal in 2012 with the countrys largest Muslim insurgency group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, but the deal did not include the Abu Sayyaf and other smaller groups opposed to the agreement.The peace deal was structured to increase investment and to channel tax revenue to the southern Philippines in order to reduce poverty, which government officials say helps rebel groups recruit fighters.The peace deal, which President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines has said is one of his top priorities, has stalled in the countrys legislature and is not expected to be passed before Mr. Aquino leaves office at the end of June.The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has said the failure of lawmakers to approve the deal could lead to more violence in the southern Philippines. | World |
Cover photo: Harry How/Getty Images I think that if Im not scared, then Im probably not pushing myself hard enough. Arielle Gold Cover photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Its the worst love-hate relationship you could ever have, is learning a new trick. Simon Dumont Cover photo: Jean-Pierre Clatot/Agence France-Presse You can find a good jump pretty much everywhere. Peetu Piiroinen Cover photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The level is so insane these days, and the half pipes are huge. Gretchen Bleiler Cover photo: Harry How/Getty Images Its kind of like figure skating ... where it's who can do the same trick and look the best doing it. Hannah Teter Cover photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images When our sport was young, we were trying to do what the snowboarders were trying to do. And over the years weve started doing our own thing. Justin Dorey Cover photo: Todd Korol/Reuters Part of it is being able to balance all of the pressures coming and the expectations from your nation, your family, yourself. Torah Bright Cover photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images You never want to mess up on the rails because the jumps are so show time. Mark McMorris Cover photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images There isnt a day that I dont get challenged. Kelly Clark Cover photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images The guys are doing bigger tricks and more flips, but I hope that its not going to go that way. Enni Rukajrvi Cover photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images I think ski pipe will achieve the same level of success as the snowboarding halfpipe has. Jen Hudak Cover photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images Its really funny to do a regular trick but it looks like a switch trick. Christian Haller Cover photo: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images We have these 13- and 14-year-old kids who are better than me, and youre just like Oh my gosh, where did you come from? Danny Davis Cover photo: Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post, via Associated Press We dont do it to get the fastest time. We do it because we have our own personal style. Nick Goepper Cover photo: Mark Leffingwell/USA Today Sports, via Reuters My dads always been real into snowboarding. He just took us with him one day. Ben Ferguson Cover photo: Gian Ehrenzeller/European Pressphoto Agency Aleksander Oestreng on the I dont think its because of the Olympics that snowboarding progresses. Its been happening ever since it started. Aleksander Oestreng More on NYTimes.com | Sports |
Special Report: Energy for TomorrowCredit...Sean Marc Lee for The New York TimesDec. 7, 2015TAIPEI, Taiwan Across Asia, motorized two-wheeled vehicles provide mobility for the masses, but emissions from hundreds of millions of scooters and motorcycles are responsible for more than half of traffic pollution in many cities, choking the air with hazardous levels of benzene and particulate matter, in addition to greenhouse gases.This year, a Taiwan-based startup called Gogoro has been using the scooter-filled streets of Taipei to test its Smartscooter, an electric scooter with an efficient all-electric drive train, sleek design and Internet of Things ingenuity. But Gogoro doesnt want to be called a scooter company. It sees itself as an energy services company at heart.What technology has done to content, it can also do to energy, said Horace Luke, Gogoros chief executive. The company operates a 4G-connected network of 90 battery-swapping stations around metropolitan Taipei serving a fleet of 2,000-plus smartscooters that are challenging their gasoline-powered rivals in performance zero to 30 in just over 4 seconds convenience, and environmental impact.The Smartscooter is quickly gaining market share. As of late November, Gogoros flagship vehicle accounted for 95 percent of Taipeis electric vehicles and 5 percent of scooters overall, Mr. Luke said.Gogoro scooters are powered by two lithium-ion batteries that use the same Panasonic cells as Tesla batteries, with one charge enabling travel of up to 60 miles. When its time to swap in fresh batteries, a smartphone app offers directions to the closest station with available batteries (one is a 7-eleven convenience store). In seconds, the user replaces used batteries which send vehicle diagnostics to the Gogoro network via Bluetooth with the newest and most-charged batteries at the station.Panasonic has bought into Gogoros vision. In November, Gogoro announced that the Japanese company had joined the Taiwan government and the billionaire Samuel Yin as Series B, or second round, investors in Gogoro, making it the second electric vehicle maker to attract Panasonic capital, the other being Tesla. Shortly after raising $130 million in Series B funding, Gogoro announced that it would expand into Europe, beginning with Amsterdam. The fundamentals of how people live changed in a decade with the smartphone, Mr. Luke said. If we put the same effort into how energy is consumed, how much can we change things in 10 years?Mr. Luke speaks from experience. He was chief innovation officer at the Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC from 2006 to 2011, helping transform the company from one that made products for other companies to a global brand. While at HTC, Mr. Luke and a colleague, Matt Taylor, began discussing their vision for a new company that would leverage technology for social impact. Being based in Taiwan where 14 million scooters serve a population of 23 million scooters seemed like a good place to start.The scooter hasnt seen much evolution in the last 20 years, Mr. Taylor said. We asked ourselves if we could apply modern technology to something we see buzzing in the streets every day and make a better product in the process.In 2011, the two men co-founded Gogoro, with Taylor as chief technology officer. They decided to rebuild the scooter from the ground up. Their initial focus was on performance and innovation, but minimizing environmental impact quickly became important.In Taiwan, pollution from scooter exhaust is a public health concern. Studies have found correlations between higher measurements of the fine particulate matter classified as PM2.5 in the air and increased cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in local hospitals. During peak traffic hours, exhaust hangs heavy on the citys scooter lanes, also affecting air quality for nearby pedestrians. The amount of pollutants found in emissions from a new gas scooter exceeds the pollution found in new car emissions by a factor of 100 to 1,000, said Andr Prvt of the Switzerland-based Paul Scherrer Institut. Scooters using two-stroke engines are the worst culprits, he said.The two-stroke engine scooter is the first vehicle to think about in terms of going all-electric, even before larger vehicles, because the pollution is much worse, said Mr. Prvt, who researched scooter emissions from 2010 through 2014. Its the logical next step in reducing traffic pollution in many Asian cities.ImageCredit...Sean Marc Lee for The New York TimesThe Taipei government agrees, and is actively promoting electric scooter purchases. The citys Department of Environmental Protection offers replacement subsidies of around $45 for residents who retire their two-stroke scooters. A subsidy of up to $800 is available to those who replace their gas motorcycles with electric scooters. Gogoro Smartscooters currently cost between $2,200 and $2,375.In Gogoros most recent round of funding, the government also invested $30 million via its Taiwan Development Fund. The company appeals to a government concerned by the vulnerability of its semiconductor industry, an economic pillar that faces increasing competition from China. They see Gogoro as a huge opportunity for furthering the tech sector, Mr. Luke said.Taiwanese themselves have welcomed Gogoro. Elaine Kuan, a 29-year-old corporate accountant in Taipei, said she bought her Smartscooter in late July for its ease of riding and convenient technology, but also for its low environmental impact. I have asthma, so air pollution is a big deal to me, Ms. Kuan said. I hope that starting with myself I can slowly influence others and make the planet a place without vehicle emission pollution.Performance and convenience were the two main reasons Darren Liu, a 31-year-old pastry chef, bought his Smartscooter. The riding experience and acceleration are much better than my previous gas-powered bike, Mr. Liu said. Its the first electric scooter Ive seen that can get up into the hills. The battery swap model was also a big selling point. His previous experience using a relatives electric scooter required hours of charging, compared with 30 seconds to swap his Gogoro batteries.As it expands beyond greater Taipei to Taoyuan where it is headquartered and the tech hub Hsinchu, Gogoro is exploring the possibilities offered by a growing network of battery stations. At our core, were an energy company, Mr. Taylor said. Once the mix is actually working, its readily scalable. The stations cost less than $10,000, have a small footprint and require only an outlet and Internet access, he said.Mr. Luke said his company envisions an open system in which other companies develop products that can use Gogoros batteries. Many companies in fields as diverse as robotics, logistics and appliances have inquired, he said. But he added that Gogoros longer-term vision was focused on how to take energy and give it back to the grid when it needs it most.Gogoros entrance into the market this year comes as car companies including General Motors, Ford and Daimler-Benz are beginning to view themselves as service providers rather than manufacturers.Theres a transformation in the market where companies are being expected to expand into energy services, said John Gartner of the consultancy Navigant Research. Companies that get involved in electric-powered mobility will naturally move toward stationary storage, he said.Theyre looking to expand both markets by getting to economies of scale faster, Mr. Gartner added. Mr. Luke said that taking the scooter to Amsterdam in the first half of 2016 would provide a platform for demonstrating the role of Gogoros scooters and battery stations to new markets.If you think about smart cities in the world today, Amsterdam comes up in the top three, if not the top one, he said. Weve seen a lot of success in Taipei. Were taking that momentum and building on that to move into Europe quickly. | Business |
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Science|NASA Isnt the Only Space Program Celebrating a Year at Marshttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/science/mars-china-emirates.htmlNASA Isnt the Only Space Program Celebrating a Year at MarsChina and the United Arab Emirates have also had a successful 12 months on the red planet.Credit...China National Space Administration, via Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesFeb. 15, 2022The other country was an unexpected newcomer: the United Arab Emirates. Without much experience in spaceflight, it collaborated with engineers at the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics to build Hope, a spacecraft about the size of a small car.ImageCredit...Kamran Jebreili/Associated PressHope is smaller in size and ambition than Perseverance or Tianwen-1, but building it provided on-the-job training for budding Emirati engineers and scientists who worked side-by-side with their American counterparts in Boulder, Colo.Hope entered orbit around Mars and continues looping around the planet, making measurements of the atmosphere. It has made some unexpected findings, particularly the quantity of oxygen in the upper atmosphere.When we were comparing it to the models, it was around 50 percent higher than were expected, said Hessa al-Matroushi, the missions science lead. So that was surprising.Hopes instruments found structures in the upper atmosphere with higher concentrations of oxygen. Scientists are trying to figure out the significance of the surprise.Another spacecraft, the ExoMars 2022 mission, a collaboration between the European Space Agency and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is planned for launch to Mars this year. It was originally scheduled for launch in 2020, but technical problems and the pandemic the mission was postponed. The next opportunity for launch opens in late September.ExoMars is carrying a rover named Rosalind Franklin, which is to look for indications of past life in Oxia Planum, a 120-mile-wide plain near the equator that possesses clay-rich minerals. | science |
ItinerariesCredit...Jason Henry for The New York TimesDec. 21, 2015The deal on the website of Hilton Hotels & Resorts seemed like a good one to Jeffrey Buszkiewicz: A 72-hour online sale after Thanksgiving showed a $129 room at a Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan for Christmas night. Two subsequent nights cost more.But there was a hitch. After he talked about it with his wife and was ready to book, the rate had increased by $40 a night when he logged on again the next day.I assumed if the sale was on for 72 hours, the rate would be good for 72 hours, said Mr. Buszkiewicz, fiscal officer for the Indiana University School of Education.Making hotel reservations used to be straightforward. Guests booked a room and could generally cancel without penalty until the day of arrival. Now, as hotel chains consolidate, last-minute booking apps proliferate, and short-term rental sites like Airbnb and HomeAway grow, experts say the reservations landscape is undergoing an upheaval with new and higher fees and new restrictions on reservations that are driving new sources of revenue.Last January, Marriott International and Hilton began requiring cancellation the day before arrival, rather than 6 p.m. the day of arrival. Guests forfeit the amount of the first night stay if they miss the deadline.Hotel reservations have long been way too flexible, Christopher K. Anderson, a faculty member at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, wrote in an email. They have been slow to become more restrictive because of competition, he added.Still, with the increasing presence of online travel agents like Expedia and Priceline, and the prevalence of day-of-stay deals delivered to mobile devices, hotel cancellations are becoming more common.The traveler wants to be flexible, and needs to be flexible, said Sam Shank, chief executive of Hotel Tonight, a mobile booking app started in 2011 that offers last-minute hotel deals. In 2014, it began allowing users to book a room seven days before check-in. Guests can book a stay of up to five nights. Mr. Shank said his plans change frequently, and the hassle of traveling and calling before the cutoff time for a cancellation is just one more task to remember.In mid-November, Hilton embarked on a pilot program that imposes a $50 cancellation penalty anytime after a reservation is booked. The test is scheduled to run 60 days in 24 Hilton-managed hotels. Hilton Honors loyalty members are exempt.Chris Silcock, an executive vice president at Hilton Worldwide, said the company was taking a measure of cancellation rates, adding that the penalty being imposed was lower than airline fees for changes.Still, the fees are helping the hotel industrys bottom line.In a study released in August, Bjorn Hanson, a professor at the Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism at New York University, reported that a record level of fees and surcharges at hotels was anticipated in 2015, reaching $2.47 billion. That is up from $2.35 billion a year earlier. With occupancy high, hotels are looking for other ways to increase revenue, Mr. Hanson said.Guests may be more accustomed to nonrefundable fees than they used to be because Airbnb charges them. It currently charges a guest service fee of 6 to 12 percent of the total booking. The website says the fee covers the cost of running the company.HomeAway, which is being acquired by Expedia, said it expects to add a travelers fee averaging about 6 percent of the cost of a booking in the new year.Some guests are beginning to push back.Andrew Mitchell, the owner of a tutoring service in Los Angeles, is one. In trying to book a vacation rental on Airbnb, the room rental rates appeared to be competitive to hotels, but after selecting one in his price range, I was hit with fees at the end, he said.When the host did not respond to his request to book a reservation, he said Airbnb told him there would be a delay in receiving a refund after his credit card was charged. Mr. Mitchell decided to book a hotel room instead.I had originally liked Airbnb because it was a transparent, quick and easy way to find local places to stay, he wrote in an email. It is now not transparent, and its definitely not quick or easy.Airbnb may be trying to change that perception, at least among business travelers. In mid-November it initiated a separate hosting category designated the Business Travel Ready Badge.These accommodations will be an entire home or apartment and have Wi-Fi, a laptop-friendly work space, 24-hour check-in and other business amenities.Jon Liebtag, a business development lead at Airbnb, said he hoped the change would lead to more consistent booking for hosts throughout the year. Business travelers generally stay during the week, while leisure travelers stay on weekends.While it may seem the new cancellation penalties are making hotels less accommodating to guests, they are really protecting themselves against no-shows, according to Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group. You dont want to tell a guest you are sold out, he said.Mr. Buszkiewicz ended up reserving the Hilton Garden Inn and then checked the rate again two weeks later. It was less, so he rebooked, the old-fashioned way, without a penalty. The chain said that hotels priced rooms as they usually would and offered a 30 percent discount off that rate.Still, he found the initial experience frustrating. I just didnt expect it, he said. | Business |
Michael Madsen Yes, I Know Manson Movie Secrets!!! Don't Make Quentin Kill Me 1/24/2018 TMZ.com Michael Madsen ain't about to piss off the golden goose -- aka Quentin Tarantino -- but it's clear he knows a lot about the upcoming Charles Manson movie, and gave up at least one secret. Mike was doing some shopping at Vintage Grocers Tuesday in Malibu ... and we hit him up about all the rumors swirling around Tarantino's Manson flick. Word is Leo DiCaprio has signed on, and Madsen himself will also be in it. Well, MM confirmed there IS a role for him, but when we pressed on who he's playing ... he started looking over his shoulder. Here's the thing -- he's been in almost all of Tarantino's movies, and knows the score ... don't give up Q's script secrets. As for Leo? Well, see if you can get a read off Madsen. | Entertainment |
Fiona Apple F*** Yes, Time's Up in Music Biz, Too!!! 1/26/2018 TMZ.com Fiona Apple insists the movie industry's got nothing on the music biz when it comes to rampant sexual misconduct -- which explains her shocked reaction to us even asking. We got the singer at LAX Thursday and asked her about the planned protest at the Grammys -- guests wearing white roses to show solidarity with the Time's Up movement. It's music's version of the black gowns at the Golden Globes. Fiona's all for it, and says it should come as no surprise powerful men wield their power in the music biz the same way they do in Hollywood. BTW, doesn't sound like she'll be watching the Grammys Sunday night. You gotta see what she said about the trophy she won in 1998. | Entertainment |
Credit...Eoin Blackwell/Australian Associated Press, via Associated PressMarch 7, 2017SYDNEY, Australia Legal aid lawyers have filed a constitutional challenge to Australias restrictive migration law and the legality of detaining asylum seekers transferred to the country from offshore camps for medical treatment or other temporary purposes.A hearing in Australias highest court is scheduled for Wednesday in the capital, Canberra. A decision is not expected immediately.Dan Nicholson, who oversees the migration program for Victoria Legal Aid, which filed the case, said a ruling could help clarify whether the Constitution allowed the Australian government to detain asylum seekers brought to Australia from the Pacific Island countries of Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and to define how long that detention could last.Its an important case because its testing the governments power to detain people who have not been charged with a criminal offense, Mr. Nicholson said. The nature of the detention is that there is no legislative time limit on it. Theres not even a requirement to give or even provide reasons.Under constitutional law, asylum seekers can be detained for a reasonable period for specific purposes, such as while they are being deported or awaiting visa approval. But Mr. Nicholson said some asylum seekers flown into Australia for medical treatment from offshore camps have languished for years in detention.The case, filed in the state of Victoria, involves an unidentified mother and daughter from Iran. They were transferred from Nauru to Australia for medical treatment in 2014. In Melbourne, the mother was treated for osteoporosis and the daughter for removal of a breast lump. They have both also been treated for health issues arising from their detention, including anxiety and panic disorder.They remained in detention for two years while they were being treated and were only released into so-called community detention, which allows for some freedom of movement but has curfews and other restrictions, after the first submissions in their case were filed.The point is they are not brought here to have their refugee status determined, Mr. Nicholson said.If the challenge to detention is successful, it would be mean those brought here for medical treatment from offshore processing centers where Australia has been confining hundreds of asylum seekers intercepted at sea since 2012 could not be incarcerated while being treated. Generally, only the most seriously ill asylum seekers are brought to Australia for medical attention. About 70 are in the country now.Conditions in Australias offshore camps have been criticized by human rights groups. A recent Amnesty International report likened conditions in Nauru to an open-air prison.In 2014, an Iranian asylum seeker detained at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea died after developing severe sepsis from a leg infection. An inquest into his death last year found delays in transporting him to a hospital in Australia for treatment.This is not just an academic exercise, Mr. Nicholson said of the Victoria case. It does real harm to peoples health.Legal experts said the case was part of a broader effort to challenge the expansive powers the Australian government had given itself through successive changes to the Migration Act the law regulating the governments powers to make decisions relating to migration and asylum.Ben Saul, an international law professor at Sydney University, said the impact of the decision in the case would most likely be limited.Australia, he said, is highly unlikely to close down offshore detention because it insists that existing health care is adequate, despite the overwhelming evidence that protracted detention undermines refugee health.Mr. Saul added that even if the Victoria Legal Aid case succeeded, its impact might not last long in the current political environment.Australian governments have a habit of legislating quickly to neutralize or overturn unfavorable High Court decisions in relation to immigration, he said, particularly since Australia has no constitutional bill of rights to prevent parliaments doing whatever they want.Mr. Nicholson said the case needed to be filed, regardless of its lasting impact. We know that this detention is very harmful to people, including our clients, he said. There are doubts about its legality, so its important that it is tested. | World |
Credit...Barton Silverman/The New York TimesFeb. 16, 2014PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. There was a time last year when Matt Harvey thought that despite having a partly torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, he could avoid Tommy John surgery, rehabilitate his elbow and pitch this season. He spent several weeks trying to make a decision, and then, ultimately, had the operation Oct. 22. Now almost four months later, he arrived at the Mets spring training complex Sunday. He saw the new names around the clubhouse Bartolo Colon, Curtis Granderson, Chris Young and felt the pang of a harsh reality setting in. He would probably be relegated to being a spectator this season.He had his annual physical, and his elbow checked out fine. He had been working on his strength and flexibility. He figured he would be able to start throwing soon. He felt good, which is why he did not regret having the surgery or waiting to decide. He believed he needed that time to make a decision he would be able to live with. He would miss playing this year, but now he had a new perspective. Ive come to the realization that I have to listen to them and I cant push too much, Harvey said, referring to his doctors. Theres going to be a time where I can do that. That will probably be later down the road. But right now, I have to take things slow, do what they say and make sure we have no setbacks.It is difficult to overestimate what Harvey means to the Mets future. He is 24 and has a 2.39 earned run average in 36 career starts. He became a bona fide star last season, the face of the franchise alongside David Wright. His rehabilitation could be a major story line this season, no matter how well the Mets do without him. Maybe that is why General Manager Sandy Alderson said last week: One thing I should probably try to make clear at the very outset of this camp is that the story of 2014 is not Matt Harvey. The story for 2014 will be the other 25 players that we have active. He added, Obviously there is interest in it, but you wont find me promoting it.Harvey said he would start throwing when he is told to. He indicated it could be as soon as next week. Then he would know more about his status. When the season starts, he said, he would prefer to rehab in New York, rather than Florida, presumably so he can still feel like part of team and bond with the new players and young pitchers. It is too soon to tell if he will be able to pitch by September.If things work out quicker than normal, then well see, he said. But I cant make that call.GRANDERSON REPORTS Curtis Granderson arrived at his first Mets spring training with a smile and a new role to adjust to. He is expected to bat cleanup, behind David Wright, and next month will turn 33, meaning he is one of the oldest players on the team. I hope that Im still peaking, he said. I hope theres still a lot left.Before last season, when he sustained two freak injuries a broken forearm and a broken hand he hit 84 home runs over the two previous seasons for the Yankees. The Mets signed him to a four-year, $60 million deal, the most lucrative contract Alderson has given out in his tenure. With that will come expectations that Granderson can produce and protect Wright in the order.Over the off-season, Granderson said he spoke quite a bit with Chris Young and Eric Young Jr., his fellow outfielders. Chris Young, whom the Mets signed to a one-year, $7.25 million deal this off-season, is sure to start, maybe in center field. But Eric Young Jr. is competing this spring with Juan Lagares for the third spot. Lagares is considered the superior fielder, but the Mets want to see him increase his power numbers or his on-base percentage.Young Jr., who also struggles to get on base, is considered the Mets best option to bat leadoff, because of his speed. He stole 46 bases last season, the most in the National League and second in baseball, behind only Jacoby Ellsbury.No matter who wins the job, the Mets will have a dynamic outfield. Youve got youth, youve got experience, you have energy and you have athleticism, Granderson said. I think thats the main thing you have to have in the outfield. Theres only three of you out there, and to make it as small as you can is key. | Sports |
Credit...Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesFeb. 5, 2014It should be pretty clear that professional athletes are better at sports than you. It turns out, though, they may be better looking, too. A new study of cyclists who competed in the Tour de France, generally considered one of the toughest endurance events in sports, suggests that good endurance is highly correlated with good looks.A Swiss biologist, Erik Postma of the University of Zurich, reached this conclusion by analyzing data from cyclists who finished the 2012 Tour. He collected 80 portraits supplied by race organizers that showed the head, neck and part of the shoulders of each cyclist, all with the same kind of lighting and background. Then he created an online survey, with the portraits presented in random order.Postma asked 816 participants to rate each portrait for attractiveness and masculinity on a scale of 1 to 5. He also gathered information on the raters nationality, age, level of education and sexual orientation.To measure endurance with as much objectivity as possible, he used times from the prologue, the time trials and the complete race. None of the raters knew who won or the order of finish.That performance and attractiveness were closely related was clear: The 10 percent of riders who performed the best in the race scored an average 25 percent higher on attractiveness than the 10 percent who performed the worst.About three-quarters of the survey respondents were women. To see if fertile women would react differently to the pictures, Postma asked the women to report whether they used a hormonal contraceptive and, if they did not, the length of their menstrual cycle and the start date of their last period. Postma found that the womens level of fertility made no difference in how appealing they found the riders.The education level of the raters was high, partly because the surveys were distributed mainly among academics. About 93 percent of the female respondents were heterosexual, as were 89 percent of the males. The raters were 32 years old on average, with a range from 14 to 73.Some of the variation in attractiveness ratings about 20 percent was attributable to characteristics of the raters rather than characteristics of the cyclists. For example, older raters generally handed out higher marks than younger ones. Still, men and women generally agreed on which riders were better looking. A riders nationality was irrelevant to how attractive he was found, and whether the portrait showed him smiling or straight-faced was not significant either. The study excluded any cyclist a rater recognized, to make sure the rater was judging by looks alone and not by prior knowledge of the rider.Other experts found the study convincing. Simon P. Lailvaux, an assistant professor of biology at the University of New Orleans who has published widely on sexual selection in animals, said the work was thorough.With humans, there are so many potential confounding variables, he said, and I think he does a good job of addressing them even accounting for the point in the menstrual cycle of the women. It makes the results complicated, but I think he did a good job of controlling for these sources of variation.Surprisingly, ratings of masculinity presumably an indication of testosterone levels did not correlate with either attractiveness or performance, suggesting that testosterone might not be as significant a factor as generally believed. And the explanation, Postma said, could lie in our evolutionary past.You might think masculinity would be attractive it signals testosterone, how strong you are, he said. But if you try to hunt a gazelle, it might not be so important that you are strong enough to knock it out because it will run away. If you have the endurance to run after it, it might be more beneficial.The attractive man, in other words, would be the one with the genes for endurance, not necessarily the one with the biggest muscles.Of course, the study reports only an average, and it does not conclude that the best-looking cyclist will always be the winner. Amal Moinard of France was rated the most attractive rider in the study, but he finished in the middle of the field in the studys measure of performance. Rui Costa, a Portuguese racer, was ninth in attractiveness and 15th in the performance rating, and the Belgian cyclist Maxime Monfort was third in attractiveness and sixth in performance.The 2012 winner, Bradley Wiggins, was not included in the analysis. He was hidden behind sunglasses in his portrait, which might have given him an unfair advantage. | Sports |
An annular solar eclipse, in which the moon covers the suns center, leaving a ring of light around it, was visible on Thursday. You can actually see the solar system in motion, an astronomer said.Credit...Rifka Majjid/Associated PressDec. 26, 2019The final solar eclipse of the decade, which produced a stunning and photogenic ring of fire around the moon, occurred on Thursday, bringing out droves of onlookers across Asia and the Middle East, where it was most visible.The eclipse officially called an annular solar eclipse, in which the new moon passes in front of and partly obscures the sun, leaving a ring of light around its edges began to appear on Thursday afternoon. It was visible from parts of Saudi Arabia and several cities in southern India, as well as in Singapore, Indonesia and Guam, according to timeanddate.com, a website that tracks eclipses around the world.ImageCredit...Antara Foto Agency, via ReutersImageCredit...Juni Kriswanto/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesImageCredit...Athit Perawongmetha/ReutersThe eclipse reached its maximum phase at approximately 5:17 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time on Thursday, or just after midnight Wednesday Eastern Standard Time. Several websites live-streamed the event.A partial eclipse, in which the moon covers only a small part of the suns disk, was visible in several cities including New Delhi and Doha, Qatar, the site said.To see an annular eclipse, one must be in the right place at the right time, Rick Fienberg, an astronomer with the American Astronomical Society, said on Thursday. In the case of an annular eclipse, its an unusual thing to see the sun turn from bright disk to a ring, and to know that the moon is going across it, he said. You can actually see the solar system in motion.ImageCredit...Chamila Karunarathne/EPA, via ShutterstockImageCredit...Willy Kurniawan/ReutersImageCredit...Hemanshi Kamani/ReutersImageCredit...Hamad I Mohammed/ReutersImageCredit...Willy Kurniawan/ReutersImageCredit...Ali Haider/EPA, via ShutterstockAccording to timeanddate.com, an annular solar eclipse begins with a partial eclipse as the moon makes its way across the suns disk. Once its centered, a glowing ring appears. The moon continues to glide over the sun until it no longer overlaps at all.The entire eclipse lasts two to three hours, Dr. Fienberg said, noting that the moon is fully within the disk of the sun for about 15 minutes. Solar filters are required to view it, he added.Because the sun is never completely blotted out, it doesnt get particularly dark, he said. It would be possible for somebody who wasnt paying close attention to miss the fact that an annular eclipse just happened. They might not even notice.ImageCredit...Hamad I Mohammed/ReutersImageCredit...Louis Kwok/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesImageCredit...Athit Perawongmetha/ReutersImageCredit...Rakesh Nagar/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesImageCredit...Dedi Sinuhaji/EPA, via ShutterstockThe next annular solar eclipse will occur on June 21, 2020, and it should be visible from parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India and China, timeanddate.com said.After that, annular eclipses are predicted to occur in 2021, 2023 and 2024.Asked why eclipses draw so much attention, Dr. Fienberg said people look to the sky when there is an unusual event happening. Although eclipses arent rare, in the sense of, like, you have to live a whole lifetime for a chance to see it, he said, to see an annular or total solar eclipse, you do have to be in the right place at the right time.ImageCredit...Yasser Al-Zayyat/Agence France-Presse Getty Images | science |
Politics|Condemning Deadly Newsroom Shooting, Trump Tempers Hostility Toward Mediahttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/us/politics/donald-trump-newsroom-shooting.htmlVideotranscripttranscriptTrump Offers Condolences to Capital GazettePresident Trump, who has previously labeled the news media the enemy of the people, condemned the deadly newsroom shooting in Annapolis, Md.This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief. Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.President Trump, who has previously labeled the news media the enemy of the people, condemned the deadly newsroom shooting in Annapolis, Md.CreditCredit...Tom Brenner/The New York TimesJune 29, 2018WASHINGTON President Trump condemned the deadly newsroom shooting in Maryland, declaring on Friday that journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.Mr. Trump has labeled the news media the enemy of the people and routinely encourages supporters at his rallies to join in his verbal attacks against the journalists covering him.On Friday, however, he chose the standard vocabulary of a political leader offering condolences. This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief, he said.Speaking at a White House event to celebrate his tax cuts, Mr. Trump, in brief remarks, expressed his warmest, best wishes and regrets to families of the five people killed by a gunman who shot his way into the newsroom of The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, a local newspaper on Marylands shore.We pledge our eternal support, the president said, adding, My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life.Mr. Trump did not refer to his own vexed relationship with the news media, choosing on this day to sympathize with a profession he normally vilifies. But his long history of antagonism with the media inevitably shadowed his response to the tragedy.Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has used the news media as a foil and, at rallies, he continues to whip up crowds with chants of fake news, singling out news organizations and encouraging people to lash out at reporters assigned to cover him.While there has not yet been a serious episode at these rallies, the mood has turned increasingly menacing, with supporters snapping pictures of reporters while screaming epithets at them.Newspaper offices throughout the country have bolstered security after the shooting in Annapolis.The suspected gunman, Jarrod W. Ramos, 38, held a longstanding grudge against The Capital Gazette for its coverage of him, and had unsuccessfully sued the paper. He was charged Friday with five counts of murder, and was denied bail. | Politics |
Over 120,000 American Children Have Lost a Parent or Caregiver to Covid-19, Study SaysNew findings showed wide racial disparities among those whose caregivers had died during the pandemic.Credit...Laurence Kesterson/Associated PressPublished Oct. 7, 2021Updated Oct. 22, 2021Over a 15-month period of the pandemic, more than 120,000 children in the United States had a parent or caregiver die from Covid-19, a loss that more severely affected racial minorities, according to a modeling study published in the medical journal Pediatrics on Thursday.The study estimated that for every four Covid-19 deaths between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, one child lost a parent or caregiver. The finding suggested that the ongoing pandemic, which has claimed more than 700,000 American lives thus far, could leave tens of thousands of children dealing with trauma for generations to come.Its not just one of 500 are dead; one of 500 American children have lost their mommy or daddy or grandparents who took care of them, Dr. Susan Hillis, the lead author and a researcher and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview.In addition to the 120,630 children who were estimated to have lost a primary caregiver a parent or grandparent responsible for providing housing, basic needs and care 22,007 lost a secondary caregiver, or a grandparent providing housing but not most basic needs, the study projected. Dr. Hillis said the loss of such grandparents could lead to homelessness.All children losing a parent would face new challenges that could threaten their development: The lack of an adult taking care of basic needs increased the risk of mental health problems, abuse, unstable housing and poverty, experts said.The death of a parental figure is an enormous loss that can reshape a childs life, Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement. We must work to ensure that all children have access to evidence-based prevention interventions that can help them navigate this trauma, to support their future mental health and well-being.The study follows a previous study, published in The Lancet in July, that found that more than 1.5 million children worldwide had lost a primary or secondary caregiver during the first 14 months of the pandemic.The new findings aligned with research that has repeatedly demonstrated that racial minorities have been disproportionately vulnerable to the pandemic.According to the study in Pediatrics, one of every 168 American Indian/Alaska Native children, one of every 310 Black children, one of every 412 Hispanic children, and one of every 612 Asian children have lost a caregiver, compared to one in 753 white children.Something is very broken in our system and our cultures and hearts, Dr. Hillis said. We must come together to fix it. We should not be willing to tolerate that for another day.Dr. Hillis cautioned that the study ran only through June, and that the number of lost caregivers is a constantly growing number, and will continue to grow till the pandemic is over.Roni Caryn Rabin contributed reporting. | Health |
N.B.A.|Cavaliers Win 6th Straighthttps://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/sports/basketball/cavaliers-win-sixth-straight.htmlSports BriefingFeb. 19, 2014Kyrie Irving, who was chosen most valuable player of the N.B.A. All-Star Game on Sunday, scored 22 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their sixth straight game, beating the visiting Orlando Magic, 101-93. Carlos Boozer scored 20 points, and visiting Chicago won its fourth straight game, beating Toronto, 94-92. Al Jefferson scored 29 points, Kemba Walker had 24 points and a career-high 16 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the visiting Detroit Pistons for the second straight night, 116-98. Patric Young made two free throws with 19 seconds left to help No. 2 Florida beat visiting Auburn, 70-66. The Gators win was the their 18th in a row, a record for Florida (24-2, 13-0). LaQuinton Ross scored 16 points before being ejected because of a scuffle, leading No. 24 Ohio State (21-6, 8-6Big Ten) to a 76-60 win over visiting Northwestern. The scuffle late in the game delayed play for several minutes while the officials considered penalties for the players. Nikola Cerina of Northwestern (12-15, 5-9) was also ejected. The teams shot 10 free throws as a result of the shoving match. Breanna Stewart scored 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked 7 shots to lead the top-ranked Connecticut womens team to its 33rd straight win, an 83-35 rout of Central Florida.Bria Hartley had 20 points and 4 rebounds for the Huskies (27-0, 14-0 A.A.C.), becoming the third player in school history to record 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in her career. | Sports |
Credit...Kim Hong-Ji/ReutersMarch 5, 2017SEOUL, South Korea North Korea launched four ballistic missiles from its long-range rocket launch site on Monday morning, the South Korean military said. The launch prompted South Korean security officials to call for the early deployment of an advanced American missile defense system that has provoked China.The missiles took off from Tongchang-ri, in northwest North Korea, and flew an average of 620 miles before falling into the sea between North Korea and Japan, said Noh Jae-chon, a South Korean military spokesman. The type of missile fired was not immediately clear, but Mr. Noh said it was unlikely that they were intercontinental ballistic missiles, which the North had recently threatened to test launch.During a meeting of the National Security Council, Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting president of South Korea, called for the early deployment of the American missile defense system known as Thaad, or Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense.The United States and South Korea have agreed to complete the Thaad deployment within the year. They say it is meant to protect South Korea and American military sites there from North Korean missiles. But China says Thaad would undermine its own nuclear deterrent and has hinted at economic retaliation against South Korea.Mr. Hwang also called on his government to look aggressively for ways to effectively strengthen the United States extended deterrence for South Korea, referring to Washingtons ability to deter attacks on its allies with the help of its nuclear forces. Mr. Hwang did not elaborate, but his comment came days after The New York Times reported that President Trumps national security deputies recently discussed various options against North Korea, including the possibility of reintroducing nuclear weapons to South Korea as a bold warning.If North Korea gets a hold of nuclear weapons, its consequences are too horrible to think about, Mr. Hwang said.In his New Years Day speech, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, said his country was in the final stage of preparing for its first ICBM test. In February, the North launched a ballistic missile that the United States Strategic Command determined was not a threat to the United States, but North Korea has said it is ready to test launch an ICBM.The Norths missile launching came as the United States and South Korea were conducting their annual joint military exercise. North Korea calls such drills a rehearsal for invasion and has often responded by conducting missile tests.On Thursday, the North Korean military called the joint exercise a drill for nuclear war and vowed to take unspecified strong measures. The next day, the Norths main state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, hinted at more missile tests, saying, New strategic weapons of our own style will soar into the sky.North Korea has boasted of an ability to strike the continental United States with a nuclear-tipped missile. It has never tested a missile capable of flying across the Pacific, although it has displayed what outside analysts said were ICBMs during military parades in recent years. Strong doubt also remains over the Norths claim that it can manufacture a nuclear warhead small enough to be fitted onto such a missile.But its test on Feb. 12 demonstrated its advancing ballistic missile technology. The test involved Pukguksong-2, a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that the North said can carry a nuclear warhead.The multiple missile launchings illustrated the frustration of the United Nations Security Council over its inability to halt or contain North Koreas nuclear ambitions with punitive economic sanctions.An investigative report released a week ago by a panel of experts concluded that the countrys leaders had developed an international smuggling network to foil the sanctions and outmaneuver enforcement measures. The report described a matrix of North Korean companies with bogus identities used to accrue cash, technologies and materials for the governments weapons development.In remarks to reporters on Monday morning, Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary to Japans prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the missiles appeared to have fallen into the sea in an exclusive economic zone around Japan. Mr. Suga called the missile launch a serious threat to our security as well as extremely problematic behavior from the viewpoint of security of aircraft and ships. He said the government had protested to North Korea.We just cannot accept such repeated provocations, he said. | World |
Credit...Miguel Schincariol/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesMarch 15, 2017RIO DE JANEIRO The president is accused of running on a ticket that got millions of dollars in illegal donations. One of his closest allies in the Senate is, too. The same goes for some of their bitter enemies in Congress, creating a widening sense of panic across Brazils political establishment.Now, with new revelations into illegal campaign donations continuing to drop, lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum in Brazil have come up with a plan.They are scrambling to give themselves amnesty.Politicians who often spend their time jousting with one another are frantically trying to advance legislation this week to shield lawmakers from jail time.We have a saying in Brazil: When the jungle is in flames, the beasts unite, said Gil Castello Branco, the director of Contas Abertas, a watchdog group that tracks political corruption. Well, the fire has been lit, and all these politicians want to do is save their own skin.The sprawling investigation into corruption around the national oil company, Petrobras, is entering an explosive new phase. Testimony by executives at one of the oil companys largest contractors, Odebrecht, details hundreds of millions of dollars in under-the-table contributions to Brazilian politicians.This week, Brazils prosecutor general requested new investigations into dozens of politicians based on plea-bargain testimony from executives at Odebrecht, a construction giant that was a major donor of illicit campaign funds.The push for amnesty by lawmakers has set off widespread anger here in Brazil, a country with a long tradition of allowing corrupt politicians to remain in power.But as Brazil reels from a protracted economic crisis and the turmoil left over from the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff last year, some politicians argue that amnesty is in the national interest.With dozens of business moguls and politicians already going to jail for corruption, the nation still healing from Ms. Rousseffs impeachment and removal, and the economy trying to make a comeback, the amnesty is needed, they argue, to prevent further upheaval.One of Brazils most powerful politicians, Acio Neves, a senator from the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party and the runner-up in the 2014 presidential election, argued that accepting campaign funds, even if illegal, should be considered distinct from the corruption that has jolted the nation.A guy who took money at Petrobras isnt the same as someone who took a hundred bucks to get elected, Mr. Neves was quoted as saying at a dinner this month at Piantella, a restaurant in the capital frequented by elite politicians.Are we going to offer an opening for some savior of the homeland? Mr. Neves asked, according to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, referring to the potential for widespread disgust over corruption to bolster anti-establishment candidates ahead of next years presidential election.No, we need to salvage politics, the senator said.He did not mention that an Odebrecht executive recently testified that Mr. Neves had requested about $3 million in illegal campaign donations for his party, which anchors the coalition of Michel Temer, the embattled president.The political dread over such testimony is casting attention on a practice known in Brazil as caixa dois, a so-called second cash register of financing that is undeclared to tax authorities. It can be used for political campaigns or receiving bribes, or as a slush fund encompassing a range of illicit activities.ImageCredit...Mateus Bonomi/AGIF, via Associated PressBrazilian law allows for fines and jail sentences of up to five years for illegal campaign financing, though in practice few politicians go to prison for such crimes. Even so, with the exception of leaders from relatively small parties, the push for amnesty is uniting influential figures from across the spectrum. (Amnesty is not under discussion for crimes like bribery, embezzlement or money laundering.)Unfortunately, under-the-table campaign financing is historical and cultural, but doesnt always shelter the practice of corruption, said Jos Eduardo Cardozo, a former justice minister from the leftist Workers Party who defended Ms. Rousseff at her impeachment proceedings.Other political figures, including a respected former president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have expressed support for differentiating between illegal campaign financing and other types of crimes.Still, others insist that existing campaign laws should remain intact and be fully enforced.Carlos Ayres Britto, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, called illegal campaign financing an attack on the Constitution, contending in an interview with the newspaper O Globo that efforts by lawmakers to grant themselves amnesty amount to a denial of the rule of law.Some Brazilians found the amnesty push especially revolting because this is not the first time Congress has tried to retroactively make illegal campaign financing legal. Lawmakers sought to do so in November, only to abandon the proposal in the face of a public outcry.I see whats going on. Im not a fool, said Jos Francisco da Silva, 78, a retired painter of automobiles. Of course theyll all get amnesty. Brazil only has thieves.With the resurrection of the measure this month, legal scholars point out that one beneficiary could be the president, Mr. Temer, who has dismal approval ratings. Thousands protested on Wednesday in cities around Brazil against Mr. Temers efforts to cut pension benefits.He ran on the same ticket as Ms. Rousseff and was her vice president before maneuvering to oust her. Now he is embroiled in a case in which he and Ms. Rousseff face accusations of receiving illegal financing in their 2014 campaign.Mr. Temer could be ousted if the electoral court hearing the case rules against him. While Odebrechts former chief executive has said the company gave about $50 million to their campaign, Mr. Temer and Ms. Rousseff say they are innocent of wrongdoing.At the same time, tempers are flaring over reports that judges on the electoral court are brokering a deal to delay a ruling on the case or rule in Mr. Temers favor, effectively allowing him to remain president through 2018 despite a growing body of testimony laying out violations of campaign finance laws.Ms. Rousseff was ousted on different charges: that she manipulated the budget to disguise economic problems. Now, supporters of Mr. Temer, including some who backed the impeachment of Ms. Rousseff, say he should be allowed to stay in office to avoid further upheaval as his administration tries to restore economic growth.Lucas de Arago, a partner at Arko Advice, a political risk consulting firm in the capital, argued that the case was similar to the 2000 ruling by the United States Supreme Court effectively handing the presidential election to George W. Bush over Al Gore despite claims of irregularities involving ballots in Florida.Rule of law and democracy are still intact over there, Mr. Arago said, citing the need for stability.But Mriam Leito, one of Brazils top economic commentators, said Brazil risked squandering the gains from its anticorruption drive.The country needs to grow again and go back to creating jobs, Ms. Leito wrote in her column in O Globo. But that road will be more solid if the institutions continue combating the promiscuous relations between political leaders and the companies chosen as powers beneficiaries. | World |
Credit...Adam McCauleyJune 26, 2017Your skin is a tapestry of ecosystems roughly the size of three bath towels. Complex societies of bacteria, viruses and fungi live in these diverse habitats from the oil fields of the face and back, to the damp caverns of the nose, to the parched and hairless palms.For decades researchers have argued that some of the skins microscopic residents are partly to blame for certain disorders, such as acne and eczema. Now, it seems, bacteria may be part of the treatment, too.Dr. Richard Gallo, a dermatologist and biologist at the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues recently concocted an innovative microbial treatment for eczema, a disorder characterized by red, itchy, inflamed skin. The recipe was relatively simple.Dr. Gallo had discovered that Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus epidermidis, typically friendly members of the human skin microbiome, can kill Staphylococcus aureus, which is known to play a role in eczema. So the team swabbed S. hominis and S. epidermidis from the skin of a few volunteers with eczema, grew the bacteria in the lab, and incorporated the microbes into Cetaphil lotion.Next they applied the experimental balm to the volunteers forearms, drastically increasing the numbers of their own helpful skin bacteria. Within 24 hours, the probiotic lotion nearly eliminated S. aureus from their skin. The researchers were also able to identify some of the compounds that the beneficial bacteria use to deter S. aureus.Dr. Gallo and his collaborators published their results earlier this year in Science Translational Medicine.Its the first time anything like this has been shown, said Elizabeth Grice, a research dermatologist and microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the experiment. What remains to be seen is whether this kind of treatment can reduce the severity of skin disease over the long term.Only in the last few years have scientists seriously studied how to therapeutically modify the skins native colonies of microbes. Understanding this unique microbiome may yield new ideas for treating various dermatologic conditions.Some studies suggest, for example, that people prone to acne carry more of the microbe Propionibacterium acnes on their skin. A disturbance in typical bacterial populations leads to conflict between P. acnes and neighboring species, the theory goes, which in turn triggers an inflammatory response in the skin.In another study published late last year, Dr. Gallo and his colleagues injected a beneficial strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis, along with some food that only it could digest, into the ears of mice. The combination treatment, known as a synbiotic, encouraged the growth of S. epidermidis, which in turn reduced both the number of P. acnes and level of inflammation in the mice.Other scientists have been reporting similar findings. In 2014, a team in South Korea and the United States showed that an extract from Helicobacter pylori a common resident of the human stomach also can inhibit P. acnes and decrease skin inflammation in mice.Scientists in Canada have demonstrated that people who take both probiotics and antibiotics have significantly fewer acne lesions after 12 weeks, compared with people who take only one or the other.Several private companies are racing to capitalize on a growing consumer appetite for probiotic cosmetics, toiletries and topical treatments. The biotech company AOBiome offers a live probiotic spray, for instance, that is meant to replenish populations of beneficial skin bacteria.Many microbiologists worry, however, that the science is nowhere near advanced enough to justify the proliferation of these products. Scientists still have a lot to learn about what microbial ecosystems look like on healthy skin, how they change during illness, and how to safely interfere.Topical probiotics can easily rub off and be transferred to other parts of the body or other people, Dr. Grice pointed out. Just because a microbe kills one species of pathogen does not mean it is unwaveringly good or peaceful.And what if the bacteria in a lotion or spray were to infiltrate the body via a cut or scratch?Dr. Grice agreed, however, that the idea is intriguing. Whereas typical antibiotics and antiseptics indiscriminately kill all kinds of bacteria throughout the body and drive the evolution of highly dangerous microbes impervious to existing drugs, probiotics may be much more selective.And probiotics that successfully colonize the body have the unique ability to evolve in concert with a surrounding ecosystem. After all, genuine microbe-based therapies are not just cocktails of molecules; they contain living organisms that persist and adapt. Dr. Gallo calls his experimental lotion an evolutionarily honed treatment.There are so many new potent medicines right under our nose, he said. | Health |
Health|As mask restrictions are set to lift in a handful of states, uncertainty lingers.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/health/as-mask-restrictions-are-set-to-lift-in-a-handful-of-states-uncertainty-lingers.htmlCredit...Sarah Blesener for The New York TimesFeb. 9, 2022As the Omicron surge begins to recede in many regions of the country, the governors of a handful of states have announced that they will lift school mask mandates in the coming weeks.But the move to loosen these politically charged restrictions has divided scientists and public health experts. Some cheered the change.I think its entirely appropriate that we start lifting school mask mandates now, said Joseph Allen, a Harvard University researcher who studies indoor environmental quality, including in schools. Were in a much better place than we were before, and its time to update our strategies to reflect the moment.Others noted that the virus was still exacting a significant toll on the United States, with cases about as high as during last winters peak and more than 2,500 Americans dying each day. Lifting school mask mandates too early could jeopardize the progress that the country has made over the last few weeks, some health experts said.Were just starting to get it back under control, said Seema Lakdawala, a respiratory virus researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, noting that many young children remain unvaccinated. I dont think we should be abandoning the interventions we have that are still helpful.School mask mandates have been among the most contentious public health measures implemented in response to the pandemic.Kids can tolerate this, and when its necessary to do so, its fine for them to mask, Dr. Allen said. But we shouldnt do it for one second longer than necessary.Ideally, local officials should be prepared to lift and reimpose school mask mandates as conditions change, experts said. | Health |
DMX Sucks to Be Back in Jail But At Least I'm Eating Good!!! 1/31/2018 DMX has one good thing going for him behind bars -- the menu is loaded with options ... sweet, filling and healthy ... ish. Federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... DMX is now at the notorious Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. We broke the story, X was sent back to jail for failing drug tests while out on bail in his tax evasion case. The MCC's been described as less hospitable than Guantanamo Bay, and it's also home to El Chapo right now -- but on the positive side ... Wednesday's breakfast options include hot grits, pancakes, oatmeal and skim milk! For lunch -- burger with french fries or baked potato. There's also a healthy soy burger option. When the dinner bell rings ... he'll get pasta marinara, spinach and garden salad. Good luck fighting Chapo for the garlic bread, though. | Entertainment |
The New Old AgeStaffing shortages have long plagued the home care industry. But the pandemic has intensified the problem.Credit...Phyllis B. Dooney for The New York TimesPublished July 24, 2021Updated Nov. 1, 2021Almost daily, Terry Driscoll drives 40 minutes from her home in Yarmouth Port, Mass., to see her husband, Ken, in his memory care facility.Thats not where she wants him to be. The Driscolls, both 72, have been a couple since college. When he was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease almost a decade ago, my plan, always, was to keep him at home, said Ms. Driscoll, a nurse. I thought, I can handle this.For years she managed, cutting back to part-time work, then retiring earlier than planned and relying on adult day programs and support groups through a local nonprofit. As her husbands needs increased and she could not leave him for even short periods, she hired two part-time independent home care aides. They were both wonderful, she said.But when the pandemic hit, she began to fear having outsiders in their home, and she let the aides go. Her daughter moved in for several months to help. In June, after Mr. Driscoll was briefly hospitalized, the family transferred him to an assisted living community with memory care while he regained his stability and the family caught its breath.My goal is to bring him home, Ms. Driscoll said. Her dilemma: She cannot shoulder his exhausting care alone, and she cannot find home care aides to hire.Word-of-mouth has produced no candidates. Local agencies charging $30 to $34 an hour tell her they have no workers available. They all say the same thing: Well put you on the waiting list, call us after Labor Day, Ms. Driscoll said. So her husband, at daunting expense, remains institutionalized.For years, staffing shortages have plagued the home care industry a hodgepodge of for-profit companies and chains, nonprofit programs and publicly funded care through Medicaid, all operating under a confusing welter of state and federal regulations, plus an uncharted gray market of clients who avoid agencies and hire privately. But Covid-19 has intensified the problem.Ive never heard such frustration over finding workers, and Ive been doing this for 20 years, said Vicki Hoak, executive director of the Home Care Association of America, whose 4,000 member agencies collectively employ about 500,000 people.The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated job losses of 342,000 in the direct care work force last year including nursing home and other residential care and home care staff. (Typically, employment in these categories rises each year.) The losses came either through layoffs or from people resigning because of health problems or fears related to Covid, lack of child care and other impediments.By the end of 2020, employment in home care had rebounded and was only 3 percent below prepandemic levels, according to an analysis by PHI, a direct-care advocacy and research group.The bigger problem, industry sources say, is growing demand. Whereas nursing home occupancy has declined for years and fell further during the pandemic, and assisted living is at about 75 percent of capacity, the number of people seeking home care keeps increasing.More than 800,000 older and disabled people who qualify for Medicaid are on state waiting lists for home care. Agencies serving private-pay clients are turning away business.Congregate living looks less attractive after Covid, as residents died and family members were locked out for months. Moreover, a return to workplaces means that some adult children can no longer provide elder care. Even before the pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the addition of one million home care jobs by 2029.The surge is here and we cant meet the need, Ms. Hoak said. Its disheartening.ImageCredit...Phyllis B. Dooney for The New York TimesIn response, many agencies are offering signing bonuses to employees and those who refer new hires, usually paid out over several months. A $500 incentive is common, Ms. Hoak said, but one franchise of the national chain Home Instead dangled $1,200.Seniors Helping Seniors, with more than 100 franchisees in 30 states, has begun paying new employees $100 to $500 bonuses after three months, earmarking a portion of that amount as a donation to local Alzheimers Association organizations.Its franchise operators employ about 7,000 home care aides, most over age 55. Were looking to add another 1,000 to 1,500 caregivers through this program, said Namrata Yocom-Jan, its president.In eastern Tennessee, where Ray Bales operates two Seniors Helping Seniors franchises, 11 people applied within a week after he advertised $200 bonuses on Facebook, he said. He hopes to attract 30 to 40 new workers. (None objected to funding the companys philanthropy with $50 from their prospective bonuses, he said.)But bonuses may not retain newcomers working in a field with notoriously high turnover more than 80 percent in 2018, the Home Care Association found. Since then, turnover has fallen; still, two-thirds of agency employees have left each year.Some aides are taking advantage of higher pay in retail, fast food and other industries. Others have moved to independent work, avoiding intermediaries who pocket at least half of what clients pay.Wendy Gullickson, a licensed practical nurse in Wellfleet, Mass., spent only a few months as a $13-an-hour agency worker before discovering that she could make $25 as a private aide still less than local agencies charge. (Home care cost an average of $23 to $24 an hour nationally last year, but $29 to $30 in Massachusetts.)To advocates, therefore, the key to enticing new aides into home care is not a mystery. What they need is a competitive wage, because they can make as much or more in other sectors with full-time hours, said Robert Espinoza, vice president of policy at PHI.In 2018, the nations estimated 2.8 million home care aides, most of them women of color and about one-third immigrants, earned a median $12 an hour and $17,200 annually. Very few received benefits; more than half relied on food stamps, Medicaid or other public assistance.I dont think a bonus is going to cut it anymore, said April Verrett, president of SEIU Local 2015, which represents 400,000 home care workers in Californias Medicaid program. Workers are choosing not to take jobs unless theyre guaranteed a family-sustaining wage.The unions new contracts with counties will raise wages to about $16 to $18 an hour within three years, with improved health benefits.Given the worsening shortage, industry groups are grappling with how to respond. How do we elevate this profession? Ms. Hoak asked. We recognize the critical condition were in today. Yet private-pay home care is already unaffordable for many middle-class families.President Bidens proposed $400 billion Better Care Better Jobs Act would expand Medicaid eligibility for home care and improve wages, benefits and training for workers. It faces stiff opposition in Congress, however.Leading Age, which represents nonprofit senior care providers, has suggested a system of temporary visas and guest worker programs to bring elder care workers from overseas. And the Home Care Association supports a bipartisan bill providing a $5,000 federal tax credit (up from $3,000 in previous versions) to offset costs for family caregivers.But those efforts, even if they succeed, cant help Terry Driscoll bring her husband home this summer, so they can have dinner on their deck and drive to the beach together.She worries that continuing to pay $10,000 a month for memory care will undermine her financial security. But she also fears that trying to provide round-the-clock care by herself could endanger her own health. You can be the strongest person in the world, but after a while you say, I need a break, she said.She keeps asking friends for leads and calling local home care agencies. They say they might be able to supply an aide by October. | Health |
Videotranscripttranscript'BBC Dad' Chats About Family BlooperRobert E. Kelly, the professor whose BBC interview spread widely on the internet after being interrupted by his children, spoke on Wednesday at Pusan National University in South Korea.(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR FOR POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, ROBERT KELLY, SAYING: we love our children very much, and we are happy that our family blooper - our family error on television - brought so much laughter to so many people. // I think the reason why this became, why this went viral is because my real life sort of punched through the fake cover I had created for television, right? There I am in my suit, delivering my talking points, or whatever, and then suddenly reality bursts in. I think thats my sense of why this is so resonant.// I am a little bit wary of the sort of fallout for my academic credentials. We didnt want this. I mean I guess this is now the first line of my obituary, right? Im BBC Dad for a while I suppose.Robert E. Kelly, the professor whose BBC interview spread widely on the internet after being interrupted by his children, spoke on Wednesday at Pusan National University in South Korea.CreditCredit...Yelim Lee/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesMarch 15, 2017HONG KONG Strangers ask him if he was wearing pants. His phone hasnt stopped ringing. And, no, he was not abusing his daughter in trying to get her out of camera range during a live television interview.Robert E. Kelly, the so-called BBC dad whose young children wandered into the room while he was doing a Skype interview on South Korean politics, met with reporters along with his family on Wednesday to discuss their newfound fame and the very public family blooper that has made them a viral sensation.This is now the first line in my obituary, Dr. Kelly said during a news conference at Pusan National University in South Korea, where he is a professor of political science.With his 8-month-old son, James, squirming in the arms of his wife, Kim Jeong-ah, Dr. Kelly told the room full of reporters that when the BBC interview ended, he thought he would never be invited on television again. Little did he know.We thought it was a disaster, he said of the interview during which his 4-year-old daughter, Marion, marched into the room, followed by James in a squeaky walker, before his wife burst in and hurriedly shepherded the children away. We thought no TV network would ever call us again.The video has been mined by pundits for wider social significance, lampooned by comedians and doctored by GIF-makers. But Dr. Kelly warned against attaching deeper meaning to an embarrassing work-life mishap, noting that while doing TV interviews from home he tries to present a professional backdrop, despite the occasional chaos of his home life.My real life punched through the fake cover I had created on television, he said. This is the kind of thing a lot of working parents can relate to.He also batted away some of the darker interpretations of his behavior, saying he was not manhandling his daughter by pushing her away during the interview.I was not shoving Marion out of the way, he said. I was trying to slide Marion behind the chair because we have toys and books in the room that he hoped would distract her.Dr. Kelly said he and his wife were bemused by the assumption and the subsequent backlash against it that Ms. Kim was a nanny working for the family. He said that they were offended, but not as much as some commentators on social media.Neither one of us are interested in politicizing this or having this provoke a backlash, Dr. Kelly said in a telephone interview from his home after the news conference.Dr. Kelly, who is from the United States, met Ms. Kim, a yoga teacher, at a shopping mall in Seoul shortly after he moved to South Korea in 2008. He and his wife rarely talk about race, he said, but they wonder whether their mixed-race children will face prejudice growing up in Asia.So far we havent gotten any flak, he said, noting that his daughter, who is bilingual, is doing well in a Korean kindergarten.He said that the couple occasionally wonder whether their children will get bullied, but, he said, Were not really keen on this becoming the subject of some aspiring sociologists dissertation.Dr. Kelly has been a contributing guest on the BBC for many years, regularly discussing the tumultuous politics of the Korean Peninsula from the now-famous room.His internet fame comes as he has been in demand with the recent deluge of news about the two Koreas, including the removal of Park Geun-hye as South Koreas president and North Koreas missile tests.The United States secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, is heading to South Korea on Friday, and Dr. Kelly said he hoped the United States would reassure its allies that it would help them defend against Chinese bullying.He expressed some concern about all the attention his family had received, saying, We have been buried in phone calls. And he denied any intention of cashing in on his newfound fame, saying that it would be unseemly to monetize something involving his children.Contrary to speculation on the internet, Dr. Kelly said, he and Ms. Kim did not fight after the interview ended. And he shot down a widely circulated theory for why he had not gotten up from his chair.I was wearing pants, he said. | World |
The paintings on an Indonesian island are at least 43,900 years old and depict humanoid figures with animal-like features in a hunting scene.Credit...Ratno SardiDec. 11, 2019In December 2017, Hamrullah, an archaeologist on an Indonesian government survey, was exploring a cave system in Sulawesi, a large island in central Indonesia. He noticed a tantalizing opening in the ceiling above him. A skilled spelunker, Hamrullah (who only uses one name, like many Indonesians) climbed through the gap into an uncharted chamber. There, he laid eyes on a painting that is upending our understanding of prehistoric humans.The dramatic panel of art, dating back at least 43,900 years, is the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world, a group of scientists said in a paper published Wednesday in Nature, although additional research will be needed to confirm the age of every character in the painting.In the story told in the scene, eight figures approach wild pigs and anoas (dwarf buffaloes native to Sulawesi). For whoever painted these figures, they represented much more than ordinary human hunters. One appears to have a large beak while another has an appendage resembling a tail. In the language of archaeology, these are therianthropes, or characters that embody a mix of human and animal characteristics.ImageCredit...Ratno SardiGiven that these extraordinary characters are wielding thin objects that might represent ropes or spears, the painting may be an artistic demonstration of a game drive, a hunting strategy that involves guiding animals toward an ambush.The otherworldly nature of the therianthropes also raises the possibility that they are mythical beings, or manifestations of animal spirit helpers that are common in shamanic beliefs, according to the study.This scene may not be a depiction of an actual hunting scene but could be about animistic beliefs and the relationship between people and animals, or even a shamanic ritual, said Sue OConnor, an archaeologist at Australian National University who was not involved in the study.These interpretations are speculative, however, and the original inspiration for the painting, as well as its significance to the humans who created it, is likely to remain a mystery.The rock art predates the next oldest representation of a character with a mix of human and animal figures, found in a cave in Germany, by about 4,000 years. It is also more than 20,000 years older than a hunting scene on the walls of Frances Lascaux Cave.Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia and one of the studys authors, said his team was completely blown away by the painting.We had never seen anything even remotely like this before in the hundreds of cave art sites wed documented on this Indonesian island, Dr. Brumm said.ImageCredit...Ratno SardiI immediately knew it was special and that it would be a very important site to understand the cognitive evolution of our species, said Maxime Aubert, a co-author also at Griffith.The scene is inside the Maros-Pangkep limestone cave system on the islands southwestern end, which has been a hot spot for archaeologists since the 1950s. Local people in the region were likely aware of the paintings long before that time, however. A modern custom of marking wooden posts with a handprint may even have some connection with local observations of prehistoric hand stencils in nearby caves, Dr. Brumm said.The scientists determined the paintings age by performing uranium-series dating on cave popcorn, or mineral deposits that hang over three of the animal motifs in the scene. That gave it an age of at least 43,900 years old, and possibly older.This finding is very significant because it was previously thought that figurative painting dated to a time shortly after modern humans arrived in Europe, perhaps circa 40,000 years ago, but this result shows it has an origin outside Europe, said Alistair Pike, an archaeologist at the University of Southampton in England, who was not involved in the study.However, Dr. Pike considered it very premature to claim that the scene represents the earliest example of such storytelling, because only the animals in the scene have been definitively dated. Its possible that the therianthropes, a vital part of the narrative, were added later.Dr. Aubert said his team thinks the therianthropes were likely painted at the same time as the animal motifs because they are of the same tone of red and are in a similar state of preservation.Very little is known about the people who originally decorated the walls of Maros-Pangkep in red pigment, in part because none of their skeletal remains have been found in the caves. They may have been related to a group of modern humans that migrated to Australia more than 50,000 years ago.Despite these unresolved mysteries, it is now abundantly clear that these humans were storytellers whose abstract paintings shed light into the origins of human cognition and spirituality.Images of therianthropes often have complex meanings in modern religions and folklore, said Dr. Brumm, who gave the examples of werewolves and the animal-headed deities of ancient Egypt.While we cant know if this was the case in Sulawesi at least 44,000 years ago, we can point to these enigmatic images of therianthropes as the worlds earliest known evidence for our ability to conceive of the existence of supernatural beings, he said, which is a cornerstone of religious belief and experience.Shigeru Miyagawa, a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study, suggested that the painting could have implications for understanding humanitys unique capacity to communicate using intricate language.It also hints at high order cognitive processes such as language and elaborate artwork emerging fairly recently in evolution, Dr. Miyagawa said.The painting has galvanized archaeologists to continue mapping the vast, unexplored reaches of the Maros-Pangkep caves, where the art is fading, at an alarming rate for unknown reasons, Dr. Aubert said.These imaginative landscapes adorned Sulawesis caves for 44 millenniums, but they could vanish soon after they were rediscovered. At this point, they are the only link to this early culture that dreamed up fantastic beings and visualized the thrill of the chase two activities that still preoccupy humans today.We also need to understand why it is deteriorating so rapidly and maybe we will find ways to save it, Dr. Aubert said. | science |
Storm Chasers' Joel Taylor Party Cruise Rages On after Death Drug Use Still Rampant 1/26/2018 TMZ.com The cruise on which "Storm Chasers" star Joel Taylor allegedly died of an OD continues to be party central ... with abundant drug use. A "White Party" was held Thursday night on the cruise ship and passengers tell us drugs were everywhere ... including ketamine and ecstasy. TMZ.com TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement sources tell us they believe Taylor's death was an OD. Passengers told us Taylor consumed enough GHB Monday night to lapse into unconsciousness on the dance floor. He was taken back to his room where he was later found unresponsive. Taylor's autopsy has been completed and officials are waiting on toxicology results to determine a cause of death. | Entertainment |
Science|Merck applies for emergency authorization for what would be the first pill to treat Covid.https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/science/merck-antiviral-covid-pill.htmlMerck applies for emergency authorization for what would be the first pill to treat Covid.Credit...Mel Evans/Associated PressPublished Oct. 11, 2021Updated Nov. 4, 2021Merck said on Monday that it had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize what would be the first antiviral pill to treat Covid.Clearance for the drug, molnupiravir, would be a milestone in the fight against the coronavirus, experts said, because a convenient, relatively inexpensive treatment could reach many more high-risk people sick with Covid than the cumbersome antibody treatments currently being used.The Biden administration is preparing for an authorization that could come within weeks; the pill would likely to be allocated to states, as was the case with the vaccines. States could then distribute the pills how they wish, such as through pharmacies or doctors practices, senior administration officials said.If the pill wins authorization, tens of millions of Americans will most likely be eligible to take it if they get sick with Covid many more than the supply could cover, at least initially. The federal government has placed an advance order for enough pills for 1.7 million Americans, at a price of about $700 per patient. That is about one-third the price that the government is paying for the monoclonal antibody treatments, which are generally given via intravenous infusion.Merck, which is developing the pill with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics of Miami, expects to be able to produce enough pills for 10 million people by the end of this year. Governments have raced to lock up supplies since the strong clinical trial results were released this month; Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea have all announced agreements.An antiviral pill being developed by Pfizer and one from Atea Pharmaceuticals-Roche will report study results in the next months and, if effective, could expand supply.Mercks pill is meant to be taken at home as four capsules twice a day for five days, for a total of 40 pills. It halved hospitalizations and deaths in a clinical trial that enrolled unvaccinated adults who had begun showing Covid symptoms within the previous five days and were at high risk for bad outcomes from the disease.Merck said it was seeking authorization for its pill to be given only to high-risk adults, which in the clinical trial was most commonly people over 60 or younger people with obesity, diabetes or heart disease.It was not clear whether the treatment would be available to vaccinated people, who were not eligible for the clinical trial. A company spokeswoman said it would be up to the F.D.A. to decide.Originally tested for influenza, the drug works by stopping the coronavirus from replicating by inserting errors into its genetic code.That mechanism is likely to make one high-risk group, people who are pregnant, ineligible to receive the pills if they are authorized, because of fears that the drug might cause mutations that could result in birth defects. In the clinical trial, volunteers had to agree to abstain from unprotected sexual intercourse for four days after they finished taking the pills, and some women of childbearing age had to have a negative pregnancy test to enroll in the study.Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting. | science |
The defects, which have been fixed, exposed private details of people in quarantine. The country has been hailed as a pioneer in digital public health.Credit...Woohae Cho for The New York TimesPublished July 21, 2020Updated July 28, 2020SEOUL, South Korea South Korea has been praised for making effective use of digital tools to contain the coronavirus, from emergency phone alerts to aggressive contact tracing based on a variety of data.But one pillar of that strategy, a mobile app that helps enforce quarantines, had serious security flaws that made private information vulnerable to hackers, a software engineer has found.The defects, which were confirmed by The New York Times and have now been fixed, could have let attackers retrieve the names, real-time locations and other details of people in quarantine. The flaws could also have allowed hackers to tamper with data to make it look as if users of the app were either violating quarantine orders or still in quarantine despite being somewhere else.In interviews, South Korean officials acknowledged that they had become aware of the security lapses only after the engineer, Frdric Rechtenstein, and The Times notified them.We were really in a hurry to make and deploy this app as quickly as possible to help slow down the spread of the virus, said Jung Chan-hyun, an official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safetys disaster response division, which oversees the app. We could not afford a time-consuming security check on the app that would delay its deployment.The ministry fixed the flaws in the latest version of the app, which was released in Google and Apple stores last week. South Korean officials said they had not received any reports that personal information was improperly retrieved or misused before the vulnerabilities were patched.Governments worldwide have raced to deploy virus-tracing apps only to face complaints about poor security practices. With the software gathering so many details about users, their health and their locations, the apps are prime targets for hackers. But pressure to act quickly appears to have allowed software with inadequate security features to be rushed out in several nations.The Times found this spring that a virus-tracing app in India could leak users precise locations, prompting the Indian government to fix the problem. Amnesty International discovered flaws in an exposure-alert app in Qatar, which the authorities there quickly updated. Other nations, including Norway and Britain, have had to change course on their virus apps after public outcry about privacy.In April, South Korea began requiring all visitors and residents arriving from abroad to isolate themselves for two weeks. To monitor compliance, they had to install an app whose name in Korean means Self-Quarantine Safety Protection.As of last month, more than 162,000 people had downloaded the app, which tracks users locations to ensure they remain in quarantine areas. Violators might be required to wear tracking wristbands or pay steep fines.ImageCredit...Woohae Cho for The New York TimesIn May, Mr. Rechtenstein returned to his home in Seoul from a trip abroad. While self-isolating at home, he became curious about the governments seemingly simple app and what extra features it might have. That prompted Mr. Rechtenstein to peek under the hood of the code, which is how he discovered several major security flaws.He found that the softwares developers were assigning users ID numbers that were easily guessable. After guessing a persons credentials, a hacker could have retrieved the information provided upon registration, including name, date of birth, sex, nationality, address, phone number, real-time location and medical symptoms.Mr. Rechtenstein also found that the developers were using an insecure method to scramble, or encrypt, the apps communications with the server where data was stored. Instead of HTTPS, the security standard used by apps like Gmail and Twitter, the app used an encryption key written directly into its code.Doing so meant hackers could easily find the key and decode the data if they had tried. It also meant the key did not change depending on the message being sent or on the user sending it.The key was also far from random: It was 1234567890123456.With such weak encryption, monitoring all of the apps communications with the server would be possible simply, for instance, by being on the same unprotected Wi-Fi network as someone else using the app.The Times examined the apps code and confirmed Mr. Rechtensteins findings. After The Times approached the South Korean authorities about the security flaws last month, officials said they had put a priority on deploying the app quickly to save lives.Mr. Jung, the Interior Ministry official, said his team had developed the app with Winitech, a software maintenance and repair company in Daegu, a South Korean city that became a center of the outbreak in February.Winitechs senior managing director, Hong Seong-bok, said that when the company first developed the app, it expected that only a small number of South Koreans would ever use the software.We had never thought that it would be used by so many people, becoming a must-install app for all arrivals at the airport, Mr. Hong said.Mr. Jung said that while the group had worked around the clock to develop the app and train officials on how to use it, they lacked the expertise to make the software secure.Over time, the government also asked Mr. Jungs team to add surveillance functions to the app, which officials said had increased their workload and prevented them from spending time hunting for security flaws.A feature was added, for instance, that caused a quarantined persons phone to emit a noise or vibrate when it was not physically moved for more than two hours. If the user did not respond by picking up the device, it was a potential sign that the person had ventured out and left the phone behind. The app would then alert the authorities.To keep a closer watch on quarantine violators, another function was added to connect tracking wristbands to the app.We were simply overwhelmed with work, said Koo Chang-kyu, a South Korean official.In meetings last month with Mr. Rechtenstein and a Times reporter, South Korean officials initially played down the security issues, saying that they had deleted personal data and disabled the app once a user completed the two-week quarantine.But Mr. Rechtenstein demonstrated in the meeting that his data could still be retrieved from the government server by using the app on his phone, even though his quarantine had ended more than a week earlier. South Korean officials later said they had fixed the problem.South Korea has become a global poster child for its creative and transparent handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But the apps security flaws show how the country lags in protecting personal data, Mr. Rechtenstein said. He also expressed disappointment at how long it took the authorities to fix the problems.The episode could affect perceptions about the Korean model for combating the pandemic, Mr. Rechtenstein said. | Tech |
Bird-watching has surged in popularity during the pandemic. Its easy to start, and you can do it anywhere even from inside, and even in urban spaces.Credit...Julio Cortez/Associated PressMay 29, 2020The adult male scarlet tanager is a medium-size songbird with glaring crimson feathers and jet-black wings.It can be hard to spot, because the species tends to forage among the upper branches of tall trees. But it does come down to earth, and sometimes can be caught hanging out with pigeons outside of the Freeport Wild Bird Supply store in Maine.It is the kind of sighting that can spark a lifelong interest in bird-watching, said Derek Lovitch, 42, a birder and biologist who runs the store with his wife, Jeannette.The scarlet tanager is one that gets a lot of people into it, because youve got to know: What is that thing? Mr. Lovitch said.Business is booming at his supply store, and hes seeing younger customers than usual. But its not the scarlet tanager that has gotten so many people interested in birds in recent months. Its the coronavirus pandemic.There is definitely a craving for engagement with nature, especially considering how limited our ability to move is right now, Mr. Lovitch said.Bird-watching has surged in popularity this year. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, birders set a world record on May 9 for Global Big Day, an annual bird-spotting event. Participants using the labs eBird platform reported more than two million observations the most bird sightings documented in a single day and recorded 6,479 species.ImageCredit...Michael Kopack III, via Associated PressSpring is always a busy season for bird-watching, said Marshall Iliff, a project leader at the Cornell lab. But this year is sort of off the charts, he said.At a time when humans are nervously tracking the spread of a virus as it seeps through communities and leaps across borders, new birders are finding relief in tracking the migratory patterns of great blue herons, mountain yellow-warblers or ruby-throated hummingbirds instead.For Layla Adanero, who was working as a business analyst in Manhattan until she was furloughed in April, bird-watching has been a respite from the faster-paced life she left behind when she moved back home to London.Now the chirps and coos in her backyard, once ignored as background noise, have become clues to understanding an entire ecosystem.Its quite meditative to watch another life form go about its day, said Ms. Adanero, 23. Its like another way of practicing mindfulness.Her recent sightings include an adult long-tailed tit, a fluffy little bird with a white head and dramatic black tail feathers; and a great spotted woodpecker in a busy pattern of black and white, with spots of red.Theres something symbolic about watching the birds fly while she is in lockdown, Ms. Adanero said: They represent the ultimate freedom of movement.ImageCredit...Nathalie CouzonImageCredit...Nathalie CouzonCorina Newsome, 27, an avian expert and graduate student of biology at Georgia Southern University, said the coronavirus lockdowns coincided with spring migration the perfect time for new birders to look to the sky.I think it will end up making us better stewards of our natural space, as well as give us peace and calm to see that even though our rhythm is interrupted, there is a larger rhythm that continues to go on, Ms. Newsome said.This month, she was excited to spot a purple gallinule, a jewel-toned species that uses its long legs to hop across lily pads.Ms. Newsome noted that the birding community was not particularly diverse and might not seem welcoming to everyone. Birding groups are typically white and older people, she said. It can feel uncomfortable as a young black person.But anyone can take up birding, she said, adding that it was incumbent on white birders to condemn racism in the community, and helpful for bird watchers of color to encourage each other.During the lockdowns, she has been fielding more birding questions on social media from newbies, amateurs and parents introducing the pastime to their children.In New Orleans, Rebekah Bradshaw, 41, started bird-watching as a way to keep her three children active after schools closed. Her son Liam, 11, said he had used a phone app to log about 150 species, including ruddy turnstones and yellow-crowned night herons.Hes at that age now where he can really get sucked into the screen, Ms. Bradshaw said. So I was like, Lets go bird-watching. Both of my big kids really got into it, and even the baby now walks around outside looking at the sky saying: Bird! Bird!Some birds are drawn to the Bradshaws area because they live close to the Bayou St. John and Lake Pontchartrain. But birding is a hobby that city dwellers, rural residents or suburbanites anywhere can try.Nathalie Couzon, 31, has been largely confined to her third-floor apartment in Bangkok because of the coronavirus. She usually makes YouTube videos about her travels, but lately she has been turning her camera on the birds that gather in treetops outside.I transferred my hobby from the national parks to my balcony, she said.Her sightings there have included yellow-vented bulbuls, Asian koels and the coppersmith barbet her favorite so named because its metronomic calls ring out like a hammer hitting metal. You can hear it everywhere, Ms. Couzon said. Its pretty small, but so colorful. If you see it, you will love it from the very first glance.ImageCredit...Nathalie CouzonIts been used by researchers all over the world in ways that we never predicted, said Mr. Iliff, the project leader from the lab.Ms. Newsome uses the program, and the data entered by her and other birders helps contextualize sightings for people who use the labs free Merlin app. Thats the one Liam uses in New Orleans.In London, Ms. Adanero uses an app called Smart Bird ID to identify species, and she has nudged her 10-year-old sister to do the same.And in Bangkok, Ms. Couzon is relying on an old-fashioned paperback: A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand. She is considering buying binoculars, and she knows what shes after next: the red-eyed greater coucal, a rusty-winged bird whose haunting call she hopes to capture on camera.It will require patience. But she has cultivated a lot of that in lockdown, with bird-watching as one of her favorite ways to pass the time.If youre staying at home, especially in confinement, and you want to see some nature, she said, you can just open your window. | science |
Credit...David Dee Delgado for The New York TimesJune 27, 2018It was a night of rebellion among Democrats and loyalty for Republicans: Liberal activists upended the Democratic establishment in multiple primary races on Tuesday, while Republican voters backed candidates anointed by President Trump. The night broke the pattern of the last few years, when Republicans often challenged their leaders and Democrats usually fell in line.Here are some of our takeaways:A landmark political moment in New YorkImageCredit...Erin Schaff for The New York TimesA political revolution or something like it just rippled through New York City.The defeat of Representative Joseph Crowley in a Democratic primary qualifies as an unheard-of event: A powerful lawmaker, who controlled the Queens Democratic Party and was seen as a potential speaker of the House, crumbled against a challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old liberal activist and first-time candidate who was backed by a few national progressive groups.Her victory is a stunning illustration of the energy on the left this year, and an echo of the Republican primaries in 2014 that saw another aspiring speaker of the House, Eric Cantor of Virginia, felled by an upstart on the right.But Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was not the only liberal insurgent or the only young candidate of color to rattle the entrenched Democrats in the city. In Brooklyn, Adem Bunkeddeko nearly unseated Representative Yvette Clarke, a veteran incumbent from a local dynasty; he lost by barely 1,000 votes. And Representative Carolyn Maloney drew less than three-fifths of the vote against another first-time candidate, Suraj Patel.Establishment-backed Democrats fared better elsewhere, including a contentious House primary in Colorado. But the unrest in New York City is a landmark moment: For all its cultural liberalism, the city is usually a politically rigid place a tough arena for newcomers, given the party machines and election laws that discourage competition. On Tuesday night, the ossified Democratic institutions got a new kind of scare.And one of the very methods New Yorks Democratic establishment uses to maintain its grip separating federal and state primaries to better control the electorate could now come back to haunt them. Ms. Ocasio-Cortezs triumph will deliver an injection of money and energy into Cynthia Nixons challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, offering her the sort of momentum going into the September primary that she might not have had were it not for the states bifurcated nominating process.ImageCredit...Tom Brenner/The New York TimesThe threat to Nancy PelosiFor congressional Democrats who are eager to replace Representative Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the septuagenarian House leadership team, Mr. Crowley, at 56, had offered the promise of a generational transition.That hope vanished with his defeat, and now the race to replace Ms. Pelosi whether this year or in the future is wide open.On the surface, Mr. Crowleys exit means Ms. Pelosi has one less potential rival looming in the wings. But the vacuum he has created could also present new challenges to the California Democrats grip on the House caucus, which is already threatened because so many of her partys candidates have promised not to back her.Other younger, ambitious lawmakers may fill the void left by Mr. Crowley and that list seems bound to include Democrats who are not white men. With Mr. Crowley and her second-in-command, Representative Steny Hoyer, Ms. Pelosi knew who could threaten her. Now it is not clear where an insurgency may come from.[Our Politics editor is answering readers questions about our political coverage. Submit your questions here.]Political gravity still exists, occasionallyImageCredit...Caitlin Ochs for The New York TimesA stunning thing happened in New York, yes just not where many assumed it would.Former Representative Michael Grimms redemption run for the House which took him from federal prison to a strong public polling lead in his bid to reclaim his old seat was supposed to be another data point in the meme-able Trump-era political conceit that nothing matters.Mr. Grimm had gone to jail. The president endorsed his opponent, Representative Dan Donovan. Virtually every other meaningful Republican in the area did, too. Mr. Donovan held a sizable fund-raising advantage in their primary. And yet, many assumed Mr. Grimm was the favorite, neutralizing Mr. Donovans advantages with his Trump-style swagger and relentless ubiquity at diners and borough functions.But on Tuesday, at least some of those other factors seemed to matter. At the polls, some voters cited the Trump endorsement as decisive in their choice; others said they worried about Mr. Grimms viability in the fall against the Democratic nominee, Max Rose, a well-funded veteran.Whatever the reason, there was something striking about an entirely explicable outcome for a change: A generally unassuming incumbent defeated a disgraced former officeholder by a considerable margin. A sitting president made a difference for a current member of Congress. It all added up, in one corner of the city, at least.ImageCredit...Alex Goodlett for The New York TimesMitt Romney will be just fineIt is not yet clear if a Senator Mitt Romney would be a loyal foot soldier in Mr. Trumps Washington as his recent conduct has often suggested or a high-profile executive irritant, as his criticisms of then-candidate Trump during the 2016 campaign might imply. But on Tuesday, this much was obvious: There will almost certainly be a Senator Mitt Romney.After a disappointing showing at the Utah Republican convention in April and amid sporadic concerns that his past attacks on Mr. Trump might alienate some voters in Mr. Romneys adopted state the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate won his Senate primary handily, clearing the way for what is expected to be an uneventful general election contest in a solidly red state.With the upcoming retirements of Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, and the recent Republican primary loss for Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina, the next Congress seems likely to have fewer notable skeptics of Mr. Trump in the Republican ranks. Barring a major surprise before November, Mr. Romney will have the opportunity to fill the void, if he is so inclined. | Politics |
Credit...Stephen Crowley/The New York TimesMarch 10, 2017WASHINGTON When President Trump welcomes Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to the Oval Office on Tuesday, their meeting will take on a symbolism unlike any he has held so far: The great disrupter confronts the last defender of the liberal world order.Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel are poles apart on issues like immigration and trade; they have circled each other warily since the American presidential election. But both sides, officials said, are determined not to let this first meeting devolve into a clash of competing worldviews.Ms. Merkel has been studying Mr. Trumps speeches to get an insight into the new presidents thinking. American officials said Mr. Trump would ask the chancellor for advice on how to deal with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whom, after dozens of meetings over her 11 years in power, she knows better than any other leader in the West.The threat posed by Russia to Europe could give Ms. Merkel and Mr. Trump a sliver of common ground. The Trump administration is demanding that Germany and its other NATO allies increase their military budgets, a message the Germans appear to be taking to heart, even if their spending still falls well short of what the United States would like.You might almost call it serendipity, said Josef Joffe, the publisher and editor of the German newspaper Die Zeit. Just as Trump is pushing the Europeans to shape up and pay up, the Germans have quite independently realized they are facing a strategic threat on their eastern border.But if Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel find common cause on NATO, they risk new tensions over trade. Administration officials have railed against Germanys huge trade surplus with the United States. One of Mr. Trumps top economic advisers, Peter Navarro, recently accused Germany of exploiting its trading partners by depressing the euro to boost its exports.Ms. Merkel plans to push back hard on what the Germans view as blatant protectionism. She is bringing a delegation of corporate chiefs from BMW, Siemens and other German companies with major American operations. They will talk about apprenticeship programs to train American workers.The thing shell come back with is, Do you know that there are thousands of Americans working for German companies in the U.S.? said Jackson Janes, the president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University.Few leaders have displayed Ms. Merkels adroitness in handling swaggering, strongman leaders, whether it is Mr. Putin or Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. But in Mr. Trump, shes up against a different kind of testosterone-driven guy, Mr. Joffe said. Here is a guy who talked in the campaign as if he was going to put the ax to the liberal international world order.In an interview with a British newspaper in January, Mr. Trump said Ms. Merkel had made a catastrophic mistake in letting tens of thousands of refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East enter Germany. I respect her and I like her, but I think it was a mistake, he said. People make mistakes, but I think it was a really big mistake.He declined to say whether he would support Ms. Merkel in running for a fourth term as chancellor a position repeated by a senior administration official who briefed reporters about her visit on Friday. It was a stark contrast to Ms. Merkels relationship with President Barack Obama, one of his closest with any foreign leader.Ms. Merkel, however, also managed to have a productive relationship with President George W. Bush, even though he, like Mr. Trump, was deeply unpopular in Germany in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Some experts said that could be a blueprint for how she approached Mr. Trump.Its a tightrope walk, said Jeffrey Rathke, the deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She needs a strong trans-Atlantic relationship. But, he added, she doesnt want to be too close to the U.S. administration.Ms. Merkel has studiously avoided a confrontation with Mr. Trump. She said she would judge him by his actions rather than his words. And she has dismissed as absurd the suggestion that she was the last bastion of a liberal world order a label that would put her at odds with Mr. Trump.When Mr. Trump first announced his temporary travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries in January, Ms. Merkel patiently explained to him over the phone that the Geneva Conventions oblige countries to protect refugees of war on humanitarian grounds.ImageCredit...Al Drago/The New York TimesIn their briefing on Friday, White House officials said they expected a robust exchange between Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel on issues ranging from the European Union and the financing of NATO to trade and the campaign against the Islamic State. There has been an unusual degree of preparation for this meeting, given that it is not expected to produce any significant announcements on economic or security issues.For the Germans, however, the Trump White House remains something of a riddle. Hard-line ideological players, like Mr. Navarro and the chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, vie with more conventional, realist ones, like Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, and Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser.Mr. Navarro, for example, complains that Germany uses unequal treatment of a tax rebate on its exports to disadvantage American exports. Mr. Bannon told a visiting German diplomat that the White House viewed the European Union as a flawed construct and preferred to negotiate with Germany and other European countries one on one.The problem is that Germany, as a member of the European Union, cannot legally negotiate its own trade agreements with the United States. On Friday, another senior administration official who did not want to be identified conceded that point, saying that any new trade deal with Germany would have to be negotiated with the European Union. But that official also said Mr. Trump would raise Germanys persistent trade surplus with Ms. Merkel.The chancellor is likely to make a fervent case for the European Union, not just as an economic bloc but also as a political project that has brought peace and prosperity to Europe. White House officials said Friday that Mr. Trump would not be shy about his views of Brussels, but that the United States wanted to keep a strong partnership with it.Perhaps the most delicate topic for the two leaders will be Russia. Questions about link between Mr. Trumps presidential campaign and Russia continue to hang over him, while Ms. Merkel is preparing to run for re-election in a Germany that is fearful that the Russian government will meddle in its campaign like it did in the United States.German officials are encouraged that Mr. Trump has so far not radically tilted American policy toward Moscow. But they point nervously to Breitbart, the far-right website until recently run by Mr. Bannon, which is setting up an outpost in Germany and could seek to influence the vote. Russia, they note, can cause plenty of mischief, even without help from the United States.I think theyll skirt around the Russia issue, Mr. Janes of Johns Hopkins said. Theyll stay at 30,000 feet. | World |
Though the risk to humans is low, scientists warn that outbreaks among farmed birds increase the potential for the virus to mutate and pose a threat to humans.Credit...Scott Morgan for The New York TimesFeb. 24, 2022A highly contagious and deadly form of avian influenza has been barreling across the eastern half of the United States in recent weeks, killing both wild birds and farmed poultry and raising fears that an unchecked outbreak could prove calamitous for an industry that was devastated by a similar virus seven years ago.Since early January, when it began killing chickens in northeast Canada, the virus has been identified in migratory waterfowl from Florida to Maine, and has infected backyard chickens in Virginia and New York and sickened thousands of turkeys in Kentucky and Indiana, prompting mass cullings and import bans.On Wednesday, federal officials announced that the virus, a so-called highly pathogenic avian influenza, had been found in a Delaware commercial chicken farm on the Delmarva Peninsula, home to one of the countrys largest concentrations of poultry farms.Experts suspect wild birds returning from winter feeding grounds are spreading the virus, most likely through contaminated droppings. With the peak springtime migration still weeks away, many fear the worst is yet to come.Its very concerning given how quickly this thing is accelerating, said Henry Niman, a biochemist in Pittsburgh who studies the genetic evolution of viruses and has been tracking the outbreaks spread across the country. I think we could see historic levels of infections.Federal officials have been urging poultry growers to report sick or dying birds and to tighten their farms biosecurity measures, which includes preventing contact between wild birds and domestic animals.Its important to note that avian influenza is not considered to be a risk to public health and its not a food-safety risk, Mike Stepien, a spokesman for the Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in an email.Although the danger to humans is low, scientists are keeping a close eye on the virus, the Eurasian H5N1, which is closely related to an Asian strain that has infected hundreds of people since 2003, mostly those who had worked with infected poultry. That virus does not spread efficiently among humans, but it is extremely deadly, with a fatality rate of 60 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The strain currently spreading across the United States has not jumped to humans, but virologists and epidemiologists say the mounting infections among birds is worrisome because it increases the possibility that the virus could mutate in ways that make it more infectious to people.Dr. Gail Hansen, a public health veterinarian who is the former state epidemiologist for Kansas, noted that influenza viruses have historically been behind the pandemics that affect humans. Some medical historians have traced the deadly influenza pandemic of 1918 to Army recruits in Kansas who may have caught the pathogen from farm animals and then spread it to military camps in Europe.Scientists always assumed the next pandemic would be a respiratory influenza, she said. We were wrong with Covid, but its these kinds of viruses that keep us awake at night.ImageCredit...Charlie Neibergall/Associated PressThe virus has also been coursing through Asia, the Middle East and Europe. In recent weeks, 300 outbreaks have been reported in 29 European countries. In Israel, an outbreak at a nature reserve killed thousands of cranes.At the moment turkey farmers, especially those in Indiana and Kentucky, are most worried. Over the past two weeks, several farms in those states have been shuttered after officials discovered the virus among birds that spend their entire lives crammed into massive sheds. Farmers say they have been stunned by how efficiently the virus kills, with animals dying hours after the initial infection.In Indiana, state officials have moved quickly, euthanizing more than 100,000 birds and throwing a six-mile cordon around affected farms a containment area within which exports are halted and birds are tested daily.Everyone is on super-high alert and trying to be as prepared as possible because we all remember the devastation of 2014 and 2015, said Dr. Denise Heard, a veterinarian with the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.The 2014-15 outbreak is considered the most destructive in the nations history. It sent poultry and egg prices soaring and cost the industry more than $3 billion though the federal government compensated farmers for lost flocks. In the end, nearly 50 million birds were killed by the virus or destroyed to prevent its spread, a vast majority of them in Iowa and Minnesota.John Burkel, 54, a fourth-generation turkey grower in northern Minnesota, has been watching the spread with trepidation. In 2015, the virus tore through his farm in a matter of days, leaving just 70 survivors in a shed that had held 7,000 birds. The weeks that followed were spent culling, composting the dead and then repeatedly disinfecting the barns.As a precaution, health officials also advised that he and his son take a course of the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Weve never seen a virus that virulent, said Mr. Burkel, a state legislator who works the farm with his wife and two children. It was just horrible.Since then, agriculture officials across the country have pushed farmers to embrace an array of biosecurity measures aimed at preventing outbreaks. They include sealing up tiny holes that might allow mice or sparrows to enter barns, disinfecting the tires of feed-delivery trucks before they enter a farm and creating clean and dirty zones where workers can change into fresh footwear and coveralls before stepping inside an animal containment shed.At the same time, experts say that federal officials have strengthened the nationwide system of surveillance that allows researchers to track, in almost real time, an avian flus spread within wild bird populations. I think the crisis of 2015 made us realize it takes a village to prevent an outbreak and has left us much better prepared, said Dr. Yuko Sato, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State University who advises local farmers about improving their biosecurity practices.But hypervigilance has its limits, especially against a microscopic pathogen that can infiltrate a barn on the leg of a single housefly. For a growing number of scientists, the real threat is the nations industrialized system of meat and dairy production, with its reliance on genetically identical creatures packed by the thousands inside huge confinement sheds.Nearly all the nine billion chickens raised and slaughtered in the United States each year can trace their lineage to a handful of breeds that have been manipulated to favor fast growth and plump breasts. The birds are also exceptionally vulnerable to outbreaks of disease. They all have the same immune system, or lack of an immune system, so once a virus gets inside a barn, its going to spread like wildfire, said Dr. Hansen, the public health veterinarian.Andrew deCoriolis, the executive director of Farm Forward, a sustainable agriculture advocacy group, said the lack of genetic diversity isnt just a threat to the nations food supply; it is also a potential threat to public health. More than half the 22 strains of novel influenza virus that the C.D.C. has identified as of special concern to human health are avian influenza viruses, he said, noting that a 2018 study examining the emergence of 39 highly pathogenic avian viruses found that all but two of them had emerged on industrial poultry farms.He said the sectors emphasis on biosecurity and infection containment obscures a larger, thornier issue that requires a fundamental rethinking of meat and egg production in the United States.Instead of asking how factory farms can prevent infections that originate in the environment, which is how they frame it now, we should be asking how they can prevent infections that originate on factory farms, he said. If we keep raising more and more animals in these conditions, we should expect the exact outcome were getting because thats how the system is set up. | science |
Credit...Johan Ordonez/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesMarch 9, 2017GUATEMALA CITY Guatemalan human rights officials said Thursday that they believe that the 35 girls who were killed when a fire swept through a dormitory at a childrens home had been unable to escape because they were locked inside.As new questions arose over the fire at the Virgen de la Asuncin home, evidence emerged that the girls had been confined to a small room after they had escaped from the residence and been recaptured by the police.There were 52 girls in that room, and if someone locked the doors, the consequences are serious, said Hilda Morales, the adjunct prosecutor for human rights.The locked doors were still a presumption that had to be confirmed by Guatemalas attorney general, Ms. Morales added. The responsibility lies with the staff, the director and the secretary for social welfare.Mayra Veliz, general secretary of the attorney generals office, said a team of 16 prosecutors would handle the investigation.The Health Ministry said 23 girls remained hospitalized. Officials began to transfer other children and adolescents who lived in the home to other facilities. The children, some of them orphans, came from poor families and many have suffered abuse.But questions were also raised about the response of firefighters and the police. Speaking to a congressional panel on Thursday, police officials and fire officials blamed each other for a 40-minute delay in reaching the victims.Legislators also heard that only three of the 64 security cameras were working in the home, which housed some 750 children in space meant for 500.The fire early Wednesday has led to an outpouring of grief and anger as evidence of negligence at the home mounted.Officials have cited troubles at the home since 2013. Last October, a prosecutor recommended shutting down the home.Eric Rosenthal, the executive director of Disability Rights International in Washington, said that officials from the human rights prosecutors office believed that the girls had been locked in as punishment for the protest. It is still unclear how the fire started, he said.Mr. Rosenthal said he was particularly concerned about the fate of residents with disabilities. There is a tendency to dump them in other places to get rid of them, he said. | World |
N.B.A.|Nets Reserves Take the Lead Once Againhttps://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/sports/basketball/nets-reserves-take-the-lead-once-again.htmlNets 105, Bobcats 89Credit...Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesFeb. 12, 2014The Nets bench did the heavy lifting again in the first half, but the reserves got help from the starters in the second, rolling to an easy 105-89 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday at Barclays Center.In their previous game, for the first time in franchise history, no Nets starter scored in double figures. It initially looked like more of the same on Wednesday, with the bench combining to score 23 of the teams 50 first-half points. But the starters showed some life by opening the third quarter with a 10-0 run, and a 6-point halftime lead stretched to 22 by the end of the third. From that point, Coach Jason Kidd was able to rest many of his players heading into a rough stretch that includes a game Thursday in Chicago followed by the All-Star break and then a six-game road trip.Paul Pierce led all scorers with 25 points, including a 5-for-5 performance from 3-point range, but he credited the teams ball movement for his success.I dont have the same step I had 10 or 12 years ago, Pierce said. A lot of times Im just trying to take advantage of different cuts and playing off screens and just use my basketball I.Q. out there. The Nets small lineup, with Shaun Livingston ostensibly replacing the injured Brook Lopez, provided stellar defense, largely negating Al Jefferson, Charlottes dominant center. Jefferson, who entered the game having scored 30 or more points in five of his seven previous games, finished with only 12 points.The guys executed the game plan, double-teaming him and being able to understand how to get out of that rotation, Kidd said.The Eastern Conference playoff race is still wide open, with five games separating the No. 3 and No. 9 teams entering Wednesdays games, and a win against Chicago on Thursday could move the Nets up to the No. 6 seed in the conference. The upcoming road trip could prove to be a test, and Pierce insisted that it would be vital for the teams future.This is that part of the season where youre on the road like that and youve got to have a great sense of urgency, Pierce said. Youve got to expect it to be tough. This is a moment of truth for us right now. | Sports |
Asia Pacific|Architect of Chinas Great Firewall Bumps Into Ithttps://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/world/asia/china-internet-great-firewall-fang-binxing.htmlSinosphereCredit...Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesApril 6, 2016HONG KONG Anyone who tries to scramble over Chinas Great Firewall knows the feeling of frustration when those attempts fail. So, too, does the man credited with developing the system, which blocks access to unapproved foreign websites.That man, Fang Binxing, the former president of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and current head of a new national industry association for promoting online security, is often called the father of the Great Firewall for his role in developing the system of Internet controls in China. He has previously said that even he has to use virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow users to gain access to the Internet as if they were in a different location.During a presentation on digital security on Sunday at his alma mater, the Harbin Institute of Technology, Mr. Fang was forced to employ a VPN when he could not reach websites in South Korea. But the VPN repeatedly dropped out, prompting him to ad-lib some of his presentation.The episode was relayed by a person who attended the talk and posted details on Weibo and was first reported by the newspapers Oriental Daily News and Ming Pao, both based in Hong Kong. As the story spread online, it prompted widespread mirth among Chinese Internet users who encounter such headaches on a regular basis.A discussion after the talk was canceled, probably out of fear someone would throw something, the attendee wrote. Mr. Fang has faced such brickbats before. In 2011, a student threw eggs and shoes at him during a talk at Wuhan University in central China. The eggs missed, but at least one shoe hit its target.Mr. Fang was also chased off Weibo shortly after he joined the microblog service in 2013. He wished users a happy new year and was quickly inundated with angry replies.During his presentation in Harbin, Mr. Fang apparently tried to visit South Korean websites to discuss that countrys online censorship. He has openly backed Chinas online controls, which he said in a 2011 speech were necessary to prevent democracy advocates from stirring chaos.That year he told Global Times, a newspaper run by the Chinese Communist Party, that he had six VPNs, which he only used to test which side wins: the GFW or the VPN. And maybe to take an occasional peek at whats over the wall in South Korea. | World |
Another ViewDec. 14, 2015Mark J. Roe is a professor at Harvard Law School. He wrote The Voting Prohibition in Bond Workouts, published in The Yale Law Journal.Congress is poised to retroactively validate hardball restructuring tactics in the bond market that courts have struck down in major reorganization cases like that of Caesars Entertainment.The underlying problem is that since the 1930s, the securities laws have barred basic free contracting among bondholders, via the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. Although the ban is exceedingly poor one can think of few groups less in need of contractual guidance in the United States than institutional bondholders the lurking amendment would worsen the plight of the bondholder.One of the most prominent New Dealers, William O. Douglas, thought that insiders too often demolished retail bondholders in out-of-court restructuring cases. He wanted to bar votes from binding bondholders, despite that other securities holders, like shareholders, typically approve major transactions by vote, as even bondholders do in bankruptcy. He was then the influential chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Yes, this is same William Douglas who later became a Supreme Court justice.) Congress agreed.The effort backfired, however. First, the voting ban meant that a handful of holdout bondholders could stymie a sound restructuring of a weakened company. Some holdouts act strategically, some do not like the deal on offer. But when the bondholders seeking a compromise see that the holdouts will get a big payout, they often stop being willing to compromise. They fear that the holdouts will be fully paid, while they get less. The deal dies and the company goes bankrupt.Then, decades later, smart investment bankers deployed a powerful but contentious mechanism, the exit exchange offer. In it, the debtor company offers new bonds for old bonds, but insists that investors exchanging their old bonds first vote to delete the bonds protections. The securities laws allow bondholders to vote on their protections but not on their payment terms. When the exit consent structure works for the deal makers, it drops nonparticipating bondholders into a death trap: The dissenting bondholder either takes an undesirable deal or suffers as the bonds lose protections and value. Courts and commentators are split on whether Douglass ban on changing the payment terms or maturity date barred the tactic; in recent months, courts in major restructuring cases stopped splitting and confirmed that it did.Imagine bonds for which the issuer had promised never to transfer value to its owners until the bondholders were paid back. The issuer offers to exchange those bonds for new bonds of an affiliate, but the issuer requires that the exchangers vote first to waive that no-payout protection. The bondholders who exchange do not care about the no-payout protection, because it is the affiliate that will owe them money after the protection is gone, so they vote to waive the no-payout protection. Those who do nothing would be hurt because, after the protection is gone, the debtor could transfer money to its shareholders and be unable to pay the remaining bondholders back. A bondholder would exchange even if the deal is bad - as long as doing nothing leads to a worse deal.Thus Douglass no-vote rule facilitated one serious distortion - the holdout who can kill a good deal - and then, in reaction, deal makers invented a countervailing distortion: the coercive exit consent exchange offer to twist or break the arms of dissenting bondholders.Recent court decisions confirmed that the law bars the exit consent distortion (and possibly more), because it requires that bondholders get to make their own call as to payment terms. The lurking rider would validate the latter exit consent distortion.It would be far better to simply repeal the voting ban. Its anachronistic for the 21st-century bond market to stymie uncoerced votes in restructuring cases.The consequence would be no holdouts after a vote, and no need for coercive exit consents. Congress should be modest about adding an important bond market rider without input from the S.E.C. and the bond market over all. If it cannot wait and the rider validating hardball tactics must pass, then a simple rider to the rider needs to be put in to give the S.E.C. authority to fix problems that will arise: For bonds issued after June 30, 2016, bondholders may vote on payment terms, under conditions approved by the S.E.C.A well-functioning bond market needs a way to restructure bonds via noncoercive votes. If bondholders had that right, restructuring cases would not need the exit consent maneuver to force holdouts into submission.Todays financial marketplace operates by deal-making, and institutional bondholders know what they are doing. Shareholders vote on mergers and restructuring; bondholders should be able to, as well.The act needs to be updated for the 21st century to allow for uncoerced bondholder votes on core terms. Passing an amendment behind closed doors that would validate tough tactics is not the way to go. If a fair vote and a recapitalization plan could keep a company out of bankruptcy, it would be a good result for the distressed business, and that kind of decision-by-vote should not continue to be outlawed. | Business |
Credit...Mark PerniceNov. 3, 2016Dozens of sperm banks across the country are recruiting men to help them build up a supply of frozen sperm to meet the growing demand from women looking to start families.Its a big business. A vial of sperm can cost almost $1,000. But for the men, its probably not the quickest route to beer money. And its not simple. Your odds of getting into Harvard or Stanford are higher than your chances of being accepted as a donor at the major sperm banks.California Cryobank and Fairfax Cryobank, the nations two largest sperm banks, take only about one in 100 applicants. Some deal-breakers: a low sperm count, an iffy health history or sperm that dont do well after freezing. If youre short, forget about it.Most sperm banks arent interested in white donors who arent at least 5 feet 9 inches, because most of their clients dont want them. But the bar is lower for members of ethnic groups that tend to be shorter. And given a perpetual lack of African-American donors, height may not be a disqualifier for black donors. Your love life may take a hit.Keeping your sperm count high enough to make the grade means at least two more often three days of abstinence before each donation. And donors are expected to produce a good specimen once or twice a week, leaving not much time for sex between visits. You wont get a quick paycheck.To prevent the spread of HIV and other diseases, the Food and Drug Administration requires that sperm be frozen for six months, and the donor retested, before it can be used.Sperm banks wont pay until your sperm is ready for sale and you are added to the donor catalog. Youll fill out lots of forms and have lots of tests.There will be many questions about your sexual history, drug use, goals, hobbies, talents and recent travel (to rule out Zika exposure). You will undergo physical, psychological, personality and S.T.D. screening, and give blood, urine and (uncompensated) semen samples.Your every physical feature will be scrutinized, and you may be asked to provide a childhood or adult photo and write an essay, or tape an interview, to be shared with potential buyers.There will also be genetic testing, the extent of which depends on your ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jews are tested for by far the greatest number of genetic diseases. Some sperm banks tout all that free testing as a benefit of becoming a donor.Your pay will depend on how often you donate, and how many vials usually two or three the sperm bank can fill from each donation.Compensation varies, but an active donor who produces specimens twice a week might make $1,500 a month. (For buyers, the price per vial ranges from $500 to $900 if the sperm is to be used for intrauterine or intracervical insemination.If the bank also sells sperm for in vitro fertilization, which requires less processing but has a lower success rate, the price is lower.).You cant wait for the mood to strike you.Being a sperm donor is not a weekend hobby. Donations generally have to be made during business hours at some sperm banks, shortened business hours Monday through Friday. And of course, you have to live near one of the sperm banks offices.Between them, California Cryobank and Fairfax Cryobank have offices in 10 cities, and there are dozens of smaller operations across the country. You have to make a long-term commitment.Because they invest about $2,000 per donor for recruitment and screening, most sperm banks ask for an agreement that you will donate at least once a week for six months to a year a lot of sessions in a small room with a modest supply of pornography. And you can expect periodic health checkups.Youll never know how many children you have fathered.Theres no legal limit, but the biggest sperm banks have policies that one donors sperm will not be allowed to sire children for more than 25 to 30 family units. But some families may have two or three children with the donors sperm, and others may not report a birth, so they would not be counted in that limit. Some men who have joined the Donor Sibling Registry, a site where donors and their children can connect, have been surprised and disturbed to discover that they have dozens of offspring. You may or may not get to meet them.Sperm donors usually have the option to remain anonymous, or to agree that the children can get in touch when they turn 18. There has been a growing recognition of childrens rights to know their genetic parents and recently a trend toward donor willingness to be identified. Even anonymous donors are increasingly being identified by curious children as genetic testing becomes cheaper and more common. | Health |
The New Old AgeCredit...David Ryder for The New York TimesMarch 10, 2017It was August, and Gina Rinehart was preparing for another school year as a special-education teacher in Hemet, Calif., when she got the call: Her father, Floyd Hall, was facing surgery to remove a tumor in his lung.She flew to rural Lake Cushman, Wash., to be with her parents, expecting to spend two weeks helping her dad recover. Her father, known as Bub and an active retiree at 68, spent his days woodworking, volunteering at the local food bank and helping his own 95-year-old mother.But the report from the surgical team was grim: Stage 4 lung cancer, a terminal diagnosis. Have you ever heard news and felt like you wanted to throw up? said Ms. Rinehart, who recalls breaking into a cold sweat. I was seriously shocked.Her son and daughter had only recently left home for school and work. I thought wed have a break, my husband and me, she said. With the kids gone and a little extra money, I thought we could go to Europe. Hes never been.Instead, since that discovery in 2013, Ms. Rinehart and a younger brother, Patryk Hall, who also lives in Southern California, have been trading off monthslong stints at their parents home. With her father declining rapidly now, Ms. Rinehart has decided to stay for the duration.Elder care was a responsibility Ms. Rinehart expected to shoulder, eventually. But she didnt foresee having to leave her home for extended periods and to give up her job when she was just 46.Researchers call this an off-time event, a normal experience that comes at a point when its not normal. Most family members caring for elders are over 55, the National Academy of Sciences reported last year, and the older people most likely to need intensive support from family are in their 80s or older.Anyone can be suddenly pressed into family caregiving, of course: Ask those whose spouses have been injured in accidents or war zones, or parents of children with disabilities. But most of us dont anticipate caring for our parents, or other older relatives, in our 30s or 40s.People arent really prepared to take on the responsibility then, said Donna Cohen, a psychologist and gerontologist at the University of South Florida. It comes when youre still climbing to the summit in your own life.ImageCredit...David Ryder for The New York TimesYet a surprising proportion of those caring for older adults are younger. The National Academy of Sciences noted that of people providing care for family members over age 65 (excluding nursing home residents), nearly 15 percent were ages 20 to 44. Almost 24 percent were 45 to 54.Beyond the challenges that caregiving brings at any age, these people face particular disruptions.Among the youngest group, what particularly concerns them is the negative impact on their pursuit of education, said Feylyn Lewis, a doctoral candidate at the University of Birmingham in England, whose dissertation looks at 18- to 25-year-old caregivers.Caregivers closer to midlife contend with pressures at work and sometimes have to reduce their hours, refuse promotions or retire early. Ms. Rinehart took a personal leave from her school, but when her absence exceeded the maximum number of months allowed, she resigned. I loved my job, she said wistfully. I miss the kids.In turn, job loss increases current and future financial strains.Younger caregivers may also have children at home. They feel pulled, said Carol Whitlatch, assistant director for research and education at the Benjamin Rose Institute in Cleveland. They need to be there for their kids who are still dependent, and they have parents who are growing more dependent.Colleen Kavanaugh calls herself the classic stereotype of a caregiver, the firstborn daughter who lives nearby and puts everything on hold. In 2004, when she moved back into her parents home in Martinsville, N.J., she was newly divorced, with a 5-year-old son. Then 33, she planned to regroup, find another job and, within a few months, move out and resume her independent life.But her mother learned she had breast cancer; after multiple surgeries and increasing disability, she died in early 2009. Then Ms. Kavanaughs father, who had been experiencing memory loss, was found to have Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease.When caring for him at home became too difficult, Ms. Kavanaugh moved him into assisted living and finally to a nursing home; he died in 2013. Along the way, while helping her son navigate school, Ms. Kavanaugh had to leave her job managing a marketing and design firm.I went seven years with no income, no 401(k), the loss of Social Security contributions, she said. It was a bitter pill.Perhaps the most jarring aspect of off-time caregiving, though, is the sense of becoming entirely out of sync with ones peers.Friends fall away after the umpteenth time a caregiver says no to a concert or cancels a dinner because of an emergency, or because of simple exhaustion. Caregivers report biting their tongues when agemates grouse about seemingly trivial problems, from disappointing vacations to home dcor dilemmas.ImageCredit...David Ryder for The New York TimesWe are so isolated, said Noraleigh Carthy, 50, who lives in Portland, Ore. She has spent four years lovingly caring for her partner, who has a degenerative muscular disease, while working part time and raising their 13-year-old daughter.I get so angry and jealous when friends post on Facebook about some very basic thing, like a Sunday hike with their family.She looked into caregiver support groups, but felt she had little in common with their much older members. Its different when youve had your career, your chance to travel, Ms. Carthy said. I wouldnt be so angry if I were retired and Id already had the chance to live my life.Ms. Kavanaugh found that the people she grew close to, as her father moved into a dementia unit, were other women with parents there. All my friends were in their 50s to 80s, she said. You dont have contemporaries to confide in.At least she had confidantes. One way to discharge anger and reduce stress is to be able to talk about it, Dr. Cohen said. She worries about younger caregivers physical and mental health if they feel unsupported and too overwhelmed to take care of themselves.Supportive programs specifically for younger people providing elder care struck her as a good idea, possibly using social media. The people who most understand what Ms. Rinehart is going through arent old friends, she said; theyre participants in a weekly Twitter chat (#LCSM Chat).Not one of these caregivers regrets undertaking the role. As Joseph Gaugler, a gerontologist at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, points out, many caregivers take satisfaction in reciprocating their parents sacrifices and pride in doing a good job.Patryk Hall, 49, may always remember the nights he and his father, both science fiction lovers prone to insomnia, sat up watching Star Trek and Firefly DVDs, fortified with blackberry cheesecake ice cream.But off-time caregiving can also change your perspective for good. Though Bub Hall has long outlived his prognosis, he is faltering. Hospice care is probably not far-off, his daughter said.After his death, Ms. Rinehart intends to bring her mother home to live with her and her husband in Southern California, where shell find another teaching job. At least, thats the plan, she said. But Ive learned that you cant expect things to go the way you think. | Health |
Credit...Jason Henry for The New York TimesJune 18, 2018SAN FRANCISCO A match between an Israeli college debate champion and a loquacious IBM computer program demonstrated on Monday new gains in the quest for computers that can hold conversations with humans. It also led to an unlikely question for the tech industrys deep thinkers: Can a machine talk too much?At an IBM office in downtown San Francisco, Noa Ovadia, a college senior who won an Israeli championship in 2016, squared off with IBMs program, called the IBM Debater.She argued against government subsidies for space exploration. The machine argued in favor, delivering three brief speeches in a digitally created monotone and at least in small ways responding to Ms. Ovadias human opinions.Another point that I believe my opponent made is that there are more important things than space exploration to spend money on, the machine said during its lengthy rebuttal. It is very easy to say there are more important things to spend money on, and I do not dispute this. No one is claiming that this is the only item on our expense list.Under development for six years, this artificial intelligence system is part of a broader effort to build technology that can interact with people the way we interact with one another.Last month, Google demonstrated a system, called Google Duplex, that can phone a restaurant and make dinner reservations. In China, you can phone Xiaoice, a chatbot built by Microsoft, and spend a few minutes shooting the breeze.Companies like Google, Amazon and Apple have for several years offered coffee table gadgets and smartphone apps that answer simple questions or perform simple tasks. (Hey, Siri. Set my alarm for 7 a.m. tomorrow.)Projects like IBM Debater and Google Duplex show that this kind of system is starting to stretch beyond simple commands. But they also demonstrate the limitations of current technology.IBMs system was designed to debate about 100 topics, but these interactions are tightly constrained: a four-minute opening statement followed by a rebuttal to its opponents argument and then a statement summing up its own viewpoint. It was not exactly Lincoln v. Douglas.Subsidized space exploration, the machine said during its opening statement, inspires our children to pursue education and careers in science and technology and mathematics.ImageCredit...Jason Henry for The New York TimesIt is more important than good roads or improved schools or better health care, it added.Noam Slonim, an IBM researcher who helped oversee the project, estimated that the technology could have a meaningful debate on those 100 topics 40 percent of the time. IBM chose the topic for the live debate before it began. In some cases, the machines lengthy speeches hinted at how it was stitching together its arguments identifying relevant sentences and clauses and then combining them into a reasonably coherent, computerized thought.Google Duplex is also limited to narrow tasks. (It can schedule hair salon appointments or get holiday hours as well as book restaurant reservations.) And because Google has revealed the system only in brief demonstrations, it is unclear how well it really performs. Certainly, systems like Xiaoice are a long way from passing the Turing Test, the challenge laid down by the British computing pioneer Alan Turing in the 1950s that asks whether a machine can play the imitation game to mimic humans. No one would mistake these systems for a human at least not after a lengthy conversation.In 2011, IBM demonstrated a system that could beat the leading players at the trivia game show Jeopardy! The company used this system, called Watson, as a way of promoting a wide range of products and consulting services for hospitals and other businesses.After Watson won, Mr. Slonim, a researcher at an IBM lab in Haifa, Israel, pitched the Debater project as IBMs next grand challenge.The long-running project is in some ways an unorthodox addition to the rapidly accelerating field of artificial intelligence research. Among big tech companies and major A.I. labs, no one else is exploring technology that can carry on a debate, as two humans would, say, discuss politics. And Mr. Slonim acknowledged that IBM Debater was not a direct path to a new product or service. Debating is not a business, he said.But the project reflects the recent acceleration of research related to natural language understanding, the effort to build machines that can understand the natural way we humans talk and respond in kind. As this research progresses, it can provide new ways for computers to digest and process information or even lead to machines that can hold a completely convincing conversation.This sort of technology would have a wide range of uses. It could help businesses filter hot-button issues on social media. Or it could provide governments with a more effective way of censoring information.Understanding natural language is such a complex and difficult task, systems like IBM Debater lean on a wide range of systems, each handling a different part of the problem. One system will identify information that helps fuel an argument on one side of the debate. Another will generate the text of the argument. And so on.Typically, each system is designed and built independently, before researchers meld them together. But recent research from the likes of OpenAI, an independent artificial intelligence lab in San Francisco, and Salesforce, the San Francisco tech giant, point toward the development of systems that can tackle language problems in a broader way: Teach a system to do one task, and it can help with other tasks, too.In recent years, researchers have significantly improved systems that recognize people and objects, identify spoken words and translate between languages.But understanding language is far more complex. That means systems that perform fairly simple language tasks like writing a Wikipedia article, let alone engaging in a serious debate on a random topic may still be years away.It is now very obvious this change is happening, said Jeremy Howard, an independent researcher working in this area. But these things take time. | Tech |
Credit...Scott Eisen/Getty ImagesDec. 8, 2015Things are going from bad to worse at Chipotle Mexican Grill.The number of Boston College students who became ill after eating at a Chipotle restaurant near its campus grew to 80 on Tuesday, at a time when the fast-food chain was still grappling with an outbreak of E. coli that infected customers in nine states.The companys shares fell sharply after it closed stores in the Pacific Northwest and did extensive cleaning at other stores in California, Minnesota, New York and Ohio that were linked to the E. coli outbreak. Investors dumped the stock again on Tuesday after learning about the students who were sickened in Boston.The stock dropped $9.63 to close at $542.12 on Tuesday.In a note sent to students on Tuesday, Boston College said all the affected students had been tested for E. coli and norovirus at the direction of the Massachusetts public health authorities. At least eight of the students were from the schools basketball team.Norovirus is the most common cause of gastrointestinal illness in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infecting as many as 21 million people and resulting in as many as 800 deaths in a year.In a statement, Chipotle said it had temporarily closed its store at Cleveland Circle in Boston while the investigation into the cause of the outbreak continued. We do not have any evidence to suggest that this incident is related to the previous E. coli incident, the company said. There are no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to Chipotle in Massachusetts.Health officials in Boston said several violations had been found in that store during an inspection on Monday, including meat held at an improper temperature and an employee who was working while sick.At a Sanford C. Bernstein & Company investment conference in New York on Tuesday, Chipotle said it might be forced to raise prices next year to cover the costs of an enhanced food safety program and business lost because of the closed stores and slumping sales. Last week, it filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that the E. coli problem would push down sales in stores that had been open at least a year by as much as 11 percent in the fourth quarter.The source of the tainted food that caused the E. coli outbreaks at Chipotle has not been disclosed. Chipotle is not the only business that has confronted food safety problems during the holiday season. Costco, Starbucks and Walmart have been involved in a recall of prepared foods containing celery that may have carried a different strain of E. coli than the one involved in Chipotles cases.And roughly one-third of the people attending an office party in Seattle that was catered by Bon Apptit Management became ill with norovirus, which can be spread by an infected person, contaminated surfaces, or food and water. Public health officials there closed all restaurants, including a Starbucks, located in the Russell Investments Center, a skyscraper in downtown Seattle.From a consumer perspective, it must look like there are a lot more food safety challenges out there, said Chris Morrison, chief marketing officer of Trace One, which helps other companies map out their supply chains. I dont know if there are more or less such challenges than in the past, but there is a great deal more information about them.Mr. Morrison said a raw material could go through many steps before arriving at a company. Tomatoes, say, may go from a farm to a processing plant, where they are then divided up, with some going into cans and others going into ketchup, and then sold to a restaurant business or a big food company, where they are further modified.Jem Raw, a nut butter company in Oregon, this month issued a nationwide recall of its products for potential salmonella contamination, and Taylor Farms Pacific, one of the countrys largest produce suppliers, has been recalling celery used in the prepared foods that have been linked to that E. coli outbreak, as well as other products. Taylor Farms Pacific has been involved in several product recalls over the last several years. Bruce Taylor, its chairman and chief executive, has attributed this to the size and scale of its operations.Mr. Taylor told The Monterey County Herald in California that Taylor Farms was recalling the products out of an abundance of caution.Laboratory analysis of a sample of diced celery and onion produced by the company did not indicate the presence of E. coli. The C.D.C. said on Monday that it was looking into other components of the prepared foods that appear to have carried the contaminant but that it had not ruled out the celery as the carrier.Most companies dont have complete visibility right down to the raw material, Mr. Morrison said. But there have been advances in technology, testing and protocols so that if something comes up, the government and companies can move much faster to publicize it and coordinate recalls and other steps. | Business |
Technology|Amazon Investors Reject Proposals on Climate Change and Facial Recognitionhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/technology/amazon-climate-change-facial-recognition.htmlCredit...Ted S. Warren/Associated PressMay 22, 2019SEATTLE Amazon said on Wednesday that its shareholders had voted down proposals that would have pushed the company to reconsider its societal impact in two key areas: facial recognition and climate change.The proposals asked Amazon to develop a more comprehensive approach to reducing its carbon footprint and put the brakes on how the company sells surveillance technologies to governments.The companys board had opposed the changes. But the initiatives received support from the two most prominent shareholder advisory firms, which help large, long-term investors decide how to vote.Amazon did not disclose the vote total on Wednesday, but said it would by the end of the week.Activist investors typically bring shareholder proposals. But the climate change initiative had an interesting twist: Amazon employees, paid in part with stock, pushed the plan. The move introduced a new tactic in the growing activism among tech employees. More than 7,500 workers signed a letter supporting the climate change proposal, disclosing their names publicly.The initiative would have pushed the company to develop a public report describing how Amazon plans for climate-related disruptions such as extreme weather and how the company will reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, which power its vast fulfillment and delivery operations as well as its data centers.Glass Lewis, a shareholder advisory firm, wrote that Amazon disclosed less information about sustainability than its peers, and it recommended investors support the proposal because it would let employees and shareholders better understand how the company addressed climate change.Amazon and its board have argued the company is already working to mitigate its climate impact through various measures, such as plans to disclose its carbon footprint later this year and a new initiative called Shipment Zero, which aims to have 50 percent of shipments net-zero carbon by 2030.[Get the Bits newsletter for the latest from Silicon Valley and the technology industry.]Activist investors submitted two proposals to limit the companys sale of its facial recognition tool, Amazon Rekognition, arguing the spread of such surveillance technologies could hurt civil rights, and thus the companys reputation.One proposal asked the board to commission an independent study looking at several issues, such as whether customers could use Rekognition to unfairly or disproportionately target or surveil people of color, immigrants and activists in the United States or whether it sold to authoritarian or repressive governments abroad. The other asked the company to stop selling Rekognition to government customers unless the board determined the technology did not help perpetrate civil and human rights abuses.Amazon may be lagging its peers because it has not developed rules for bidding on government contracts, has not formed an Artificial Intelligence ethics committee and has not announced partnerships with civil liberties organizations, said Institutional Shareholder Services, the other top advisory firm.The company and its board have said they are not aware of any time that law enforcement agencies have used Amazon Rekognition to infringe on civil liberties. The board said the report would be a waste of money on hypothetical and speculative concerns. And it said the outright ban did not make sense because we do not believe that the potential for customers to misuse results generated by Amazon Rekognition should prevent us from making that technology available to our customers.The bar for shareholder proposals to pass is high. Mr. Bezos controls 16 percent of the companys shares, and a proposal must get half of the votes. Investors who abstain are counted as supporting the boards recommendation.No shareholder resolution at Amazon has ever passed, according to the financial data firm FactSet.But they have pushed the company to change. Last year, Amazon initially opposed a shareholder resolution to intentionally consider diverse candidates, saying it had already looked for diverse leaders for its board, which at the time had only white directors. But after public opposition, it reversed course and formally adopted the policy. The shareholders later dropped their proposal, and Amazon has since added two women of color to its board. | Tech |
Drew Carey Closest to Falling Off Stage Without Going Over 1/24/2018 CBS Drew Carey ... COME ON DOWN!!! To the ground. "The Price is Right" host might be nursing sore ribs after falling victim to a massive fail during Wednesday's show. A woman named Sona won the prelim round, and went HAM on Drew. Luckily for the host, a light fixture kept him from toppling completely off the stage after the wild bear hug -- or this vid would be a lot less funny. Carey popped up like a true pro. Sona was okay, too, and went on to win a treadmill and $2,000. Drew won bumps and bruises. | Entertainment |
DealBook|Swiss Regulator Bars 6 Former UBS Workers in Currency Inquiryhttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/business/dealbook/swiss-regulator-bars-6-former-ubs-workers-in-currency-inquiry.htmlDec. 17, 2015LONDON A Swiss regulator said on Thursday that it had barred six former managers and traders at UBS from the financial industry in an investigation into manipulation of the foreign currency markets.UBS was among a group of the worlds largest banks that paid a combined $4.25 billion in November 2014 to settle with British and Swiss regulators and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the United States over their role in manipulating foreign currency markets.The Swiss bank also agreed in May to pay more than $500 million in additional fines to the Justice Department and other authorities in the United States for its role in the manipulation of currency markets and benchmark interest rates.On Thursday, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, known as Finma, said it was blocking the former head of global foreign exchange trading at UBS from holding senior management positions at institutions supervised by the regulator for four years. The former head of the global foreign exchange spot trading desk was barred for five years.The regulator also barred, for at least one year, four former traders on the foreign exchange desk at UBS in Zurich.The regulator did not identify any of the individuals by name, but said none of those involved were still active at UBS.Finma concluded that the individuals in question were directly responsible for the serious breaches of regulation at UBS in this business, it said in a news release.The regulator said its investigation had determined that those responsible for management of foreign currency trading at UBS tolerated, and at times encouraged, behavior which was improper and against the interests of clients.Managers, the regulator said, were aware that traders were able to use group chats to share information and the potential risk of doing so, but failed to implement adequate systems and controls and to consistently monitor them for compliance with internal and external rules.The regulator said traders shared confidential client information, sometimes revealed the identity of clients to third parties and traded ahead of client orders in a practice known as front-running. Traders also repeatedly tried to manipulate foreign currency benchmarks, the authorities said.A UBS spokesman declined on Thursday to comment.The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority began enforcement proceedings against 11 UBS employees in November 2014. Following its investigation, the regulator discontinued proceedings against four of those in August. Proceedings continue against one other UBS employee, the regulator said. | Business |
Las Vegas Shooting New Pics of Paddock's Room Show Dead Body, Hidden Cams and So Many Guns 1/19/2018 Las Vegas Police released new photos of mass murderer Stephen Paddock's room -- including of his dead body -- and they also show how he hid cameras, broke the window, and had countless guns and weapons. The pics from the October 1 shooting reveal Paddock hid a camera in a food cart outside his hotel room, and also mounted one on the door's peephole ... confirming he was trying to keep an eye out for anyone trying to enter his room. A close-up shot of the broken window through which Paddock shot his assault rifles is also included in the new photos, along with shots of guns and ammo strewn about his room. As we reported ... 58 people were killed in the Mandalay Bay shooting. | Entertainment |
Sports Briefing | HockeyFeb. 4, 2014Ryan OReilly scored a power-play goal 28 seconds into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 2-1 victory over the host Devils. The Avalanche tied the game with 1:47 left in regulation after they pulled goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 2:30 remaining.It was the third straight game in which the Devils have given up a late goal to force overtime. The Devils have lost their last two. Ryan Carter scored in the first period for the Devils. James Neal scored at 3:05 of overtime, helping the host Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1. Ottawas Stephane Da Costa and Pittsburghs Brian Gibbons scored in the first period. (AP) | Sports |
JuJu Smith-Schuster Flips Off Pats Fan In Tom Brady Jersey 1/30/2018 JuJu Smith-Schuster is playin' with fire!!! The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie WR was asked to take a pic with a fan who happened to be wearing a Tom Brady jersey ... and he obliged. BUT, HE SNUCK IN A MIDDLE FINGER AIMED RIGHT AT #12!! JuJu posted the pic on social media with the caption, "rt when you see it." Yeah, we see it!! It's funny -- gotta wonder if Mike Tomlin's laughing about it, too (hint: no). BTW, JuJu lit up the Patriots when they played in Week 15 -- racking up 6 catches for 114 yards including a 69-yard crossing route that ALMOST won the game for the Steelers. They ended up losing 27-24 when Big Ben threw a pic from the 7-yard line with time running out in the 4th quarter. Can't wait for the rematch!!! | Entertainment |
Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York TimesApril 2, 2016KANDALAKSHA, Russia So many decrepit Soviet-era cars carried migrants into Europe from this frozen Russian town in recent months that border officials in Finland, who confiscate the rust-bucket vehicles as soon as they cross the frontier, watched in dismay as their parking lot turned into a scrapyard.To clear up the mess and provide some space for freshly confiscated cars, the Finnish customs service set up a separate dumping ground.Then last month, as suddenly and as mysteriously as it had started, the parade of migrants in rusty old cars came to an abrupt halt, or at least a pause.We dont know what is going on, said Matti Daavittila, the head of the ice-entombed Finnish border post near Salla. They suddenly stopped coming. That is all we know.Compared with the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war or hardship who made the trek to Europe last year through Turkey to Greece, the flow of refugees and migrants on the Arctic route through Russia first into Norway and later into Finland is tiny.But the stop-go traffic has added a hefty dose of geopolitical anxiety, not to mention intrigue, to a crisis that is tearing the European Union apart. It has sent alarm bells ringing in Helsinki, Finlands capital far to the south, and in Brussels, where European Union leaders, at recent crisis meetings on migration, discussed the strange and ever-shifting Arctic route through Russia.The intrigue flows from a growing suspicion in the West that Russia is stoking and exploiting Europes migrant crisis to extract concessions, or perhaps crack the European unity over economic sanctions imposed against Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. Only one of the European Unions 28 member states needs to break ranks for a regime of credit and other restrictions to collapse.Unfortunately, this looks like a political demonstration by Russia, said Ilkka Kanerva, Finlands former foreign minister and now the chairman of its parliamentary Defense Committee. They are very skillful at sending signals. They want to show that Finland should be very careful when it makes its own decisions on things like military exercises, our partnership with NATO and European Union sanctions against Russia.Unlike the flow of refugees and migrants into Greece by boat, in which the tempo is largely set by the weather in the Aegean Sea, the flow through Russia is almost entirely dependent on whether Russias Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the K.G.B., opens or closes roads in a heavily militarized border region crammed with bases.In the first two months of this year, nearly 800 asylum seekers crossed from Russia into Finland near Salla, a crossing point west of Kandalaksha in the Finnish region of Lapland, compared with none in same period last year.Sayid Mussa Khan, a 31-year-old Afghan who had worked for an American security company in Kabul, made it to Finland on Feb. 28, just a day before the traffic suddenly halted after a statement by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to security service chiefs that Russia should tighten monitoring of refugee flows.Along with his family and around a dozen other asylum seekers, Mr. Khan set out at dawn from Kandalaksha in a convoy of old cars and, accompanied by Russian guides, breezed through three checkpoints to reach the Finnish border.Mr. Khan, who sat with his wife and baby son in the back seat of a wheezing Lada, said he had never even heard of Finland when he left Kabul in 2014 and, after two years in Russia and Belarus, still was not really sure where it was he was going.But he knew he wanted to get his family to Europe, and had been assured that he would get there once he had paid $6,000 to a facilitator in Moscow, who immediately arranged for the family to be issued with a deportation order by the Russian authorities.He asked me where I wanted to go and said: No problem. We will get you to Finland. Everybody is going there now, said Mr. Khan, who is now in Finland waiting for the authorities to review his asylum application.Jorma Vuorio, the director general of Finlands Migration Department, said he had been surprised by the completely new phenomenon of asylum seekers arriving from Russia. But he added that there was no proof, just speculation, of involvement by the Russian state.The traffic into Europe through the Arctic, which has involved relatively few Syrians, began late last summer, with more than 5,000 migrants on bicycles suddenly pouring across Russias previously tightly controlled northern border into Norway. But that cycle-borne flow ended abruptly on Nov. 30, after the Russian authorities reintroduced tight controls just as Norwegian officials arrived in Moscow for talks on how to stem the flow.The migrants route then shifted southward to Russias border with Finland, as Russian guards on roads to two Finnish border crossings stopped blocking travelers without visas.Finland swiftly banned cycle traffic across its 830-mile border with Russia, allowing only people in cars to cross. This killed a booming market for old bicycles in Russias far north but created a new market for cheap and decrepit Russian cars with just enough life left in them to limp across the border to Finland.Mr. Vuorio said his Russian counterpart had informed him that Russia had more than 11 million foreigners living in its territory, a vast pool of potential migrants to Europe, but added that he doubted Moscow would allow a chaotic flood through sensitive border regions. Criminal gangs, not officials, he added, seem to be largely responsible for managing the scale and direction of migration to Europe through Russia.He said the last halt in the traffic was not the result of any deal struck by Finnish and Russian officials, who have been engaged in weeks of intensive, high-level discussions. Our only deal is that we have good relations, he said, bewildered by the stop-go flow.ImageCredit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York TimesBut that, said the Defense Committee chairman, Mr. Kanerva, is precisely Russias aim to keep Finland off balance and thus wary of making any move toward NATO or making other decisions that would anger Moscow. Noting that Russia had shown itself adept in Ukraine at so-called hybrid warfare, the use of nonmilitary tools to pursue its goals, he said migrants are part of a broader strategy.They want to make us nervous and pay attention to their interests, he added.Like the conflict in Syria, Europes migrant crisis has given Moscow an opportunity to assert itself as an indispensable power that Europe cannot afford to ignore, much less antagonize. When Finlands president visited Moscow last month, Mr. Putin scolded him over the damage to both Russia and Finland caused by sanctions. The two leaders agreed to bar all but their own citizens and citizens of Belarus at two Arctic border crossings for six months.While Russian officials have strenuously denied steering migrants toward Europe, the Kremlin has taken thinly disguised delight in Europes troubles, particularly those of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has dominated European policy toward Russia on sanctions and other matters. State-controlled Russian television has served up a daily diet of migrant-related horror stories, including a false report that migrants had raped a 13-year-old Russian-German girl in Berlin.Mr. Putin, meanwhile, recently hosted visits to Moscow by two of Ms. Merkels most vocal critics, President Viktor Orban of Hungary and Premier Horst Seehofer of the German state of Bavaria.Russias military actions in Syria, where the bombing of rebel targets often prompts the flight of civilians nearby, has further added to suspicions, especially in the United States, that Moscow wants to stoke Europes migration crisis for political ends.Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee recently in Washington, NATOs American commander, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, accused Russia of deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.A spokesman for Russias Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, dismissed General Breedloves allegations as absurd, noting that Europes refugee crisis began long before Moscow started its military action in Syria on Sept. 30. The one group that needs no convincing about Russias manipulation of the migrant issue is the migrants themselves.In interviews in Kandalaksha, stranded migrants from West and Central Africa said they had each paid thousands of dollars to guides who promised to get them to Finland and who worked closely with Russian officials. The system was highly organized, the migrants said, with no more than 30 people allowed to make the journey to Finland each day. Who went when, and in which vehicle, was established in advance, they said, with the guides and officials drawing up detailed lists with names, departure dates and cars.They are all in the same clique: the officials, the hotel people, the drivers. This is their business, said Honor Basubte, a young migrant from West Africa who had come to Russia as a student. Like many of the other migrants who traveled to Kandalaksha, he said he had been issued a Russian deportation order before setting out and been told to leave quickly for Europe.Now they say we cant go because the border is closed, he said. This is all an ugly game. | World |
Credit...Andrew Spear for The New York TimesNov. 16, 2018The Ohio House of Representatives this week passed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country one that would penalize doctors for performing an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected and pose a potential challenge to Roe v. Wade.A fetal heartbeat can be detected by an ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, a time during which most women are unaware they are pregnant.Under the bill, approved Thursday by a vote of 60 to 35, performing an abortion on a fetus with a heartbeat would result in a fifth-degree felony, which is punishable in Ohio by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate.The measure includes no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors may, however, make an exception during a medical emergency or if an abortion would save a womans life.Representative Christina Hagan, the lead sponsor of the bill, said in an interview on Friday that it was crafted specifically to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 45-year-old Supreme Court decision that made abortion a constitutional right.We believe Ohio is best positioned to send this through the Circuit Courts and to the federal Supreme Court, said Ms. Hagan, a Republican who campaigned on behalf of President Trump.She said she was confident the bill would become law by the end of the year. Both the House and the Senate have a Republican-dominated veto-proof majority.In 2016, Gov. John Kasich vetoed a bill prohibiting abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. We did not have the strength in the majority to overcome that veto, Ms. Hagan said, adding, We do now.In his 2016 statement, Mr. Kasich said the bill was contrary to the Supreme Courts rulings on abortion and pointed out that similar legislation in other states had been declared unconstitutional by federal judges.Mr. Kasich did, however, sign a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks.If the current bill does not reach the governors office until next year, it will land on the desk of his successor, Mike DeWine.During a campaign debate, Mr. DeWine said he would support the legislation.I will sign the bill, he said. I believe that the essential function of government is to protect the most vulnerable members of society. That includes the unborn.But some doctors say that the decision to have an abortion is one that ought to be made among a woman, her family and her health care provider.Every situation truly is unique and every time I think that Ive heard it all, I have a patient come in and just surprise me by the circumstances of her needing care, said Dr. Sarah Horvath, a family planning fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The organization urged Ohios governor to veto the heartbeat legislation presented in 2016.Fetal heartbeat legislation could prevent women from seeking an abortion before they even realize they are pregnant, she added.If they werent intending to become pregnant or taking pregnancy tests routinely, most would have no idea theyre pregnant at that point, Dr. Horvath said.The Ohio State Medical Association has pushed back against the bill and is very concerned about its plan to criminalize doctors for performing a medical procedure that could be considered a standard of care, said Reggie Fields, a spokesman for the organization.According to Ms. Hagan, instituting penalties is necessary to prevent abortion providers from disregarding the law.If a murder is occurring, then there has to be a repercussion for that action, she said.In other states, like Iowa, similar bills have been signed into law.For me, its immoral to stop an innocent, beating heart, Iowas governor, Kim Reynolds, said this year.Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging that laws constitutionality, and a county judge granted a temporary injunction to block it from taking effect pending the litigations outcome.North Dakota passed a heartbeat bill in 2013, but it was overturned by a federal judge.Next year could bring additional challenges to abortion access.We fully anticipate when state legislatures come back in full swing in January 2019 that others will follow suit and introduce restrictive legislation, abortion bans and things of that nature, Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Reproductive Freedom Project, said in an interview on Friday. I think what happened yesterday should be a wake-up call on the direct attacks on Roe v. Wade.More than a dozen abortion cases are currently before federal appeals courts, any of which could reach the Supreme Court next year. Now that Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has replaced Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the court has a conservative majority. Abortion rights groups consider Justice Kavanaugh a threat to Roe v. Wade.The Trump administration has already made moves to curb reproductive rights, including a regulation that would allow some employers to deny birth control coverage for moral or religious reasons. | Health |
U2 Sunday Grammys Gig Will Be 'Live' ... From Friday Night 1/26/2018 U2 won't really be performing live from a remote location during the "60th Annual Grammy Awards" ... but it will seem that way thanks to some TV magic. Sources close to production tell TMZ ... the band is set to record their Grammys performance Friday night on a barge in the Hudson River. When the show airs Sunday night -- live from Madison Square Garden -- cameras will cut away from MSG to U2's pre-recorded performance It'll look like it's live, but now you won't be fooled. To be clear, the boys from Dublin aren't lip syncing -- just playing live to tape. It's not uncommon for huge live TV events to prerecord segments, especially when a stunt shot's involved. Remember Lady Gaga's nose dive into the Super Bowl? 2017 Here's how the final product looked for that. | Entertainment |
Credit...Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesApril 5, 2016Air France moved to defuse a clash with part of its work force after the airline demanded that female employees wear veils on a new service to Iran, leading a union to accuse the company of an attack on women.The company circulated a memo on March 18 that outlined the dress standards, including a requirement that women wear a head scarf and a wide and long garment to conceal their forms on their arrival in the country, according to the National Union of Flights Attendants.The union responded with outrage, calling the instructions an attack on freedom of conscience and demanding that Air France allow female employees to refuse to work on the route to Tehran, which is scheduled to start on April 17.On Monday, the company relented, saying the assignment would be voluntary.The firestorm over Air Frances memo highlighted long-running anxieties in France over the role of Islam in public life, concerns that have grown more acute in the wake of Islamic State terror attacks in Paris and in Brussels. Some accused the company of disrespecting womens rights, while others said it was surrendering to radical Islam.But the airline pushed back, characterizing its memo simply as a reminder that the Iranian legal system strictly regulates how women can dress in public.The law of Iran imposes the wearing of a veil covering the hair in public places to all women on its territory, the airline said in a statement to Le Monde, the French newspaper. This obligation, which therefore does not apply during the flight, is respected by all international airlines serving the Republic of Iran.The airline told Le Monde that it has previously instructed female employees to wear conservative clothes, including veils, while in Saudi Arabia on its service. Female employees working on its earlier service to Iran, which ended in 2008, also followed Iranian laws on womens attire while in the country.Employees are obliged, like all foreign visitors, to respect the laws of the countries they visit, the airline said.The wearing of the veil is an emotionally charged issue in France, where a form of state secularism known as lacit is held as a bedrock of the republic. It is illegal to wear a full face veil in public, and religious garments like Muslim head scarves, large Christian crosses and Jewish skullcaps are banned from public schools. Some have depicted Islam as a threat to secular tradition.Elayne Oliphant, a professor of religious studies at New York University, said larger anxieties over terrorism and the cultural assimilation of Frances Muslim minority have led some people see a threat in reasonable suggestions, such as dressing in ways that accord with the local laws of a country.The controversy provided grist for Frances right-wing politicians, who have made a regular practice of capitalizing on the countrys fears over radical Islam.Florian Philippot, a politician from the right-wing National Front, wrote on Twitter, Air France will never be Air Burka: Support the stewardesses!The airlines Facebook page became a target for expressions of public anger. Air France, you represent the capitulation of Europe. You should be ashamed. one person wrote. Another called it a forced hijab stunt.But other reactions were more muted. Bruno Le Maire, a center-right politician, gave the equivalent of a gallic shrug in an interview with the right-leaning newspaper Le Figaro. His wife wore a veil on a trip to Iran a few years before, Mr. Le Maire noted.In Iran, whether all of us involved in the issue like it or not, the veil is worn, he said. That is just how it is, it is part of the tradition of Tehran and the Iranians. | World |
Middle East|Hamas Releases Photographs Said to Show Captured Israelishttps://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/world/middleeast/hamas-releases-photographs-said-to-show-captured-israelis.htmlApril 1, 2016JAFFA, Israel The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas showed photographs on Friday of four Israelis, two of whom it said were captives being held in Gaza. Two others were Israeli soldiers who were killed during the 2014 conflict in Gaza, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.The images of Mr. Goldin and Mr. Shaul were included in an announcement by the Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, on Al Aqsa, a Hamas-run satellite channel. The identities of the other two people pictured were not immediately clear.The announcement was the first time the group had released photographs of the people it said it had been holding captive. The spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, who goes by his nom de guerre, Abu Obeida, referred to all four of them as Israeli soldiers.Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians, including Avraham Mengistu, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent. Mr. Mengistu, who is believed to be in his mid to late 20s, crossed an Israeli-constructed fence that surrounds much of Gaza on Sept. 7, 2014. His family has said that he has psychiatric problems. Hamas is also holding an Arab citizen of Israel who has not been identified.In the announcement, the Hamas spokesman said that the group was not negotiating with the Israeli government for the return of Israelis held in Gaza.He did not offer any more details on the condition or identities of the captives.The Israeli government has conducted prisoner exchanges with Palestinian militants for soldiers held captive and for the remains of dead Israelis. Those deals have often proved politically contentious, not least because of the large numbers of Palestinian prisoners that Israel has released for the return of its soldiers.David Keyes, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had no comment on the announcement.Israel was long traumatized by the capture of Gilad Shalit, a soldier who was seized in a cross-border raid in 2006 and held captive by Hamas in Gaza for five years. After a broad public campaign pressuring the Israeli government, he was freed in 2011 in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. | World |
TrilobitesA study of Australian fish that care for offspring through mouthbrooding shows that things underwater are not always as monogamous as they seem.Credit...Janine AbeciaMay 3, 2022Lurking among the underwater plants in Australias ponds and streams is a fish called the mouth almighty. The species is named for its impressive jaws, which snap up passing prey. But the males also use their almighty mouths to gently carry as many as hundreds of babies.The dads do this oral caretaking, called mouthbrooding, for two or three weeks at a time. Like other mouthbrooding fish, they do so at great personal cost. Yet, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters, mouth almighty fathers sometimes carry babies that arent their own.If its true, its actually pretty neat, said Tony Wilson, an evolutionary biologist at Brooklyn College who studies reproduction in fish and wasnt involved in the research.The studys lead author, Janine Abecia, is a Ph.D. candidate at Charles Darwin University in Northern Territory, Australia, where shes been studying the mouth almighty, or Glossamia aprion, as well as the blue catfish Neoarius graeffei. Both live in the freshwater environments of Australia. Fathers of both species scoop fertilized eggs into their mouths and carry them until after the young have hatched.Her research has suggested that these two species dont eat at all when theyre on dad duty: I opened up the stomachs of mouth brooders, and they were empty, Mrs. Abecia said.Research in other kinds of mouthbrooders which can be fathers or mothers, depending on the species has shown that they dont eat, either. Having a mouth stuffed with offspring may also make it difficult to breathe. And it seems to slow down the parent, potentially making it harder to escape predators, Mrs. Abecia said.Given the costs, it makes evolutionary sense that fish parents would only engage in oral caretaking for babies theyre certain are their own. Yet scientists dont know how often this is true. Its actually a question Ive long been interested in, Dr. Wilson said.Mrs. Abecia collected mouthbrooding fathers of both the mouth almighty and blue catfish from rivers in the Northern Territory. She collected additional adult fish, with no young in their mouths, for genetic comparison. Then she selected about 10 eggs or babies from each fathers mouth and analyzed their DNA to figure out where theyd come from.With the blue catfish, things were as expected. All nine dads seemed to be carrying their own young, and those baby fish all had the same mother.ImageCredit...Alison J. KingInside the powerful jaws of the mouth almighty, though, things were a little weird. The mouth almighty species forms seemingly faithful pairs in the lab, Mrs. Abecia said. Yet out of 15 batches of young that she studied from the wild, four didnt quite fit with this story.Two batches of young had multiple mothers, suggesting that the male had courted a female while he already had eggs in his mouth. One batch had multiple fathers, maybe because another male had sneakily fertilized some eggs before the brooding dad fertilized them and slurped them up. And in one batch, the young were totally unrelated to the fish that was carrying them.Its a very small study, Dr. Wilson said, so it would be premature to draw conclusions about how common these duped dads are. He noted that even though the blue catfish in this study seemed monogamous, there might have been hanky-panky that the researchers sample didnt catch. Personally, Id like to see more data, he said.But, he added, the genetic techniques used in this study are making it easier for scientists to ask these kinds of questions about the private lives of apparently monogamous animals. Stories such as this are probably just the start of understanding what complexities exist in nature, he said.Scientists have already discovered other mouthbrooding fish carrying the wrong babies. In one type of cardinalfish, about 8 percent of broods included a second dads young. A study of fish called silver arowanas found that out of 14 brooding dads, two had mouths full of offspring that were totally unrelated.For their efforts, these dads will pass down none of their genes. Why hasnt evolution made them more careful?One possibility is that a mouth full of baby fish makes them seem sexy.Some female fishes in other species are attracted to males that are already caring for their young, Mrs. Abecia said. Males that get stuck with the wrong babies now could make up for it later; maybe even more females will be eager to fill those males scaly jaws with eggs.It shows that its not only the females that go to great lengths in caring for their offspring, Mrs. Abecia said. In a way, its inspiring. | science |
The moves came after critics and even some allies of the social media companies said they had failed to prevent the misinformation that led to chaos on Wednesday.Credit...Pool photo by Hannah McKayPublished Jan. 6, 2021Updated Jan. 14, 2021Update: Facebooks chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said on Thursday that President Trump would be blocked from its platforms at least through the end of his term.SAN FRANCISCO Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday locked the accounts of President Trump, which prevents him from posting messages to his more than 88 million followers on Twitter and 35 million followers on Facebook, after he published a string of inaccurate and inflammatory messages on a day of violence in the nations capital.The moves were an unprecedented rebuke of Mr. Trump by the social media companies, which have long been megaphones for the president.Twitter said Mr. Trumps account would remain locked for 12 hours and the ban could be extended if several of his tweets that rejected the election results and appeared to incite violence were not deleted. Mr. Trumps account will be permanently suspended if he continues violating Twitters policies against violent threats and election misinformation, the company added.Twitter said the risks of keeping Mr. Trumps commentary live on its site had become too high. Our public interest policy which has guided our enforcement action in this area for years ends where we believe the risk of harm is higher, a spokesman said.Facebook later followed by barring Mr. Trump from publishing on the social network for 24 hours after finding that he had violated the companys rules with two posts, a Facebook spokesman said. Instagram, the photo-sharing site owned by Facebook, said it would also lock Mr. Trumps account for 24 hours.The actions followed a torrent of criticism aimed at social media companies for their role in spreading misinformation and being a bullhorn for Mr. Trump after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday and halted the certification of Electoral College votes. For years, Mr. Trump had built his influence with posts on Twitter and Facebook. Since losing Novembers election, he had used the platforms to challenge the election results and call them fraudulent.On Twitter on Wednesday, users called for the companys chief executive, Jack Dorsey, to take down President Trumps account. Civil rights groups said action by social media companies against calls for political violence was long overdue. Even venture capitalists who had reaped riches from investing in social media urged Twitter and Facebook to do more.For four years youve rationalized this terror. Inciting violent treason is not a free speech exercise, Chris Sacca, a tech investor who had invested in Twitter, wrote to Mr. Dorsey and Facebooks chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. If you work at those companies, its on you too. Shut it down.Twitter, Facebook and others had previously resisted cracking down on Mr. Trumps posts and other toxic content, saying that the posts were in the publics interest. While the platforms had started taking more steps against political misinformation in the months before the election, they declined to remove Mr. Trumps messages and instead took half measures, such as labeling his posts.So when violence broke out in Washington on Wednesday, it was, in the minds of longtime critics, the day the chickens came home to roost for the social media companies. After the onslaught of criticism began, Twitter and Facebook started removing several of Mr. Trumps posts from their sites, including one where the president falsely said that a sacred landslide election victory had been unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.We know the social media companies have been lackadaisical at best at stopping extremism from growing on their platforms, said Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti-Defamation League. Freedom of expression is not the freedom to incite violence. That is not protected speech.Renee DiResta, a researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory who studies online movements, added that the violence was the result of people operating in closed social media networks where they believed the claims of voter fraud and of the election being stolen from Mr. Trump.This is a demonstration of the very real-world impact of echo chambers, she said. This has been a striking repudiation of the idea that there is an online and an offline world, and that what is said online is in some way kept online. I hope that this eliminates the conception from peoples minds.YouTube also said on Wednesday that it would not tolerate calls for violence on their sites. The video site said it removed multiple live streams that showed participants storming the Capitol building carrying firearms. It also said it would elevate authoritative news sources on its home page, search results and in recommendations.Mr. Zuckerberg said in an internal memo to employees that he was saddened by this mob violence, according to a copy reviewed by The New York Times. He said Facebook had stepped up the moderation of Mr. Trumps comments because the situation was an emergency.The peaceful transition of power is critical to the functioning of our democracy, and we need our political leaders to lead by example and put the nation first, Mr. Zuckerberg wrote.Mr. Trump also told his supporters to go home in a video that he posted on multiple social media sites on Wednesday afternoon. You have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order, he said, while repeating false claims that the election had been stolen from him.Twitter later removed three tweets, including the video and the tweet by Mr. Trump inaccurately claiming a sacred landslide election victory before locking his account. YouTube also deleted the video, as did Facebook, which also took down the misleading post by Mr. Trump on the election victory.Critics said the moves by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were too little, too late, after calls for violence and plans for protests had already spread on the platforms.On Facebook, protesters had openly discussed what they aimed to do in Washington on a Facebook page called Red-State Secession for weeks. The page had asked its roughly 8,000 followers to share addresses of perceived enemies in the nations capital, including the home addresses of federal judges, members of Congress and prominent progressive politicians.Comments left on the page often featured photos of gun and ammunition, along with emojis suggesting that members of the group were planning for violence. One post on Tuesday said people should be prepared to use force to defend civilization. Several comments below the post showed photos of assault rifles, ammunition and other weapons. In the comments, people referred to occupying the capital, and taking action to force Congress to overturn the results of the elections.Facebook said it removed Red-State Secession on Wednesday morning. Before it was taken down, the page directed followers to other social media sites like Gab and Parler that have gained popularity in right-wing circles since the election.ImageCredit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesThose alternative social media sites were rife with Trump supporters organizing and communicating on Wednesday. On Parler, one trending hashtag was #stormthecapitol. Many Trump supporters on the sites also appeared to believe a false rumor that Antifa, a left-wing movement, was responsible for committing violence at the protests.WAKE UP AMERICA, ITS ANTIFA and BLM operatives who are committing the violence, NOT TRUMP SUPPORTERS!, said one Parler account member called @Trumpfans100, offering no evidence for the claims.Officials at Parler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Over the past year, Facebook and Twitter had stepped up efforts to moderate Mr. Trumps account, though they have stopped short of taking down his posts. Twitter began adding labels to Mr. Trumps false and misleading tweets last year and has prevented users from sharing the posts to limit their spread. Facebook has also attached labels to some of Mr. Trumps posts, redirecting users to reliable and accurate data.When Mr. Trump leaves office, the companies may have a freer hand. On Twitter, Mr. Trump had largely enjoyed exceptions to its rules because the company has said it considers posts from world leaders to be in the public interest. But Twitter has said that after Mr. Trump is no longer president, he will be treated like a regular user.This level of insurrection should not exist, whether it is on the Twitter platform from the president, or whether its on Facebook, which allows people to recruit and carry out these types of dangerous activities, Derrick Johnson, president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P., said in an interview. Daisuke Wakabayashi contributed reporting. | Tech |
May 22, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ETMay 22, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ETCredit...Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix, via Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesIn late September of 2020, captive mink on a farm in Michigan suddenly fell ill. They stopped eating, struggled to breathe and bled from the nose, according to a report from the World Organization for Animal Health. Two thousand animals died.Laboratory testing soon confirmed that the mink were infected with the coronavirus.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dispatched a team of outbreak investigators, who collaborated with other agencies to swab mink, farm workers and a menagerie of other animals, from rats to raccoons, to determine how the virus had spread.We tried to leave no stone unturned, said Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, who directs the C.D.C.s One Health Office.Last month, the C.D.C. confirmed that four Michigan residents, including two farm employees, had been infected with the same unique coronavirus variant that was found in the mink. It was the first, and so far only, known instance of possible animal-to-human transmission in the United States.But many questions remain: When, and in whom, did the variant first emerge? How did a taxidermist with no connection to the farm contract it? Could there be a link between the Michigan mink outbreak and a white-tailed deer variant that scientists recently discovered in neighboring Ontario?It really feels very much like a puzzle, said Dr. Samira Mubareka, a virologist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto. Its not just pieces that are missing its contiguous, interlocking pieces that are missing.Since the early days of the pandemic, when the coronavirus tore through fur farms, scientists have worried that mink might become a long-term reservoir for the virus and a potential source of new variants.To date, coronavirus infections have been detected in mink on 18 American farms, the most recent in Wisconsin in February. Even as Congress considers a ban on mink farming, there is still no national system for proactive surveillance on mink farms, which are not required to report cases to federal authorities. And officials have not released much information about the outbreak investigations they have conducted; some of those details are reported here for the first time.Together, the secrecy and spotty surveillance make it difficult to determine how much of a risk mink farms pose, scientists say. And it threatens to leave experts blind to the emergence of worrisome new variants that could spill back into humans, extending the pandemic.Combined with a desperate need for better more systematic surveillance in humans and animals, we could really benefit from increased transparency regarding spillover and spillback risk, said Vivek Kapur, a veterinary microbiologist at Penn State University.The investigationImageCredit...Morten Stricker/Ritzau Scanpix, via Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesThe Netherlands and Denmark were the first countries to report mink farm outbreaks, in the spring and summer of 2020. Scientists pieced together an unsettling chain of events: It appeared that humans had transmitted the virus to mink; that the virus had mutated as it moved among the mink, and that the animals then spread the altered virus back to humans.All of that jumping back and forth over the fence is what we saw, said Dr. Marion Koopmans, a virologist at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. And thats something that, as a virologist, you dont really like.The Netherlands and Denmark took quick and decisive action, said Adriana Diaz, a doctoral student at the University of London who studied these responses. Dutch authorities conducted antibody testing on all farms and required farmers to report respiratory symptoms in mink and regularly submit carcasses for examination. Still, the virus proved difficult to control, and both nations ultimately shuttered their mink farms.The United States took a different tack, developing a set of voluntary guidelines to help farmers keep the virus at bay, including asking farm workers to wear masks and notifying authorities of suspected cases.But there was no national screening program and federal officials relied upon farm owners to self-report outbreaks. All of our federal surveillance efforts are voluntary, said Dr. Tracey Dutcher, the science and biodefense coordinator for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the United States Department of Agriculture.The C.D.C. investigated outbreaks only when officially invited. Some owners of affected farms declined to participate, and field teams only performed on-site investigations on eight farms, Dr. Barton Behravesh said.On the Michigan farm, C.D.C. investigators worked with the U.S.D.A. and state agencies to test humans and animals for the virus. They collected swabs and samples from 159 mink on the farm; all but two were actively infected, Dr. Barton Behravesh said.None of the other animals tested around the farm two dogs, a cat, raccoons, opossums, striped skunks, rats, groundhogs and rabbits were infected, but one dog tested positive for antibodies, officials said.Two of the farms employees were infected with the same version of the virus that was spreading among the mink. The variant had two mutations that had also been found in farmed mink in Europe and in people connected to mink farms.Officials found the same mutations in a sample collected from another Michigan resident nearly two months after the mink outbreak and then in a fourth person connected to that resident. The third case was a local taxidermist, according to internal health department emails obtained by the Documenting Covid-19 Project and the Detroit Free Press, and the fourth case was the mans wife, the organizations later reported. (Michigans Department of Health & Human Services declined to confirm these details for privacy reasons.) Neither had any known connection to the mink farm.Unanswered questionsImageCredit...Sergio Flores for The New York TimesThese findings suggest a likely scenario, experts said: A person passed the virus to the mink, and the mutations emerged as the virus spread among the animals, which then transmitted them back to the farm workers. We concluded that there was likely mink-to-person spread on this particular Michigan farm, Dr. Barton Behravesh said.But determining when, and in whom, the mutations first appeared requires many more virus samples from farm workers, local residents and mink, collected before and after the outbreak. That data doesnt exist, said Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan.Throughout 2020, testing was difficult for Americans to access and few patient samples were being sequenced. Surveillance in animals was even worse; until this spring, federal officials explicitly recommended against routinely testing animals for the virus.Widespread testing wasnt available, then there became a shortage of certain supplies, Dr. Behravesh said. So we didnt want there to be, you know, a mad rush to test animals.Without more samples, its impossible to rule out the possibility that the variant emerged in humans, who then spread it to mink, scientists said.A bigger puzzle is how the taxidermist and his wife got it. The most likely possibility, several experts said, is that the variant was circulating more widely in the human population than was known, and the couple caught it from another infected person.Another, more speculative, possibility is that they picked up the variant from another animal species. Taxidermists deal with other dead animals, said Linda Saif, a virologist and immunologist at Ohio State University.But because the cases were detected weeks to months after the two fell ill, testing any animals they may have been in contact with was either not feasible or not indicated, said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Michigan D.H.H.S.The pair also had close contact with deer while hunting on or very near to their own illness onset dates, according to the health department emails obtained by the Documenting Covid-19 Project and the Free Press.Studies suggest that humans have repeatedly introduced the virus to white-tailed deer, which then transmit it easily among themselves. People could have passed the mink variant to deer, which might have transmitted it to the taxidermist and his wife. Given the very high viral burdens that have been noted in white-tailed deer, the spillover to them could certainly have occurred from the deer, Dr. Kapur said.Alternately, deer might have picked up the virus directly from infected mink, which have been known to escape from farms. Feral cats on mink farms have also tested positive for the virus and may act as vectors between captive mink and wildlife.Or deer might come into contact with mink farm waste, Dr. Kapur said. On farms with outbreaks, airborne dust, as well as the straw and hay that the mink bed down on, can be highly contaminated with virus, Dutch researchers found.Another finding makes a potential deer link intriguing, scientists said. Canadian researchers recently detected a unique coronavirus variant circulating in deer in southwestern Ontario. Although the deer variant was strikingly different from other known variants, the closest matches were viral samples collected from people and mink in Michigan in late 2020.One possibility, still theoretical, is that whatever version of the virus was circulating among mink and humans made its way into deer, where it evolved into a new variant. There could be interactions and interspecies transmission that have been cryptic and we havent really picked up on , said Dr. Mubareka, an author of the Ontario study.Dr. Banerjee was skeptical that deer played a role in the case of the taxidermist and his wife. I think thats just speculation at best, he said. But he acknowledged that the data are so sparse that many possibilities remain. Are there other animals we are missing? he asked.Missed opportunitiesImageCredit...Sara Stathas/AlamyEven the data that exist are not always clear-cut. As part of another investigation in the fall of 2020, the U.S.D.A. tested a dozen cattle on a Wisconsin mink farm with a coronavirus outbreak. Although the cattle tested negative for the virus, three had low levels of antibodies, said Travis Weger, a U.S.D.A. spokesperson.However, these findings did not meet the criteria for a positive result, Mr. Weger said in an email, and could have been triggered by antibodies to other coronaviruses known to infect cattle. Experimental studies suggest that cattle are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, he added.Still, outside experts said that it is difficult to draw conclusions without more analysis and that the findings suggest a need to monitor livestock, especially as new variants emerge.Some also expressed concern that officials have not disclosed these and other findings from the mink investigations.Dr. Barton Behravesh, of the C.D.C., said that the viral sequences obtained during the investigations are available on GISAID, a repository of viral genomes, and that more details would eventually be published in scientific journals.The U.S.D.A. is using funding from the American Rescue Plan to ramp up animal surveillance and would like to do more active monitoring on mink farms, Dr. Dutcher said: Were still working through some of the questions and conversations with industry.Although the U.S.D.A has no reports of active outbreaks after 2020, mink infections can be silent. Researchers found antibodies in mink on a Wisconsin farm in February 2022 and on a farm in another, unnamed state in May 2021. There was no evidence of symptomatic outbreaks on either farm, which had supplied samples from healthy animals for research, Mr. Weger said in an email.But the presence of antibodies suggests that the virus spread on the farms undetected.Without surveillance, how would you know? said Dr. Jim Keen, the director of veterinary sciences at the Center for a Humane Economy, a nonprofit animal welfare organization that supports banning mink farming in the United States.Some mink herds have now been vaccinated, which might help slow transmission on farms. But vaccination could make infections more likely to be asymptomatic, Dr. Keen said.The United States should be regularly testing both mink and farm employees, sequencing positive samples and communicating the results in a timely way, Ms. Diaz said.As new variants emerge, some perhaps capable of infecting new species, ongoing surveillance is needed to understand the web of transmission that may be going on with wildlife, farmed animals and humans, Dr. Saif said. If you dont look for something, youre not going to find it. | Health |
Young Dolph on Shooting Only 1 Thing On My Mind After That ... Focused on Funds 1/23/2018 TMZ.com Young Dolph is keeping his eye on the prize after getting shot last year -- which, interestingly, hasn't changed much ... it's all about money. We got the Memphis rapper at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta Monday where he told us he'd just dropped $40k on some furs -- keeping in line with his newfound (old-school?) focus after taking a bullet to the ass last fall. As we reported ... Dolph came under fire while shopping in Hollywood. He was struck in the butt, but recovered just fine ... as you can clearly see here. When it comes to other rappers avoiding trouble -- like Kodak Black, who just got sent back to jail -- Dolph's advice is simple. Duck and cover ... and remember the green. | Entertainment |
Chamique Holdsclaw The Baddest Chick I Ever Played Against Was ... 1/21/2018 TMZSports.com With all the fights in the NBA lately, we had to ask WNBA legend Chamique Holdsclaw if there was ever a female baller she just didn't mess with in the women's league. And she definitely produced a name. First off, Chamique was no cupcake ... 6'2", 172 lbs and was a 2-time rebounding champion during her legendary career. Bottom line -- she was a beast. But Holdsclaw tells TMZ Sports ... the baddest chick she ever played against was Yolanda Griffith -- 7-time All-Star, WNBA champ and the '05 Finals MVP. And according to Chamique, she'd rough you up hard if you got in her way. #Respect | Entertainment |
Credit...Mohammed Salem/ReutersNov. 15, 2018JERUSALEM Last year, when the Trump administration was still trying to entice the Palestinians into peace talks with Israel through cooperation rather than coercion, it encouraged the two sides to team up on small-scale infrastructure projects as a way to rebuild trust while improving conditions in the here-and-now.Deep in the Negev Desert, a group of Israeli and Palestinian civilians did just that. They hammered out creative ways to bring solar power, sewage treatment and clean water to the impoverished Gaza Strip, where the lights are out more than they are on, the aquifers are befouled, and raw sewage has been pouring into the Mediterranean sometimes overwhelming a nearby Israeli desalination plant with pollution.Their plans were aimed at creating jobs, improving public health and, above all, sustaining hope in a place where that is in short supply. But in the time it took them to see to the nuts and bolts business plans, site selection, Israeli military approvals, and the hiring of engineers and workers in Gaza the political context changed radically.The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital. Angry Palestinians began regularly denouncing the White House, and the administrations approach to them became no-carrot, all-stick.A series of punitive American diplomatic moves followed, including cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. Among the casualties: $10 million in start-up grants that the Israeli-Palestinian partnership had been counting on for its package of small-bore Gaza initiatives.Clashes between Israel and Gaza, in months of protests and in repeated rounds of rocket attacks and airstrikes like the ones earlier this week, only added to the obstacles.Now, an on-again, off-again cease-fire is once more being embraced by both Israel and Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. And the people behind the small-scale energy and environmental initiatives are trying to find an alternative source of seed capital and hoping that the latest brush with war this week will persuade nations that could supply the money to act quickly.ImageCredit...Mohammed Salem/ReutersWe are ready, and our proposals are ready. What is needed is donations, said Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs who is a key partner in the Gaza projects.In a sense, the timing couldnt be worse.The violence that began with a botched intelligence operation and gunfight in Khan Younis and wound up with hundreds of rockets raining down on Israeli cities led on Wednesday to the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose aides had indicated their willingness to let the Gaza projects proceed. And early elections in Israel, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus handling of Gaza is expected to be a central issue, would put any progress on hold.Still, the diplomats, academics and eco-entrepreneurs who met this week at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, based at the tiny kibbutz Ketura in the Negev desert, said they wanted their projects to be shovel-ready whenever the time is ripe.To be sure, proposals for Gaza infrastructure projects are commonplace: In February, Israel called on international donors to fund a billion-dollar rebuilding plan, including big-ticket items like two desalination plants, a natural gas pipeline and a new electrical transmission line into Gaza from Israel.But major projects can take years to complete, leaving Gazas ills to fester.Moreover, Israel and international donors, loath to do business with Hamas, have insisted that the more moderate Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, oversee any projects. But between the Palestinian Authoritys feud with Hamas, and the Trump administrations feud with the authority, the result has been a Catch-22. And nothing is getting done.What sets the Arava groups projects apart, officials say, is that they could get underway immediately, with projects up and running in a few months and with most financed in large part by private investment.Another risk of ambitious infrastructure projects is that, once completed, they become tempting targets for Israeli airstrikes in wartime. So the Arava groups strategy is to stay small and spread out.One of the projects would put 40-kilowatt solar panel arrays on the roofs of 100 Gaza schools and hospitals. That would provide them with much-needed electricity while diverting a fraction of the power to run water-generation kiosks that suck the humidity out of the coastal air and turn it into marketable drinking water. Local franchisees would sell it for a third of the price of bottled water.ImageCredit...Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersAnother would build a small, solar-powered sewage-treatment plant for about 5,000 homes near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, selling the treated but unpotable end product to nearby farmers, whose groundwater has become too salty to irrigate their crops.Other projects envision installing solar panels atop the homes of poverty-stricken families or larger solar panel fields to power sewage-treatment plants so they are not dependent on Gazas unreliable electrical grid.If successful, these could be replicated widely enough to benefit many of Gazas approximately two million residents, backers said. Crucially, the projects rely on municipal-level approvals, not the involvement of Hamas or its ministries, they said.Dennis Ross, the veteran United States negotiator who is advising the Arava partners, said they were benefiting from his own self-critique after repeated failures at peacemaking. His strategy had always been to try to reach a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian agreement on all issues, he said. But energy and water problems, which cross borders, need to be solved more immediately.One of the lessons I learned was that we never focused enough on the ground up, Mr. Ross said. Any approach to peace thats trying to create a horizon has no credibility if the day-to-day realities continue to deteriorate. We didnt do enough from the ground up, and people-to-people, to show theres a model of success when you work together.Like Mr. Ross, the Arava partners are all supporters of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which itself looks increasingly like a lost cause.David Lehrer, the institutes director, said that after decades merely advocating cross-border environmental cooperation in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan Nature knows no borders, he said Arava saw little progress. So it decided a few years ago to bring together people who have to deal with these problems day to day, he said.One is Tahani Abu Daqqa, another former Palestinian Authority minister who, like Mr. Ajrami, grew up in Gaza and spent years in an Israeli prison. There, she said, she forged cordial relationships with Palestinians on all sides of the conflict.She said they have assured her they would not stand in the way of her plans.They trust me, she said. And when we show Gaza people that were working with Israeli people who want peace like us, it will show that we can live together and be good neighbors. Its a foothold for peace building. | World |
Robby Anderson to Cop: I'm Going to 'F**k Your Wife' ... 'Nut In Her Eye' 1/19/2018 -- Anderson has been released from Broward County Jail on $7,200 bond. -- Anderson was arrested at gunpoint, as captured on video by witness Spencer Blount. The footage is only a few seconds long, but shows Anderson lying face first on the ground while the officer shouts orders at him from behind, gun drawn. @BabyBlounts Here's what NY Jets WR Robby Anderson allegedly told a police officer while he was being arrested for going 105 in 45, according to the officer: "He was going to find my wife, f*ck her and nut in her eye." It's all described in the police report obtained by TMZ Sports. According to the Sunrise Police Dept. in Florida, an officer clocked Anderson in his Jaguar going 105 mph in a 45 mph zone early Friday morning. The officer says Anderson was driving like a maniac -- "all over the roadway and failed to maintain a single lane." When the cop eventually got Anderson to pull over, Robby refused to cooperate -- saying he wanted to speak with his lawyer right away and physically resisted when the cops tried to put him in the squad car. But the craziest part of the story ... when Anderson was being transported to the police dept., the police report says, "that when he got out he was going to find my wife, f*ck her and nut in her eye." "He continued to make other verbal threats towards my family. Based on his statements it was clear that he intended to sexually assault my wife." "He also began to brag about how much money he has and how all I was doing was trying to do is 'Ruin his fun.'" Anderson is facing 9 total charges including resisting arrest, reckless driving, speeding and something called, "harm public servant or family." According to his booking sheet, Anderson is listed at 6'3", 160 lbs. 24-year-old Anderson was a STUD with the Jets in 2017 -- hauling in 63 catches for 941 yards and 7 TDs. | Entertainment |
Photo Mothers with children who have microcephaly await medical care at the Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, in Recife, Brazil, in January. Credit Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters The World Health Organization said in late March that there was strong scientific consensus that the Zika virus caused microcephaly, in which infants are born with unusually small heads and damaged brains. On April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went further, declaring, It is now clear that the Zika virus causes microcephaly. Zika-associated microcephaly is a particularly destructive type, the C.D.C. added: The babies heads are much smaller than in other types of microcephaly, and even the simplest actions that most newborns master, like swallowing and bending joints, are impaired.The C.D.C. reached its conclusion not because of a single large study but because of mounting evidence from many studies, which collectively satisfied a set of criteria used to test whether a particular threat to a fetus causes a particular birth defect.Virtually all public health agencies are now giving medical advice based on the belief that the virus is to blame for microcephaly. Here are the lines of evidence they cite. Photo Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden examining a scan of the skull of a baby with microcephaly at the hospital Barao de Lucena in Recife, Brazil, in January. Credit Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters 1. Cases of microcephaly have surged in Brazil. As early as last August, hospitals in northeast Brazil realized that something unheard of was happening: Neonatal wards that normally saw one or two microcephalic babies a year were seeing five or more at the same time. Doctors learned from the mothers that many had had symptoms of Zika infection months earlier. In October, Brazil declared a state of emergency and asked all doctors to report suspected cases of infant microcephaly. Eventually, more than 7,000 were reported. Not all turned out to be real cases, but now that thousands of reports have been investigated, the surge in microcephaly seems well established. According to a W.H.O. report on April 28, Brazil normally has an average of 163 cases of microcephaly each year, with only about 40 in the less populous northeast. Since October, officials have confirmed about 1,200, nearly 900 of them in the northeast. Photo An Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the Zika virus. Credit David Scharf/Science Source 2. On a smaller scale, it seems to have happened in French Polynesia, too. Microcephaly and other fetal malformations that appeared to be associated with maternal Zika infections have been reported in French Polynesia, Colombia, Cape Verde, Martinique and Panama. French Polynesias population is only 270,000, compared with Brazils 200 million. Still, the island nation also experienced a noticeable increase in microcephaly during its 2013-2014 Zika outbreak. French Polynesia normally has no more than two cases of microcephaly each year. In 2014, it had eight, seven of them tightly bunched in a period roughly nine months after the outbreaks peak. Scientists studying that outbreak estimated that about 1 in 100 births to women infected in the first trimester resulted in microcephaly. (A later study has suggested the risk may be much higher.)According to the W.H.O., the Cape Verde islands have had three cases of microcephaly related to Zika infection; Martinique has had three, and Panama has had four. Colombia has had only seven, but the Zika epidemic there, which began last fall and peaked in February, is the second biggest after Brazils. Most babies infected in the early days of the Colombian epidemic are due starting in June, so the numbers may soon increase rapidly. Photo A human embryo at about eight weeks. Credit Dr G. Moscoso/Science Source 3. The virus crosses the placenta and can reach the fetus. Zika virus has been found in amniotic fluid surrounding microcephalic babies, and autopsies have found it in the brains of fetuses that died in the womb. The virus was discovered in the brain of a microcephalic baby aborted at 32 weeks, six months after the mother recovered from the disease. A study released March 29 described the fetus of a pregnant woman who appeared to have contracted the virus on a trip to Guatemala. The fetal brain appeared normal in three ultrasounds, but then stopped growing. After the woman aborted the pregnancy, Zika virus was found in her blood and in the fetal brain. Photo Neural progenitor cells exposed to Zika virus. The virus is shown in green, and cell death is shown in red. Credit Sarah C. Ogden/Johns Hopkins Medicine 4. It also attacks brain cells. Studies in cell cultures and in mice have shown that the virus is neurotropic that is, it targets nerve cells, including the ones that eventually become the babys brain. In a study in Cell Stem Cell, researchers exposed fetal stem cells to the virus and found that it particularly attacked cortical neural progenitor cells, which ultimately form the brains cortex, the region responsible for many higher functions. A study in immune-deficient mice found that the virus entered brain cells and caused tremors; it killed very young mice but did not kill any older ones. That echoed the observations in humans: The infection causes grievous damage in newborns but not in adults. Another study released March 29 found that the same receptor that the Zika virus uses to enter skin cells when causing rashes a protein called AXL lies on the surfaces of three types of fetal brain cells. Photo Eritania Maria, at six months pregnant, in front of her house in Recife, Brazil, in February. Credit Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters 5. A small study found a big difference in birth defects. A small study of 42 pregnant Brazilian women published March 4 found that 29 percent of those who had been infected with Zika virus experienced grave outcomes to their pregnancies, while none of the uninfected women did. Those outcomes included fetal death, tiny heads, shrunken placentas and fetal nerve damage that suggested blindness. The most shocking finding was that two babies that had been developing normally died suddenly when their mothers were infected late in pregnancy. 6. Shepards criteria have been satisfied, according to the C.D.C. In explaining its April 13 announcement, the C.D.C. said the Zika virus had met four of the seven scientific criteria so-called Shepards criteria, named for the Seattle pediatrician who invented them needed to determine whether a maternal infection or poisoning in pregnancy directly causes birth defects.The satisfied criteria included whether the exposure took place at a critical moment in pregnancy, whether clinical cases had been carefully described, whether a rare exposure produced a rare defect, and whether the association made biological sense. One criterion whether the virus causes harm in animals similar to that in humans was not met, because studies in fetal mice had been done but not published. Another one whether two separate epidemiological studies had found the same result was only partially met, because studies in Brazil and French Polynesia found very different levels of risk, the C.D.C. said. (The last criterion applied only to poisons, not viruses.)Meeting four of Shepards criteria was enough to prove that the Zika virus causes microcephaly in the infants of infected mothers, the C.D.C. concluded. | Health |
Apple could announce plans as soon as Monday to replace Intel processors in Macs with chips that it designed itself.Credit...Haruka Sakaguchi for The New York TimesPublished June 19, 2020Updated Dec. 1, 2020OAKLAND, Calif. Silicon Valley is bracing for a long-expected breakup of Apple and Intel, signaling both the end of one of the tech industrys most influential partnerships and Apples determination to take more control of how its products are built.Apple has been working for years on designing chips to replace the Intel microprocessors used in Mac computers, according to five people with knowledge of the effort, who werent authorized to speak about it. They say Apple could announce its plans as soon as a company conference for developers on Monday, with computers based on the new chips arriving next year.Apples move is an indication of the growing power of the biggest tech companies to expand their abilities and reduce their dependence on major partners that have provided them with services for years even as smaller competitors and the global economy struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic.Facebook, for example, is investing billions of dollars into one of Indonesias fastest-growing apps, a telecom giant in India and an undersea fiber-optic cable around Africa. Amazon has built out its own fleet of cargo planes and delivery trucks. And Google and Apple continue to buy upstarts to expand their empires.ImageCredit...Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA, via ShutterstockTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the partner Apple uses to build similar components it designs for iPhones and iPads, is expected to make the Mac chips in factories in Asia an arrangement much like Apples use of Foxconn to assemble iPhones.Intel and Apple declined to comment. Bloomberg previously reported on Apples plans.Other big tech companies like Amazon and Google already design some of their own chips, both for performance and potential cost reasons. Some tasks, like artificial intelligence and the rendering of 3-D images, can be handled more efficiently on special-purpose circuitry rather than the general-purpose microprocessors that are Intels mainstay.Since 2005, Macs have used effectively the same Intel chips that most PCs do. Making its own processors would give Apple even more control over how Mac computers work. Apple has always designed the chips used in iPhones and iPads, adding features to customize designs licensed by Arm, a semiconductor firm owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. Apples forthcoming Mac chips are also expected to rely on Arm technology, improving compatibility with its mobile devices.Apple has created a large chip-design team, building on the 2008 purchase of a 150-employee start-up, PA Semi. A large number of them once worked at Intel, including Johny Srouji, who reports directly to Apples chief executive, Tim Cook.Apples move would be a symbolic blow to Intel, particularly when civilian and military officials are concerned over the weakening of American leadership in chip manufacturing, which they regard as crucial to the countrys ability to retain an edge over China. Legislation introduced in Congress last week, with rare bipartisan agreement, would funnel tens of billions of dollars to bolstering U.S. research and manufacturing in semiconductors.Intel has long been a U.S. standard-bearer in the semiconductor business, particularly in the complex manufacturing processes that turn silicon wafers into the chips that power computers, smartphones, cars and consumer devices.The moves financial impact on Intel would be muted, at least in the short term. Intel sells Apple about $3.4 billion in chips for Macs each year, according to C.J. Muse, an Evercore analyst. That is less than 5 percent of Intels annual sales, and Mr. Muse forecast that the blow would be closer to half that since Apple might change the chips on only some Mac models. Apple sells nearly 20 million Macs a year.Thats not chicken feed, but its compared to total PCs sold of about 260 million a year, said Tim Bajarin, an analyst who has tracked Apple for nearly 40 years. Intel supplies the chips for just about every PC.But the long-term effects could still be serious for Intel. The chipmakers lofty profit margins have long been linked to its track record of delivering the most powerful computing engines on the market, particularly for laptops and computer servers. But Intel has never done well selling chips for newer tech products like smartphones and tablets.Apples last chip transition for Macs, in 2005, was viewed as a major step in the long-term comeback orchestrated by Steve Jobs, one of the companys founders, as well as a big victory for Intel. Macs had long relied on a design, called PowerPC, that was a collaboration among Apple, Motorola and IBM. But Mr. Jobs bet that Intel could provide much faster performance.That selling point has been undermined by troubling news from Intels huge factories. Much of the companys success in computers stems from its history of packing more transistors on each square of silicon, which allows the chips to keep carrying out more computing tasks at a lower cost.But Intel has stumbled badly in that industrywide race to miniaturize. Intels latest process for making chips, once expected as early as 2015, did not enter high-volume production until 2019. The delay aided Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics, which produce chips designed by multiple companies. The competitors exploited Intels lag to take a technology lead.Intel has fallen behind by 12 months, maybe 18 months, said Handel Jones, chief executive of International Business Strategies, which offers consulting services to the chip industry.Apple was troubled by the production stumble, according to three people familiar with the situation, who were not authorized to speak about confidential dealings between the companies. Intel also ran into stronger-than-expected demand for other types of chips, causing production shortages that crimped sales for some PC makers last year. The combination further tarnished Intels image as a reliable producer.ImageCredit...Cayce Clifford for The New York TimesRobert Swan, Intels chief executive, has vowed to make the changes necessary to regain technology leadership and prevent product shortages. But if Apple succeeds in offering Macs with its own chips that seem noticeably superior to Intels, analysts and industry executives said, other PC makers might shift more models to chips from rivals like Advanced Micro Devices or even start designing their own chips, though that would take years.I think it could inspire other companies to look at non-Intel processors, said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. Reputationally, this is not a good thing for Intel.Microsoft, a longtime Intel partner, already sells some laptop computers with Arm-based chips from Qualcomm, though analysts said their performance didnt match that of models powered by Intel technology. If that situation changes, they add, Apple and Intel could become outright rivals, using their hefty marketing might to counter each others technical claims.Another trend making it easier for Apple to consider the shift is the increasing use of web-based software, rather than software running on peoples PCs and tailored for their hardware.Still, Macs in particular are a mainstay of certain creative professions, such as animation and film editing, and developers of those software applications will have to modify Mac programs to take advantage of Apples new chips. That could lead to a delay in some software working for the new Macs when they are released, said Jeff Johnson, a Mac developer in Madison, Wis.The professional software is the hardest and slowest software to make big changes to, so those are the types that you may not see ready on Day 1, he said. The new Macs may have some issues out of the gate. | Tech |
Credit...Leon Neal/Getty ImagesMarch 9, 2017BRUSSELS Donald Tusk was appointed on Thursday to a second term as president of the European Council, one of the European Unions governing bodies, despite objections from the government of his own country, Poland, that had created an unprecedented confrontation in Brussels.Poland was overruled by leaders of the 27 other European Union member countries as they gathered for their spring summit meeting. It was the first time such a decision was made without unanimity since the job was created in 2009.The council sets the leaders agenda, and Mr. Tusk will be expected to forge compromise among its fractious membership during a two-and-a-half-year term, during which the countries will debate, and possibly decide, whether the European Union even survives in its current form.Mr. Tusk acknowledged the unusual circumstances created by the opposition of his own nation and offered the government in Warsaw an olive branch by pledging to work with all members without any exceptions.But Prime Minister Beata Szydlo of Poland curtly dismissed the councils decision, saying at a news conference that it risked deepening divisions in the European Union. She also said she would block a joint statement usually issued at the end of European Union summit meetings to make the meetings results nonbinding. European Union officials said such a move would not alter the decision to reappoint Mr. Tusk.The meeting took a sour turn when Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium said that Ms. Szydlo had taken a childish attitude and when President Franois Hollande or France implied that Poland should have taken a different approach since it still received vast amounts of European Union money for regional development.Mr. Tusk, 59, was a driving force in last years deal with Turkey to address the migration crisis, and he has coordinated the European Unions response to Britains plan to withdraw.Hes decent, hes effective, hes a very good president, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands told reporters on Thursday.Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said at a news conference that leaders had been obliged to abandon the customary practice of consensus to overcome a blockade by Poland and ensure Mr. Tusks continued leadership.The right-wing government that took power in Poland in 2015 wanted Mr. Tusk out of the job, and it had even suggested without evidence that he had betrayed his country.President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania told reporters on Thursday that European Union leaders should not be hostages of national politics inside Poland.There had been speculation that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, also a right-winger, could support Ms. Szydlo, the Polish prime minister. That hope fell away on Thursday when Mr. Orban, arriving at the summit meeting, indicated he would not oppose the choice of Mr. Tusk.The leaders seemed keen to get down to discussions to give an impression of continuity and stability ahead of elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands, where anti-European populists have been doing well in the polls.The meeting also was the first time the leaders gathered inside an orblike structure at the heart of their new headquarters, called Europa, which is expected to cost more than 320 million euros, or about $339 million, when the bill is settled.A major goal for European leaders this week and later this month is quelling speculation that Britains expected departure may be the start of a great unraveling of the European Union amid an upsurge of populism in countries like France and the Netherlands that have been at the blocs core since its founding.Yet leaders remain in a waiting game with Britain, since Prime Minister Theresa May still must send formal notice of her countrys decision to start a two-year timetable to leave. In a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, Mrs. May acknowledged that she was facing pressure from the other leaders to get those talks underway.Our European partners have made clear to me that they want to get on with negotiations, and so do I, said Mrs. May, who reiterated that she would start the timetable by the end of this month.On Thursday, leaders were expected to also discuss the latest influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya and other North African countries to Italy.Leaders agreed last month to train more Libyan Coast Guard officers to stop the boats and to return migrants to Libyas shores, but there are growing concerns that not enough is being done to curb departures now that calmer weather will make sea crossings easier.Ms. Merkel said Thursday that Europe had not yet reached a situation of stability with regard to migration.The leaders also face ferocious criticism from human rights groups who say that returning migrants to Libya is inhumane, since the country still is barely functioning and refugees are often held in miserable, prisonlike conditions.Separate plans to detain more migrants, including children, who reach the European Union could constitute inhuman or degrading treatment, according to the Council of Europe, a body that helps promote human rights in 47 countries.During dinner on Thursday, the leaders also discussed the fragile situation in the Western Balkans, where there is widespread concern about an upsurge in tensions and Russian interference.The region has not been discussed at the leaders level since 2014, and it is back on the agenda, as leaders seek to avoid a return to the conflicts of the 1990s, which the rest of Europe was unable to pacify without intervention from the United States.To encourage Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to stick to paths of peace and reform, the leaders offered fresh assurances to they would eventually be able to join the European Union if they met the criteria for membership.The leaders, with the exception of Ms. Szydlo, who blocked a formal endorsement by the European Council, reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans in a statement.On Friday, the leaders will meet for a second day of talks but without Mrs. May of Britain to discuss their future before a ceremony in Rome on March 25 to mark six decades since the blocs foundations were laid.Older member states in the West like France and Germany are pressing for a European Union that allows countries to integrate at different speeds. But newer member states in the East like Hungary and Poland fear they will be dictated to by Brussels or lose access to generous subsidies if they are given second-class status.Mr. Hollande warned this week in interviews with six European newspapers that the bloc runs the risk of an explosion if some states are not allowed to progress more quickly in areas like defense and monetary policy.The plan, even if never carried out, represents a way for France and Germany to warn newer member states like Hungary and Slovakia to stop balking at sharing the burden of taking care of migrants and to show more solidarity in the future, according to European diplomats. | World |
Photo A color image of Sputnik Planum, the region known as Pluto's "heart," which is rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane ices. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute In the year since NASAs New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto, the dwarf planet has maintained its icy heart. But closer analysis of the trove of data collected by the space probe reveals intriguing clues to other possible features including whether Pluto has a sloshing underground ocean of liquid water. And the data has confirmed some ideas like how Pluto and its moons formed.Scientists have been sifting through the information that has been sent back intermittently since the flyby on July 14, 2015. It almost simultaneously seems like forever, and it seems like no time at all, said S. Alan Stern, the missions principal investigator, of the months that have elapsed since the flyby. Weve been super busy the whole time.Within days of the flyby, data from New Horizons unveiled Plutos diverse terrain and surroundings. It was not a bland snowball, but a world covered with strikingly complex icescapes, from plains to soaring mountains. The scientists described signs of active tectonics, a thin but hazy atmosphere, and other perplexing features.Its much more complex than people, ourselves as experts included, expected, Dr. Stern said. It rivals Mars.For the most part, the first impressions have have held up. Dr. Stern cited 40 scientific papers, hundreds of hours of teleconferences among the scientists, and 200 scientific talks. Weve added a lot of detail, he said.The story of Pluto is still largely a story of ice.On Earth, the only ice is frozen water. On Pluto, nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide also freeze solid.The most striking feature that NASAs New Horizons spacecraft saw when it flew past Pluto last July was a heart-shaped region now named Tombaugh Regio after Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto.The left half is covered by mostly nitrogen snow; the right side is more methane ice. Photo Features known as extensional faults indicate the crust of Pluto has been stretched. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute Pluto Had an Ocean of Liquid Water. And It Still Might. One of the new ideas that has emerged in recent months is that oceans of liquid water existed under the icy crusts of both Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. Plutos ocean may still exist.The photographs of Plutos surface show tectonic evidence of the crust stretching and breaking apart, indicating the slow freezing of a subsurface water ocean, which would cause the crust to expand, because ice is less dense than water. But if the ocean had frozen entirely, computer models indicate that further cooling should have quickly transformed the ice from the structure seen in ice cubes on Earth, known as ice I, to a variety known as ice II, which is 30 percent denser.If that had occurred, Pluto would have shrunk, and cracks should have appeared in a different pattern, with wrinkles and folds pushed upward as pieces of the crust were compressed. Such cracks have been seen on Mercury, Earths moon and Mars, but not Pluto.Ice II hasnt formed and therefore the ocean hasnt completely frozen, said Noah Hammond, a graduate student at Brown University who was the lead author of a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters. Photo Cellular patterns are visible on the plains of the Sputnik Planum. The resolution of this image revealed features with a size of less than half a city block on Pluto's surface. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute Not a Planet, Not Boring At the top of the above image, blocks of water ice jammed together to form mountains, which stand starkly adjacent to flat plains of nitrogen-rich ices. The darker blocks in the plains region are likely icebergs of water ice floating on top of denser nitrogen ice. From earlier observations from Earth and the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists knew Pluto was blotchy the flight trajectory of New Horizons was designed so that it would capture both dark and light blotches during its flyby. Still, they wouldnt have been surprised if the landscape turned out to be geologically bland. Thats because the sun, three billion miles away, provides little energy, and Pluto is so small, smaller than the Earths moon, that its interior could have cooled down long ago. Youd expect to see a boring cratered ball, said William M. Grundy of Lowell Observatory in Arizona, who leads the team analyzing the composition of Plutos surface. Others expected Pluto to look somewhat like Triton, a Pluto-size moon captured into orbit around Neptune. Instead, New Horizons photographed a dazzling variety of landscapes, from soaring mountains to flat plains. Pluto is proving to be far more diverse and quite different from Triton. The big surprise is that Pluto turned out so surprising, said Jeffrey M. Moore of NASAs Ames Research Center in California, who heads the missions geophysics and imaging team. Photo Wright Mons, a two-mile high mountain on Pluto. The hole at its center could be evidence of an ice volcano. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute An Ice Volcano? Nitrogen might also flow deep enough to be warmed by the interior and then erupt back at the surface producing what scientists are surmising might be an ice volcano. They are studying a mountain named Wright Mons that rises two miles, spans 90 miles across and has a hole at the center. Its not like any feature weve seen anywhere else in the solar system, said John R. Spencer, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. The varying mix of ices could form different alloys with very different properties, similar to how adding carbon transforms iron into steel, and that could help explain the wide range of topography. Thats the new physics that needs to be learned, Dr. Grundy said. Photo An enhanced color image of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, with close-ups of its canyons. The canyons across its surface offer evidence of major tectonic activity in the moon's past. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute A Big, Fractured Moon The flyby spotted an enormous gash in Plutos largest moon, Charon, whose surface makeup is quite different.Charon appears to made of just water ice without the other ices seen on Pluto. That matched expectations, because Charon, with less gravity, would have not have been able to hold on to methane, nitrogen and carbon monoxide. The most striking feature on Charon is the 600-mile long gash, longer than the Grand Canyon. The missions project scientist, Harold A. Weaver Jr. of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said the gash was probably formed early in Charons history when the surface cracked possibly the expansion cause by the freezing of a liquid water into ice and material from the still-warm interior oozed out. Charon burst at the seams, he said. Because Charon is smaller than Pluto, pressure inside would not be high enough to change the water ice into the ice II form. An animation depicting the orbits of Pluto and its moons. Credit Video by H.A. Weaver et al./Science on Publish Date March 17, 2016 Smaller Moons Spin Sideways, and Rapidly The four small moons of Pluto turned out to be brighter and smaller than expected and spin quickly. Their axes are also tipped sideways, a configuration that defies easy explanation. Over time, the rotation of moons tend to become gravitationally locked so that the same side of the moon is always facing the planet. That occurred with Charon. But the four smaller moons Nix, Hydra, Styx and Kerberos are tiny and farther away. A month before the flyby, two astronomers suggested, based on years of Hubble photographs, that Nix and Hydra, appeared to be rotating chaotically, jostled by the competing gravitational pulls of Pluto and Charon. They also said that Kerberos was markedly darker than the other three. The New Horizons photographs showed otherwise. None of the moons appear to be rotating chaotically, and their spin is faster than expected, not at all locked to their orbital periods, which range from 20 to 38 days. Hydra spins fastest, at once every 10 hours. Kerberos turns out not to be dark; the four small moons are all brighter and smaller than previously estimated, ranging in reflectivity between fresh concrete and fresh snow. The rotation of the small moons are also tipped over, almost at 90-degree angles from what would be expected. We have no idea what that means yet, Dr. Spencer said.One of the astronomers who reported the chaotic rotations, Mark R. Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., said that the New Horizons observations surprised him, and that he was working on reconciling them with what Hubble had seen. Photo This photograph of Nix, Plutos third largest moon, was taken by the New Horizons spacecraft at a distance of 14,000 miles. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute A Mini-Solar System Formed in a Giant Collision In recent months, scientists have been counting the craters on three of Plutos moons: Charon and two of the small moons, Hydra and Nix. They believe they may have solved the origin of Pluto and its five moons, suggesting that they all coalesced out of a cataclysmic collision of two large bodies early in the history of the solar system. The greater the number of craters, the older the surface. All three are old, and all are the same age: 4 billion years old, Dr. Stern said. That is a very important clincher on the theory thats been out for a long time, that the satellite system all formed in this giant impact. Dr. Stern said New Horizons images of Plutos two other small moons, Styx and Kerberos, were not clear enough to reveal craters, but they orbit in the same direction in the same plane and therefore are unlikely to be objects that were later captured in Plutos gravity. That does not mean scientists have found answers to all of the mysteries. Even though the small moons appear old, they remain extremely bright, unlike most icy bodies in the outer solar system that have turned dark and reddish. Somehow theyve been able to maintain their pristine quality, Dr. Weaver said. We dont have a great explanation for that. Photo Layers of haze in Plutos atmosphere. Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute Surprises in Plutos Atmosphere Another finding indicates that the upper atmosphere of Pluto is much colder, meaning that nitrogen escapes at a rate of about a hundredth of what had been expected. Frances Bagenal of the University of Colorado, head of the team that performed that analysis, said the calculation runs counter to what mission scientists were saying a week before the flyby when New Horizons had already detected nitrogen escaping from Pluto. We were being fooled by something else, Dr. Bagenal said. New Horizons also detected haze in the atmosphere, which appears as the blue rings in the above photograph. Photo An artist's impression of the New Horizons spacecraft encountering Kuiper Belt objects after it passed Pluto and its moons. Credit Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Steve Gribben Up Next NASA has officially extended the New Horizons mission and the spacecraft is headed toward a New Years encounter in 2019 with a smaller body in the outer solar system. Its called 2014 MU69 and is just 20 to 30 miles wide, much smaller than Plutos 1,470-mile diameter.Unlike Pluto, it is believed to be in a primordial orbit largely undisturbed since it formed 4.5 billion years ago.Along the way, New Horizons will also make long-distance observations of about 20 other Kuiper belt objects including Eris, which is just slightly smaller than Pluto. It, too, is considered a dwarf planet, a category that the International Astronomical Union created in 2006 when it demoted Pluto. New Horizons will measure their shape, how quickly they rotate, the roughness of their surfaces, and whether any moons revolve around them.That will help put the observations of tiny MU69, when it finally comes into view, into context. How typical is it? Dr. Stern asked. | science |
VideotranscripttranscriptWhite House Officials Diverge on Immigration PolicyAttorney General Jeff Sessions and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, offered slightly different views on the enforcement of the zero tolerance policy at the U.S.-Mexico border.Were going to continue to prosecute those adults who enter here illegally. We are going to do everything in our power, however, to avoid separating families. Were not changing the policy, were simply out of resources. This is a temporary solution. This isnt going to last Congress still has to step up. They still have to do their job. This will only last a short amount of time because were going to run out of space. Were going to run out of resources in order to keep people together.Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, offered slightly different views on the enforcement of the zero tolerance policy at the U.S.-Mexico border.CreditCredit...Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesJune 25, 2018McALLEN, Tex. The nations top border security official said Monday that his agency has temporarily stopped handing over migrant adults who cross the Mexican border with children for prosecution, undercutting claims by other Trump administration officials that zero tolerance for illegal immigration is still in place.Kevin K. McAleenan, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said his agency and the Justice Department should agree on a policy where adults who bring their kids across the border who violate our laws and risk their lives at the border can be prosecuted without an extended separation from their children.Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not have enough detention space for the surge of families crossing the border, many families will be quickly released, with a promise to return for a court hearing. Mr. McAleenan said that the agency would continue to refer single adults for prosecution for illegally crossing the border, and that border agents would also separate children from adults if the child is in danger or if the adult has a criminal record.Mr. McAleenans decision, conveyed to reporters at a processing center here, will at least temporarily revive a catch and release approach used during the Obama administration. President Trump has repeatedly railed against that approach, saying it invited waves of crime and violence into the United States.Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said that while there has been no official change in the zero-tolerance policy, the reality is that the government does not have the ability to detain all of the families crossing the border illegally.Were not changing the policy, Ms. Sanders said. Were simply out of resources. She blamed Democrats in Congress for not changing immigration laws in ways that would keep migrant families out of the country in the first place. In fact, it was the Trump administrations choice to impose a zero-tolerance policy that led to families being separated at the border.Were working with Congress, hopefully, to provide more resources and the ability to actually enforce the law, Ms. Sanders said, highlighting the practical challenge in making good on the presidents executive order to avoid separating children from their parents.At the same time, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared to contradict Mr. McAleenan and Ms. Sanders, vowing Monday to continue enforcing Mr. Trumps zero-tolerance policy. Mr. Sessions told more than 1,000 school resource officers in Reno, Nev., that refusing to prosecute adults crossing illegally into the United States would be a disservice to the children they bring with them.The president has made this clear: We are going to prosecute those adults who came here illegally, Mr. Sessions insisted, though he added that the government will do everything in our power to comply with the presidents order.Mr. Sessions and Mr. Trump have both ratcheted up their hard-line immigration messaging while promising to keep families together.We want a system where when people come in illegally, they have to go out a nice simple system that works, Mr. Trump said Monday in brief remarks at the White House, mocking again the idea of hiring more immigration judges. We want strong borders, and we want no crime.Prosecutions of adults crossing the Mexican border into the United States without children continued Monday unabated. And administration officials said that it was possible that legal cases against adults arriving at the border with children could resume once facilities to hold the families become available.Mr. Sessions announced the zero-tolerance policy in early April, telling prosecutors on the southwestern border to charge every illegal entry offense to the extent practicable. A month later, Mr. Sessions announced that the Department of Homeland Security would refer 100 percent of illegal southwest border crossings for criminal prosecutions a controversial move that led to families being separated at the border.The decision set off weeks of protests, with Democrats and many Republicans calling on Mr. Trump to end the policy. From May 5 through June 20, the Border Patrol referred 2,262 adults traveling with children to the Justice Department for prosecution, according to an official familiar with the referrals.More than 2,000 children remain in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. Federal officials are struggling to reunite children with their parents, some of whom have already been deported.Mr. McAleenan said Monday that 538 children in Border Protections custody who were separated since May have been reunited with their parents. Those children were never sent to facilities run by the Health and Human Services Department.At a shelter in downtown El Paso, Digna Emerita Prez, a factory worker from El Salvador who spent a month in jail after her arrest for crossing the border without documentation, broke into tears when she found out that her son, 9, and daughter, 6, were in the same city.But Nelvin Hernndez, 48, a farm laborer from Honduras, who was released Saturday after a month in jail, was told his 17-year-old son, No, had been taken to Chicago. My objective now is to find my son, regardless of what it takes, he said Monday. Im nothing without my boy.But even before Mondays announcement by Mr. McAleenan, the reality on the ground appeared far less simple than Mr. Trump or Mr. Sessions envisioned.Administration officials said the zero-tolerance policy has been enforced in drastically different ways, depending on whether border communities have the resources to detain and prosecute new waves of immigrants.A shelter in Tucson, Casa Alitas, takes in migrant families once American officials have released them into the country as their cases proceed. On Monday, Teresa Cavendish, who runs the shelter, said that government officials appear to be releasing many families into the United States together as a unit, rather than keeping them in detention even when the families cross at unauthorized border points.These current families are very, very lucky, she said.At the towering federal courthouse in Tucson, the cases of dozens of recent border crossers were underway on Monday just as the Trump administration announced that it would halt the prosecution of people who enter with children.In a hallway, Victoria Trull, 36, a defense lawyer for several of the migrants, described the whiplash of the past few weeks: first, a rise in prosecutions of adult border crossers; then the sudden appearance of adult border crossers who said they had been split from their children; then the Trump administration announcement that adults would no longer be split from their children; and then the suggestion that people might be sent back without a trial.ImageCredit...Tamir Kalifa for The New York TimesIts a little bit scary, she said.Defense Department officials said Monday that the Pentagon is preparing to build temporary housing for migrants at two military bases.Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who is traveling to China, told reporters with him that the details are still being worked out. But other Defense Department officials said that two bases that will house migrant children and possibly their families are Fort Bliss in El Paso and Goodfellow Air Force Base near San Angelo, Tex.There remained confusion over who would be housed at the bases. One department official said that migrant families with adults charged with crimes would be housed at Fort Bliss, while unaccompanied children would be housed at Goodfellow. But the Pentagon had not officially said who would be housed where.Democratic lawmakers continued to lash out at the presidents border policy, describing the prospect of migrant camps on military bases as akin to internment camps.After visiting the border, two Democratic senators, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, faulted the Trump administration for lacking any apparent strategy to reunite children with their parents after the presidents executive order last week.Mr. Trump should go see for himself the crisis and chaos he has created, Mr. Udall said on a conference call with reporters. Federal agencies, the senator said, arent communicating with each other or with Congress about how theyre going to fix this.The senators said Congress should hold hearings to provide needed oversight. This nation is heading for a train wreck at the border a moral and legal train wreck, and already a humanitarian train wreck, Mr. Blumenthal said.But Mr. Trump was defiant and said that Democrats should support efforts to secure the border against immigrants who are criminals or who give false reasons for wanting to be in the United States.The Democrats want open borders, and they dont care about crime, and they dont care about our military, Mr. Trump said.Mr. Sessions, who was greeted in Reno by hundreds of protesters outside his speech venue, received a standing ovation from school safety officers in the audience before and after he spoke.In addition to fiercely defending the administrations zero-tolerance policy, the attorney general emphasized the increase in the number of children who are sent across the border by themselves, currently more than 80 percent of the total, often with a paid smuggler.Some of the children, Mr. Sessions said, are targeted by drug cartels, recruited by gangs and fall into a life of drug addiction and crime. He said that in March, Customs and Border Protection agents apprehended five juveniles who he said were smuggling 35 pounds of fentanyl.The compassionate thing to do is to protect our children from drugs and violence, to put criminals in jails, and secure our borders, have an immigration system that has integrity, and consistency, that is right, and just and moral, he said. The alternative is open borders, which is both radical and dangerous. | Politics |
on techThe internet is evolving from a homogeneous blob into something more like the diverse world.Credit...Aaron Lowell DentonJune 4, 2020This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.Weve gotten used to thinking of the internet as a unified language across the world. Whether we live in Mumbai or Miami, we have Facebook and YouTube in common. Spotify, Netflix, TikTok and Uber are popular in many countries.But as the internet morphs from a nice-to-have luxury into an essential service for billions of people, its becoming less like an online Esperanto and more like the cacophony of languages in the real world.As the already popular (and mostly American or Chinese) digital powers like Google and Alibaba try to expand their reach to nearly every corner of the globe, theyre competing more and more particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America with powerful local or regional companies.That competition boils down to a question: Will the internet be one world, or will it have borders?Having totally different online hangouts in different countries could be messy. Will the world become more fractured if we dont even share a love of the same app?But no matter the challenges, we should all be excited if local companies succeed and help make our online lives more dynamic.You can see the tussle of global versus local perhaps most starkly in India. There, Amazon is trying to grab the devotion of hundreds of millions of Indians coming online for the first time, and its competing with companies like Flipkart and Jio that originated in India and likewise want to reshape how people shop.In India, the music streaming service Gaana is more popular than Spotify. Uber has been fighting it out there with Ola. Paytm and Flipkarts PhonePe want consumers to use their apps to pay for stuff instead of using cash. So do Google and Facebook.Im jealous of Indians who have so many companies competing for their online attention and dollars. New ideas are springing up faster, better and more tailored to Indians needs than they would be without both international and local companies battling for dominance.Even for those of us who live elsewhere, these skirmishes matter. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter refashioned their apps to use less data on cellphones in India and other countries where the price of smartphone internet connections can be prohibitively expensive. Those companies took what they learned in India and made their apps more efficient on my phone, too.If you loved watching The Mechanism or Dark, thank Netflixs ambitions to get bigger in Brazil and Germany.I dont want to oversimplify whats happening. Homegrown digital powers, like the KakaoTalk chat app in Korea and the Argentine online shopping giant Mercado Libre, are not a new phenomenon. China, which has more people online than any other country, is largely a digital planet separate from the rest of the world.And international powers sometimes team up with or outright buy regional tech powers. Its not clear if that dilutes what makes those local companies great in the first place, or strengthens them.Still, whats happening now is the next evolution of the internet from a relatively homogeneous blob moving from rich countries to the rest of the world, into something that more closely resembles the diversity of the world. Its a mess, and its wonderful.Your takeHow are we being shaped by the machines?After I wrote in Wednesdays newsletter about the flourishing of expression on TikTok, a reader named Bob emailed me to say that he was concerned about the app using its computer systems to determine which videos to feed people.Im with Bob. This computerized feed is both a great element of TikTok, and the most concerning. I dont know how to reconcile my feelings about this.Like Facebook and YouTube, TikTok trains its computer systems to suggest videos that we might like. If you linger on a lot of TikTok videos about hamsters, you might see a bunch more adorable animal videos.This kind of automated sorting or suggesting is a central feature of the internet as we know it, and it can be useful. Its why we can open TikTok and see silly dances without having to think twice, and Netflix can help us select a movie we might like.But as The Times technology columnist Kevin Roose has explained about YouTube, computer systems designed to recommend more of what we like can push people to ever darker and more fringe views. In a column on Wednesday, Gillian Tett of the Financial Times wrote that she was worried that her teenage daughter was missing out on different views and voices by hanging out online in what was often a bubble of people who are like her, or think like her.So, Bob, Im worried, too particularly because we usually arent aware of how the computer systems influence what we think, buy and do. (Read Kevin again on exactly this point.)This might feel like the work of some neutral robots, but its not. TikTok, Facebook and YouTube program the computers, based on a secret set of factors typically with the goal of grabbing our attention. They tweak those programs constantly, and were usually not aware of what theyre doing or how theyre influencing us.Before we go The essential dilemma of online expression: Snap said on Wednesday that it had stopped promoting the Snapchat account of President Trump, although anyone could still find it in the app, my Times colleagues Cecilia Kang and Kate Conger wrote. Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have been debating how to handle inflammatory posts and messages from Mr. Trump and other officials. (Read more from The Interface newsletter about freedom of speech versus freedom of reach.)Trying to identify the roots of online harassment: People in Brazil who criticize President Jair Bolsonaro regularly find themselves targeted by overwhelming and often vile online smears. The Washington Post reported that investigators and prominent politicians believe that at least some of the disinformation is generated by people close to the president even his children. He and his sons have denied the allegations, which they say are politically motivated, according to The Post.Whats the line between health care innovation and exploitation? To generate insights that could improve peoples health, the Mayo Clinic has arrangements with 16 companies to provide patient data stripped of individuals identification, Stat News reported. Ethics experts worry that patients werent notified about the use of their data, and personal information could still be misused, according to Stat News. This debate is going to continue as health care increasingly leans on technology to analyze information and find better treatments.Hugs to thisIrish dancing by a priest, the deacon and a sacristan during a mass that streamed online.We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think of this newsletter and what else youd like us to explore. You can reach us at [email protected] this newsletter in your inbox every weekday; please sign up here. | Tech |
March 5, 2017DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Bahrains Parliament approved a constitutional change on Sunday that will allow military courts to try civilians, the kingdoms latest move in a mounting crackdown on dissent.Activists warned that the amendment would in effect place the island under an undeclared state of martial law.Loyalists to Bahrains monarchy called the change necessary to combat terrorism, and pointed to sporadic low-level unrest since the Arab Spring protests in 2011 that has recently escalated in tandem with the government crackdown.Bahrains government did not respond to a request for comment about the constitutional change.But during the councils session on Sunday, Justice Minister Khalid bin Ali al-Khalifa told lawmakers the amendment was necessary as military judges were best placed to deal with irregular warfare.If militias and armed groups are committing terrorist acts targeting innocent lives and property, as well as receiving elements of combat training, we must confront them, he said.Bahrain is off Saudi Arabias eastern coast in the Persian Gulf, and hosts the United States Navys Fifth Fleet.The islands 40-member Consultative Council, the upper house of the Bahrain Parliament appointed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, voted for the measure on Sunday.That approval came less than two weeks after the 40-seat Council of Representatives, the Parliaments elected lower house, passed it with little opposition.The bill revises a portion of Bahrains Constitution by removing limitations on whom military courts can try.This came from the Bahraini king, and for him to sign off on this amendment means that he is personally approving the new repressive measure and all the consequences it will have, Sayed Alwadaei, the director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said in a statement. The responsibility for this de facto martial law lies at his feet.Bahrain is a predominantly Shiite island ruled by a Sunni monarchy, and is a staunch United States ally.Government forces, with help from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, crushed the 2011 uprising by Shiites and others who sought greater political power.In the wake of those protests, military courts tried hundreds of defendants.A government-appointed investigation after the protests criticized the use of the courts, saying they were employed to punish those in the opposition and raised a number of concerns about their conformity with international human rights law.Sundays vote was the latest in a series of measures to subdue perceived political opponents.In January, the kingdom restored the power of its feared domestic intelligence agency to make arrests.Since the beginning of a government crackdown last year, activists have been imprisoned or forced into exile.Bahrains main Shiite opposition group has been dismantled. Independent news gathering on the island also has grown more difficult.The kingdom has been hit by a series of attacks, including a January prison break. Shiite militant groups have claimed responsibility for some of the assaults.In January, Bahrain executed three men by firing squad who were found guilty of a deadly bomb attack on police.Activists said that testimony used against the condemned men had been extracted under torture.On Saturday, Bahrain accused Irans Revolutionary Guard of training and arming some militants.The executions and mounting crackdown have been linked by activists to the end of President Barack Obamas administration and the ascent of Donald J. Trump.Under Mr. Obama, the United States held off on finalizing a multibillion-dollar deal for F-16 fighter jets amid American concerns about human rights abuses in Bahrain.Since Mr. Trump took office, there has been growing speculation in Washington that the deal might be pushed through.In a year where the new Trump administration is dismissing human rights from its foreign policy to Bahrain and the Gulf and preparing to sell arms without conditions, this is a dangerous sign of things to come, Husain Abdulla, the executive director of the group Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, said in a statement. | World |
Media|Judge Rules Against Petition Seeking Sumner Redstone Interviewhttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/business/media/judge-rules-against-a-petition-seeking-a-redstone-interview.htmlDec. 21, 2015A California judge on Monday rejected a petition to have the 92-year-old media mogul Sumner M. Redstone interviewed by a geriatric psychiatrist as part of a legal battle over his mental capacity, calling the procedure an unnecessary invasion of his privacy.But the judge, David J. Cowan of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, ruled that lawyers for Mr. Redstones former companion could question two doctors under oath. If relevant, testimony also may be taken from Philippe P. Dauman, the chief of Viacom, who has said in court documents that Mr. Redstone was engaged and attentive.Both sides claimed victory in the rulings concerning Mr. Redstone, whose former companion, Manuela Herzer, has filed a suit challenging his mental competence and describing him as a living ghost. Lawyers for Mr. Redstone have called the suit a meritless action, riddled with lies and have motioned to dismiss the suit.The judge set Feb. 8 as the new date for the hearing on the motion to dismiss.Mr. Redstone is the executive chairman of Viacom and CBS and controls about 80 percent of the voting stock in the two companies. The case concerns his personal life, but also has set off questions on his health and whether he should continue leading two companies with a combined market value of $37 billion.Nobody, including Redstone, who has achieved what he has in life, deserves, through no fault of his own, to have to then suffer the indignity at his great age of being cast in an unfavorable light, against his will, when he may not be at his finest hour in this final chapter, Judge Cowan said in his ruling. Let him live in his home in peace.The lawsuit, filed in November, asks the court to determine whether Mr. Redstone lacked the mental capacity to remove Ms. Herzer from an advanced health care directive, which he did in October, that had put her in charge of his health decisions. Mr. Dauman, who is now designated in the directive, said recently that Mr. Redstone was making his own health care decisions.Earlier this month, a different judge in the courts probate division rejected Ms. Herzers petition to treat the case as urgent. The judge had set a new hearing date for late January to consider the motion from Mr. Redstones lawyers to dismiss the suit, and neither side was to obtain evidence and documents from the other party until then.Mondays ruling now allows lawyers to proceed with obtaining some evidence. | Business |
Flavor Flav 1st Vid of Vegas Attack ... Gets Clocked by Stranger!!! 1/24/2018 TMZ.com Flavor Flav's beatdown in the middle of a Las Vegas casino was captured on camera ... and TMZ has the first video of the rap legend taking punch after punch. The footage starts after the initial punches ... Flav is on the floor and trying like hell to cover up as his attacker unloads on him Tuesday at the South Point Casino. As we reported, Flav says the guy accused him of dissing his mother ... and suddenly started throwing haymakers. Ironically, the Public Enemy rapper was wearing a Muhammad Ali, Rumble in the Jungle jacket during the fight. BTW, Bradley Cooper was wearing the exact same jacket on Tuesday, 300 miles away on an L.A. beach. Mind. Blown. The Vegas video also shows the attacker, Ugandi Howard, getting taken into custody, and seemingly putting up a fight with security guards too. The only good news for 58-year-old Flav -- no clock damage. He wasn't wearing one of his famous timepieces. Yeahhh, boyyyyyyyyyyy!!! | Entertainment |
But many panel members said J. & J. recipients might also benefit from the option of a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna booster, an action that an F.D.A. official said was possible.VideotranscripttranscriptF.D.A. Panel Endorses J.&J. Covid-19 Vaccine BoostersA Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended authorizing booster shots of Johnson & Johnsons one-dose coronavirus vaccine for people 18 years or older, at least two months after the first dose.Today, we are seeking authorization for use of Janssens Ad26 Covid vaccine as a homologous booster in those individuals who were previously vaccinated with the single dose. Do available data support the safety and effectiveness of Janssens Covid-19 vaccine for use under EUA as a booster dose in individuals 18 years of age and older, at least two months after a single dose primary vaccination? We do have 19 out of 19 unanimous yes votes for this question. Thank you.A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended authorizing booster shots of Johnson & Johnsons one-dose coronavirus vaccine for people 18 years or older, at least two months after the first dose.CreditCredit...Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesPublished Oct. 15, 2021Updated Oct. 20, 2021WASHINGTON A key federal advisory committee voted unanimously Friday to recommend Johnson & Johnson booster shots, most likely clearing the way for all 15 million people who got the companys one-dose coronavirus vaccine to receive a second shot.If the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accept the recommendation, as expected, boosters could be offered by late next week. But many committee members made clear that they believed Johnson & Johnson recipients might benefit from the option of a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, something a top F.D.A. official said the agency was considering.With a series of votes over the past month to recommend boosters for all three coronavirus vaccines used in the United States, the panel set aside significant divisions and skepticism about whether extra shots are needed and edged ever closer to the goal that President Biden laid out in August when he called for boosters for all adults.Well over 100 million fully vaccinated people will be eligible for boosters if the F.D.A. and C.D.C. endorse the committees latest recommendations, even though some scientists say that the evidence supporting boosters remains weak and that it would have been wiser to focus on reaching the unvaccinated, including abroad.Johnson & Johnsons vaccine took a beating at Fridays session, as did the F.D.A. for pushing for a decision without verifying all of the data that the company had submitted.But the panel members appeared swayed by the argument that it would be unfair to deny Johnson & Johnson recipients an additional shot after endorsing boosters for recipients of the other two vaccines, especially in the face of evidence that Johnson & Johnson offers the weakest protection of the three.There is a public health imperative here, because what were seeing is that this is a group with overall lower efficacy than we have seen with the mRNA vaccines, said Dr. Arnold Monto, the committees acting chairman and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. So there is some urgency there to do something.In its second successive day of discussion on boosters, the group wavered on whether it would be wise to soon offer extra shots to younger recipients of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.The governments strategy now is to offer boosters of those vaccines to people 65 and older and to younger adults at high risk because of their medical conditions or jobs. No decision was made about broader eligibility criteria, but Dr. Monto and others described the issue as increasingly pressing.The panel also seemed intrigued by preliminary data suggesting that Johnson & Johnson recipients may be better off with a booster shot from Moderna or Pfizer. Although no vote was taken, Dr. Peter Marks, who oversees the F.D.A.s vaccine division, said regulatory action to allow boosters with a different vaccine was possible.While some experts emphasized that the data was based on small groups of volunteers and short-term findings, others urged the F.D.A. to move quickly with what has fast become known as a mix-and-match approach, especially for recipients of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, which is much less widely available.Im sold already, said Dr. Mark Sawyer, an infectious disease specialist with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. We need flexibility and to improve access to everyone.Others said they worried that the public would end up bewildered if the government kept broadening the categories of people eligible for boosters and which vaccine could be used for extra shots.I hope we can do this in a way that doesnt look like were changing rules all the time, said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor of immunology at the University of Iowa.Health officials and committee members suggested on Friday that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine had long been less protective. In a particularly biting critique, Dr. Amanda Cohn, a high-ranking C.D.C. medical officer, said a single dose of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine offered less protection than two doses of the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer or Moderna a gap that would only grow if it remained a one-shot regimen while the other two-shot vaccines were followed by a booster.Dr. Marks emphasized that the one-shot, easily stored Johnson & Johnson shot had served partly as an outreach vaccine suggesting that refusing to offer a booster would disadvantage vulnerable populations.To date, more than 104 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated with Pfizers product, more than 69 million with Modernas and about 15 million with the Johnson & Johnson shot.The government decided last month to offer booster shots of Pfizers vaccine to older Americans and other high-risk groups, and the panel voted Thursday to recommend the same approach for Moderna recipients. More than eight million people in the United States have already obtained Pfizer booster doses, and about 1.6 million have received third doses of Modernas, even though only Moderna recipients with immune deficiencies are officially eligible.For Johnson & Johnson recipients, the committee recommended an additional shot for everyone who had received the vaccine a reflection of its lower efficacy. Although the added injection was cast as a booster, some experts on the committee argued that the vaccine should have involved two doses from the start, separated by about two months.Johnson & Johnson officials said a second dose given either two or six months after the first shot increased antibody levels, part of the immune response to vaccines. They also said that unlike Pfizers vaccine, Johnson & Johnsons potency did not wane significantly over time.The experts generally agreed that the protection conferred by a single dose was inadequate, but at least some were unconvinced that the second dose would bolster that protection significantly.They were critical of the companys data, saying F.D.A. regulators had challenged the sensitivity of one key test used to measure antibodies in people who received booster doses. They balked at the size of a study on Johnson & Johnson booster doses given at a sixth-month interval, based on only 17 volunteers. And they were clearly distressed to see slide after slide of data with the huge caveat: Not verified by F.D.A.Dr. Archana Chatterjee, the dean of the Chicago Medical School, pointedly asked why the F.D.A. was pushing for a decision without a thorough review. But she said later that she was convinced by the totality of the data, especially a C.D.C. report that found Johnson & Johnson was only 71 percent effective against hospitalization, compared with 88 percent for Pfizer and 93 percent for Moderna.Ahead lie still more decisions for the F.D.A. and its outside experts. The group is set to meet again this month to discuss Pfizer-BioNTechs request for authorization of a lower dose of its vaccine in children 5 to 11. Also pending is a decision on whether to authorize Modernas vaccine for adolescents a move complicated by conflicting data about possible side effects involving the heart.Regulators are expected to soon consider whether to allow people to get boosters of a different vaccine than what they initially got, which might produce a stronger immune response. Its real-world, practical questions that people want to know, said Dr. Kirsten Lyke of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who presented the results of the mix-and-match study to the committee.Preliminary findings showed Johnson & Johnson recipients who got a booster with the Moderna vaccine saw their antibody levels rise 76-fold within 15 days, compared with only a fourfold rise if they received a booster shot of Johnson & Johnson. A Pfizer-BioNTech booster raised antibody levels in Johnson & Johnson recipients 35-fold.The trial only looked at antibody levels, which on their own are an insufficient measure of how well different combinations of vaccines would protect people.Dr. Cohn, the C.D.C. official, suggested that the F.D.A. could include language in its booster authorizations that would allow switches between brands.From a public health perspective, theres a clear need in some situations for individuals to receive a different vaccine, she said. She said that some people might not have access to the same vaccine again, or might have increased risks of some side effects from using it again as a booster.Dr. Ofer Levy, an infectious disease physician at Boston Childrens Hospital, said the F.D.A. should act because some people were already seeking boosters on their own.In the real world, all these kinds of combinations or extra boosters are already happening, he said. We cant hide from it, and I do think we need to give guidance to the public.At the same time, the government needs to make sure that we dont confuse the public even more than we are already, said Dr. Jeannette Lee, a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. | Health |
Taylor Swift Butt Groping DJ Evacuated After Bomb Threat at New Gig 1/31/2018 The radio DJ who grabbed Taylor Swift's ass, and lost his job because of it, just had a not-so-nice welcome to his new job -- a bomb threat. David Mueller started his gig at KIX 92.7 in Greenwood, Mississippi on Monday ... his first job since losing to Swift in that sexual assault case. Law enforcement sources tell us cops raced to the station Wednesday after someone emailed a bomb threat. Chief Ray Moore tells us his officers evacuated the building and brought a bomb-sniffing dog through ... but the search came up empty. A source at KIX tells us the threatening email appeared to be directly related to Mueller's hiring. We're told no arrests have been made yet, and federal agents have taken over the investigation. | Entertainment |
Credit...Robert Galbraith/ReutersDec. 21, 2015The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that five more people became sick after eating at two more Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, dealing a further blow to the price of the companys shares.The C.D.C. said that five people who had eaten in two Chipotle restaurants in Kansas and Oklahoma grew ill after eating something contaminated with E. coli STEC O26. The agency has not yet determined which food is responsible for the outbreak.One of the challenges here has been that we have been able to identify the restaurants where people ate, but because of the way Chipotle does its record-keeping, we have been unable to figure out what food is in common across all those restaurants, said Dr. Ian Williams, chief of the outbreak response and prevention branch of the C.D.C.The same bacteria has sickened 53 people in eight other states, nearly all of whom said they had eaten at a Chipotle. But Dr. Williams said the DNA of the bacteria appeared different in the latest outbreak than in the previous one. He said both types of the same bacteria were rare the C.D.C. has seen the E. coli involved in the earlier outbreak only three times previously.Chipotle says it is working to put in place programs to monitor the safety of each of the 68 ingredients it uses, using methods like high-resolution testing and additional food-safety training for its employees. With all these programs in place, we are confident that we can achieve a level of food-safety risk that is near zero, Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle, wrote in an email.Mr. Arnold said that Chipotle had expected to see additional cases of E. coli poisoning like those that came to light on Monday, and he noted that not all of the victims in the earlier outbreak had reported eating at a Chipotle.The companys shares dropped $19.07, to $522.01, after the new outbreak came to light. The stock is down 30 percent from its high of $757.77 in August.The latest infection is the fifth linked to Chipotle since August, when more than 200 people were infected with norovirus after eating at one of its restaurants in Simi Valley, Calif., according to Food Safety News.The same month, more than 60 people got sick with salmonella poisoning after eating in one of 22 Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota. Then in October, the first cases of E. coli poisoning began to surface in the Pacific Northwest.All told, almost 500 people have been sickened after eating in a Chipotle in the last half of this year, according to Food Safety News.Earlier this month, Steve Ells, Chipotles founder and chief executive, went on the Today show to apologize to the people who became sick most recently. Im sorry for the people who got sick. Theyre having a tough time and I feel terrible about that, Mr. Ells said in an interview. Arun K. Jain, a professor of marketing research at the University at Buffalo, compared Chipotles woes to those of Volkswagen, which is grappling with a scandal over its manipulation of emissions devices in some 11 million of its diesel cars.Its death by a thousand cuts, Mr. Jain said. One day after another day, you keep getting this negative news, and it begins to really damage brand equity.He said the latest outbreak could be particularly bruising to Chipotle because the company has been promoting its new food safety programs. Consumers will conclude that these people have not done anything in spite of what theyve been saying, and that becomes a credibility issue, he said. For a company like Chipotle, which talks a lot about the integrity of its food, thats seriously damaging.Bill Marler, a lawyer who represents more than 50 victims from the four previous Chipotle food poisoning outbreaks, said he was stunned that the company was having yet another problem with food safety. To have this many people spread out across the United States getting sick all within a month and a half, all with the same strain and all after eating in a Chipotle, thats perplexing, Mr. Marler said.He, too, has been critical of Chipotles public response to the scandal, although he said the steps the company is taking to improve food safety now seem to be good ones. Even after watching their C.E.O. on T.V., Im not sure they get it, Mr. Marler said. You really do have to have a culture of food safety from the top down. | Business |
Nobel Prize Awarded for Research About Temperature and TouchDavid Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were honored for their discoveries about how heat, cold and touch can initiate signals in the nervous system.Credit...Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesPublished Oct. 4, 2021Updated Oct. 6, 2021The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly on Monday to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, two scientists who independently discovered key mechanisms of how people sense heat, cold, touch and their own bodily movements.Dr. Julius, a professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, used a key ingredient in hot chili peppers to identify a protein in nerve cells that responds to uncomfortably hot temperatures.Dr. Patapoutian, a molecular biologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif., led a team that, by poking individual cells with a tiny pipette, hit upon a receptor that responds to pressure, touch and the positioning of body parts.After Dr. Juliuss pivotal discovery of a heat-sensing protein in 1997, pharmaceutical companies poured billions of dollars into looking for nonopioid drugs that could dull pain by targeting the receptors. But while research is ongoing, the related treatments have so far run into huge obstacles, scientists said, and interest from drug makers has largely dried up.Neither winner was easy for the Nobel committee to reach before it announced the prize around 2:30 a.m. California time. Dr. Julius said in an interview that his phone pinged with a text message from his sister-in-law, who told him that she had gotten a call from the Nobel Assemblys secretary-general but had not wanted to give the man Dr. Juliuss phone number.Dr. Patapoutian said that the committee eventually reached his 94-year-old father on a landline, who in turn called Dr. Patapoutian to tell him, I think you won the Nobel Prize.Im a bit overwhelmed, Dr. Patapoutian said a few hours later, but pretty happy.Why did they win?Pain and pressure were among the last frontiers of scientists efforts to describe the molecular basis for sensations. The 2004 Nobel Prize in Medicine was given to work clarifying how smell worked. As far back as 1967, the prize was awarded to scientists studying vision.But unlike smell and sight, the perceptions of pain or touch are not located in an isolated part of the body, and scientists did not even know what molecules to look for. Its been the last main sensory system to fall to molecular analysis, Dr. Julius said at an online briefing on Monday.The biggest hurdle in Dr. Juliuss work was how to comb through a library of millions of DNA fragments encoding different proteins in the sensory neurons to find the one that reacts to capsaicin, the key component in chili peppers. The solution was to introduce those genes into cells that do not normally respond to capsaicin until one was discovered that made the cells capable of reacting.At that point, scientists in Dr. Juliuss lab knew that the receptor they had identified TRPV1, a channel on the surface of cells activated by capsaicin had to have evolved primarily for a more common stimulus, beyond the rare instances when someone might encounter hot peppers. That other stimulus turned out to be heat, said Dr. Michael Caterina, a professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who helped run a critical 1997 study on the topic in Dr. Juliuss lab. Acid activated the channel, too.Tobias Rosen, an undergraduate in the lab, came up with the clever recognition that essentially what we had cloned was a hot and sour soup receptor, Dr. Caterina said. It has acid, it has hot temperature, and its spicy.In search of the molecular basis for touch, Dr. Patapoutian, too, had to sift through a number of possible genes. One by one, he and his collaborators inactivated genes until they identified the single one that, when disabled, made the cells insensitive to the poke of a tiny pipette.The channel integral to the sense of touch became known as Piezo1, after the Greek word for pressure. That channel and a similar one, both described in a 2010 paper, are now known to regulate a number of bodily functions that involve stretching, said Dr. Walter Koroshetz, the director of the N.I.H. National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which provided funding to Dr. Juliuss and Dr. Patapoutians labs.Those functions include the working of blood vessels, breathing and sensitivity to a full bladder.Why is the work important?The identification of pain receptors prompted a flurry of interest from pharmaceutical companies: If you could block the channel identified by Dr. Julius, they reasoned, you could address chronic pain.But there were several major problems. One is that some sensitivity to pain is useful; without it, people risk running a scalding hot bath or burning their hands on a stovetop. Pain serves a purpose, Dr. Caterina said.Another is that the same channels responsive to heat also turned out to contribute to the control of body temperature. Blocking them was found to cause a slight fever a potentially major liability.As a result, some scientists including Peter McNaughton, a professor of pharmacology at Kings College London have focused on the channels tendency to become hypersensitive when inflammation occurs. Instead of trying to stop the channels normal activity, the scientists studied ways to safely block them from revving up even further in response to inflammation.Another approach is to take advantage of the fact that repeated exposure to capsaicin makes sensory neurons less sensitive the same reason that people who eat spicy foods develop a certain tolerance, Dr. Caterina said. Apply a prescription-strength patch with a lot of capsaicin, Dr. Caterina said, and it should deaden the pain response.Still, difficulties remain. For example, it turned out that there were multiple heat-sensing channels. Block some, and others would compensate. If you whack one of them, the other ones can still respond to noxious heat, said Professor John Wood of University College London, who studies pain and touch.The channels identified in Dr. Patapoutians work, Dr. Wood said, were involved in so many processes that they made for difficult drug targets.Its fascinating mechanistically, Dr. Wood said, but I dont think it has much clinical relevance to treating pain.Who are the winners?ImageCredit...Sandy Huffak/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Scripps Research/EPA-EFE, via ShutterstockDr. Patapoutian, who is of Armenian origin, grew up in Lebanon during the countrys long and calamitous civil war before fleeing to the United States with his brother in 1986 at age 18. Needing to establish residency in California so that he could afford college, Dr. Patapoutian worked eclectic jobs for a year, delivering pizzas and writing the weekly horoscopes for an Armenian newspaper.At U.C.L.A., in the course of preparing to apply to medical school, he joined a research laboratory so that the professor would write him a good recommendation.I fell in love with doing basic research, Dr. Patapoutian said in an interview. That changed the trajectory of my career.He added: In Lebanon, I didnt even know about scientists as a career.Dr. Patapoutian said that he gravitated to studying the sense of touch and pain because those systems remained so mysterious. When you find a field thats not well understood, he said, its a great opportunity to dig in.ImageCredit...University of California, San Francisco/EPA, via ShutterstockDr. Julius, too, became fixated on the question of how the bodys sensory receptors worked. Growing up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, he said that he began considering a career in science while at nearby Abraham Lincoln High School, where a former minor league baseball player turned physics teacher spoke to students about calculating the trajectory of a baseball.He was the person who made me think, Maybe I should do science, Dr. Julius said.As a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, and later a postdoctoral scholar at Columbia University, he said he became interested in how magic mushrooms and LSD worked, and more broadly in how things from nature interact with human receptors.No sensory system matters more to survival than pain, he said. And hardly any was as poorly understood. So his lab began investigating the workings of a wide range of unpleasant natural substances: toxins from tarantulas and coral snakes, capsaicin from chili peppers and the chemicals that make horseradish and wasabi so pungent.Who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in medicine?Dr. Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice received the prize for their discovery of the hepatitis C virus. The Nobel committee said the three scientists had made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives.Who else won a Nobel Prize in the sciences in 2021?The Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday was awarded to Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University, Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, and Giorgio Parisi of the Sapienza University of Rome. The committee said their work has been essential to understanding how Earths climate is changing and how human behavior is influencing those changes.The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for their development of a new tool to build molecules, work that has spurred advances in pharmaceutical research and allowed scientists to construct catalysts with considerably less impact on the environment.Who else won Nobel Prizes in science in 2020?The physics prize went to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for their discoveries including work on black holes that have improved the understanding of the universe.The chemistry prize was jointly awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for their work on the development of Crispr-Cas9, a method for genome editing.When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?There are two more science prizes. Physics will be announced on Tuesday, and Chemistry on Wednesday, both in Stockholm.The prize in Literature will be announced in Stockholm on Thursday. Read about last years winner, Louise Glck.The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Oslo. Read about last years winner, the World Food Program.The Nobel in economic science will be announced in Stockholm on Oct. 11. Last years prize was shared by Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson. | Health |
Health|Omicrons surge helped clarify the Pfizer vaccines efficacy in young children, a company board member says.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/health/pfizer-kids-vaccine-omicron.htmlOmicrons surge helped clarify the Pfizer vaccines efficacy in young children, a company board member says.Credit...Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via Associated PressFeb. 6, 2022By now, the Omicron wave of the coronavirus has crested in much of the United States. But the size of the wave, which broke records for national cases and hospitalizations, has given regulators and scientists an opportunity to better assess vaccine efficacy in children ages 6 months to 4 years old, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said on Sunday.Dr. Gottlieb, who sits on the board of the vaccine maker Pfizer, said that he hopes key data expected on Friday will shed additional light on whether the federal government should grant emergency authorization for two doses of Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine for children in this age group.We now have an opportunity to look at a much richer data set, Dr. Gottlieb said on CBSs Face The Nation. He did not specify what that data would reveal. Still, he emphasized that the toll Omicron took on children in particular gave Pfizer a stronger basis for comparison of those given vaccines and those not.Some got infected, hopefully some didnt, he said of the test group. I think thats what the data package is going to show, and I think its going to give a much clearer picture of the vaccines efficacy against Omicron.He said that the newer data would help illuminate results that had been less rich before the full Omicron wave had crested.At the urging of the federal government, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech applied last week for authorization for two doses of its vaccine to children 4 and younger.But results released in December did not show the hoped-for immune response in children ages 2 to 4. Children 6 months to 2 years old showed a comparable response to that of older teenagers and young adults.The disappointing finding has led the companies to test a third shot in young children, but those results will not available for a few weeks. Still, in hopes of getting a jump start on the vaccination effort, the F.D.A. urged the companies to apply for authorization of two doses while everyone awaits data on the third dose.The thinking is that if two doses are authorized and given, then children would be prepared for a third dose if and when research demonstrates that three shots prove fully effective.That three doses will work is the working presumption of Pfizer and of some experts. Critics have argued that this strategy is short-circuiting the research process and that there is not yet clear evidence that a third dose will be make up for the inadequacies of two doses.The full data on the trials have not been made public. But one person familiar with Pfizers research, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times recently that children 6 months to 2 years old who received two doses became infected at a 50 percent lower rate than a placebo group, while children 2 to 4 years old became infected at a 57 percent lower rate.Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, said last week said no corners would be cut with Pfizers application for emergency authorization of the vaccine in young children. The application, he said, would undergo the same independent, rigorous and transparent review process that was used to clear the vaccine for adults. He also cited the role of the Omicron surge and its impact on children.Whether that changes the risk-benefit profile is what the F.D.A. will be assessing, Dr. Murthy said. But there has been developments since December on the data front. | Health |
A Group of Scientists Presses a Case Against the Lab Leak Theory of CovidIn a review of recent studies and comparisons to other outbreaks, a group of virologists contends that there is more evidence to support a natural spillover from animals to humans.Credit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesPublished July 9, 2021Updated Oct. 13, 2021In the latest volley of the debate over the origins of the coronavirus, a group of scientists this week presented a review of scientific findings that they argue shows a natural spillover from animal to human is a far more likely cause of the pandemic than a laboratory incident.Among other things, the scientists point to a recent report showing that markets in Wuhan, China, had sold live animals susceptible to the virus, including palm civets and raccoon dogs, in the two years before the pandemic began. They observed the striking similarity that Covid-19s emergence had to other viral diseases that arose through natural spillovers, and pointed to a variety of newly discovered viruses in animals that are closely related to the one that caused the new pandemic.The back and forth among scientists is taking place while intelligence agencies are working with an end-of-summer deadline to provide President Biden with an assessment of the origin of the pandemic. There is now a division among intelligence officials as to which scenario for viral origin is more likely.The new paper, which was posted online on Wednesday but has yet to be published in a scientific journal, was written by a team of 21 virologists. Four of them also collaborated on a 2020 paper in Nature Medicine that largely dismissed the possibility that the virus became a human pathogen through laboratory manipulation.In the new paper, the scientists provided more evidence in favor of the virus having spilled over from an animal host outside of a laboratory. Joel Wertheim, a virologist at the University of California, San Diego, and a co-author, said that an important point in support of a natural origin was the uncanny similarity between the Covid and SARS pandemics. Both viruses emerged in China in the late fall, he said, with the first known cases popping up near animal markets in cities Wuhan in the case of Covid, and Shenzhen in the case of SARS.In the SARS epidemic, the new paper points out scientists eventually traced the origin to viruses that infected bats far from Shenzhen.Based on the distribution of viruses similar to the new coronavirus across Asia, Dr. Wertheim and his colleagues predict the origin of SARS-CoV-2 will also be far from Wuhan.Since first surfacing in the final months of 2019, this pandemics viral culprit has yet to be found naturally occurring in any animal.In May, another team of 18 scientists published a letter arguing that the possibility of a lab leak needed to be taken seriously, because there was too little evidence to favor a natural origin of the coronavirus or a leak from a lab. Wuhan, where the pandemic was first documented, is home to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or W.I.V. for short, where researchers have studied coronaviruses from bats for years.One of the signers of the May 2021 letter, Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, became a co-author of the new paper arguing for a natural spillover.ImageCredit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesHe said his views have evolved as more information emerges. Among other reasons for Dr. Worobeys shift was the growing evidence about the Huanan animal market in Wuhan. When the pandemic first arose in Wuhan, Chinese officials tested hundreds of samples from animals sold at the market and did not find the coronavirus in any of them.But last month a team of researchers presented an inventory of 47,381 animals from 38 species sold in Wuhan markets between May 2017 and November 2019. It included species like civets and raccoon dogs that can act as intermediate hosts for coronaviruses.Dr. Worobey called that study a game-changing paper.He also pointed to the timing of the earliest cases of Covid in Wuhan. The Huanan market is right at the epicenter of the outbreak, with later cases then radiating outward in space from there, Dr. Worobey said in an email.No early cases cluster anywhere near the W.I.V., which has been the focus of most speculation about a possible lab escape, he said.Other scientists, however, say that such arguments are speculative, and that the new review is mostly a rehash of what was already known.Basically, it really boils down to an argument that because nearly all previous pandemics were of natural origin, this one must be as well, said David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University who organized the May letter to Science.He noted that he does not object to the natural origin hypothesis as a plausible explanation for the pandemic origin. But Dr. Relman thinks the new paper presented a selective sampling of findings to argue one side.Dr. Worobey and his colleagues also presented evidence in their new paper against the idea that so-called gain-of-function research that intentionally alters the function of a virus might have played a role in the pandemic. The researchers argue that the genome of the coronavirus shows no compelling signatures of being manipulated. And the diversity of coronavirus scientists have been discovering in Asian bats could have served as the evolutionary wellspring for Covid-19.But Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University and a persistent critic of attempts to diminish the likelihood of a laboratory leak, said that this was a straw-man argument.Dr. Ebright said it was possible that a W.I.V. lab worker might have contracted the coronavirus on a field expedition to study bats or while processing a virus at the lab. The new paper, he argued, failed to address such possibilities.The review does not advance the discussion, Dr. Ebright said. | science |
DealBook|RushCard Called Uncooperative in Debit Card Inquiry https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/business/dealbook/rushcard-called-uncooperative-in-debit-card-inquiry.htmlDec. 3, 2015Credit...Fabrizio Costantini for The New York TimesThe federal regulator examining technical issues at the prepaid debit card firm RushCard says the company has not lived up to its pledges to cooperate in an investigation that began in October, shortly after a systems malfunction blocked thousands of customers from access to their money.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent a civil investigative demand to UniRush, the firms parent company, on Oct. 27, asking for information dating back to Jan. 1, 2015, including reports and documents connected to the reasons for the planned system conversion.The purpose of the demand, the regulator said, was to determine whether any laws were violated.In correspondence with the regulator last month, UniRush called the requests overly broad and burdensome. The company said it would provide information as it became available and tried to have the deadline to reply pushed back to Jan. 15 from Nov. 10, but the bureau denied the request in an order dated Wednesday and posted to its website on Thursday.The regulator says the company, based in Cincinnati, failed to engage with the bureau in any meaningful way on turning over information requested in the demand and ordered it to meet with the bureau by the end of next week to set a time frame to answer specific requests.A RushCard spokesman said on Thursday, We are committed to working cooperatively with the C.F.P.B. and have already begun to produce the documents theyve requested.The investigation is broader than just the events of Columbus Day weekend, when a systems conversion gone awry created a number of customer service issues at RushCard. The companys products are popular with hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans who dont want traditional bank accounts or have limited access to credit.RushCards disruption has also drawn the scrutiny of lawmakers. Two senators demanded more information about the problems in a letter to RushCards chief executive, Rick Savard, last month.The company has promised to set up a $2 million to $3 million fund to reimburse customers for any late fees or costs associated with not being able to access money or pay bills during the blockage.As of late October, RushCard told customers through social media sites that its problems had been fixed and that it had suspended all fees through February for new and existing card users. | Business |
Credit...Tim Clayton for The New York TimesFeb. 21, 2014MADISON, Conn. The board of selectmen for this tranquil shoreline town addressed an unusual request on Feb. 10. Andrea Perullo, the proprietor of a local jewelry store, asked if this years Presidents Day could be formally recognized as Mac Bohonnon Day.That this took place in the town halls James Madison Room in a community named for the fourth president of the United States seemed beside the point. Bohonnon, an 18-year-old freestyle aerials skier who was to compete on Monday, was believed to be Madisons first Olympian. The motion passed unanimously.It took two seconds, Perullo said. They were all for it.If there was a winner of the Sochi Games before the final medal totals were in, it might have been Connecticut, which emerged as a surprisingly strong source of talented hockey players, skiers, snowboarders and even a luge athlete. This has stirred the sort of state pride normally reserved for womens basketball.Sure, California and Colorado produce hordes of Winter Olympians. But this year, nine Connecticut natives competed at the Sochi Games more representatives than 37 other states and their performances were closely monitored back home.Bohonnon, who got a taste of being airborne as a youngster on his backyard trampoline, finished fifth in his Olympic event.Jonathan Quick, a member of the United States hockey team and the Los Angeles Kings of the N.H.L., honed his goaltending skills on frozen Clarks Pond in Hamden. Well before Quicks No. 32 Kings jersey was hung on the wall at Louis Astorino Arena, home of the Hamden Green Dragons, he was a scrawny 15-year-old with some extraordinary athletic gifts that could easily have gone unnoticed in another town in another state.Not in Hamden. Quick lived on Tanglewood Drive, a street hockey haven. Bill Verneris, the Hamden High School boys hockey coach, said youngsters from seven households within five minutes of one another wound up playing for his teams. Put it this way, Verneris said. If you grow up in a neighborhood where all the kids play baseball, youre probably going to play baseball. The tradition in this town is hockey.Verneris traced Hamdens hockey roots to Murray Murdoch, an early Rangers wing who became the fourth head coach of Yales budding program. In 1946, Murdoch was a founder of one of the nations first youth hockey teams, in New Haven. This year, five members of the mens and womens national teams once played for the Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association in Stamford.ImageCredit...Franck Fife/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesSkiing and snowboarding have history in Connecticut as well. In 1949, Walt Schoenknecht, an enterprising ski resort owner in Cornwall, was credited with being among the earliest to use snow-making equipment. And when Rod Taylor, a member of the United States ski team from 1967 to 1971, was winding down his career, he founded Woodbury Ski Area in Litchfield County. Seeking ways to draw interest, Taylor was among the first to allow snowboarding then called snurfing, for surfing and skiing to all areas of his mountain. Woodburys first halfpipe was built in 1979, Taylor said, well before snowboard parks became commonplace. Im proud that we were way ahead of everybody else with this, Taylor said in a phone interview. Sure enough, 25 years later, the snowboarding sensation Alex Deibold rose out of Branford, fueled by mozzarella-and-sausage pizzas from Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, a Connecticut dining staple. His uncle Tony Rosselli is the oldest grandson of the restaurants founder. On the night of snowboard cross, Rossellis family stayed up until 5 a.m. as Deibold, 27, took the bronze medal.The next morning, the Today show called, Rosselli said. They wanted to come to Pepes.In Madison, the anticipation for Bohonnons aerial performance became a townwide spectacle. The Chamber of Commerce printed posters and T-shirts urging citizens to cheer him on. An 11-foot banner proclaiming support for Madisons Mac Bohonnon was stretched across the patio above the local arts cinema.It hardly seemed to matter that Bohonnon, like a lot of other Connecticut snow athletes, left the state before high school to seek more favorable conditions. In an op-ed published by The Boston Globe on Feb. 18, Deibold described the damaging effect of climate change on hills in the Northeast.Connecticut does have advantages like Interstate 91, which makes trips to Vermont ski areas easier than the commute from Boston or New York. But a town like Madison is not used to being represented on the world athletic stage.ImageCredit...Tim Clayton for The New York TimesIt was just so exciting and unexpected, said Eileen Banisch, executive director of the Madison Chamber of Commerce. Theres a lot of pride.Quicks success, on the other hand, was more easily foretold in Hamden, where the high school boys team has won four state hockey titles since 1985. On Thursday, Verneriss players were scheduled to have only about an hour of ice time. Yet they gathered in the sun-washed entryway, some still sweating from warm-ups, to watch the final minutes of the womens Olympic gold medal game, which the United States, coached by the Watertown native Katey Stone, lost to Canada. The players huddled in front of the television hanging above old plaques and trophy cases. Verneris tried to coax them back to practice.All right, guys, Winnipeg, he said, calling out a warm-up routine. Lets go.Nobody moved. | Sports |
Personal Tech|How to Add Hollywood Special Effects to Your Videoshttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/technology/personaltech/make-green-screen-video.htmlTech TipWith your smartphone, inexpensive software and a bit of cloth or paper, you can make your own green screen movies.May 15, 2019No matter what you call it chroma key, green screen or blue screen its the film and video technique that gives your local TV weatherperson something in common with the Avengers movies: artificial backgrounds inserted behind the action. You simply record your subject in front of a solid green or blue screen, and then add a touch of software magic to change the background.Dozens of free or inexpensive apps allow you to use the technique on your own clips. Its a great way to jazz up your presentations and other videos or to keep children busy with a weekend project filming their own toys in action scenes. Heres how to get started.Step 1: Set Up Your StudioFirst, you need a big piece of solid green or blue cloth or paper to use as a background when recording. Youll also need a place to hang it and strong lighting aimed at the screen to keep shadows and fabric wrinkles from showing up as blotches in your video. ImageCredit...J. D. Biersdorfer/The New York TimesYou can get a few yards of cloth at a fabric store for less than $20, or buy a professional chroma-key backdrop, starting around $30, at a specialty store like B&H Photo Video. If you have a major project, you can also find complete green-screen studio kits (including the backdrop, a frame to hang it on and studio lights) for less than $100 on Amazon and other sites.Chroma key typically uses green or blue backgrounds because those hues are farthest from human skin tones, making sure that the software doesnt mistake a human for the background. But make sure your subject isnt wearing clothes in the same backdrop color, because otherwise the clothes will disappear and become part of the background in the final video. Step 2: Get Your SoftwareIf you plan to do all your recording and editing work on your phone or tablet, pop into your app store and search for a green screen or chroma key app that suits your tastes and budget. Android Film FXs Green Screen Video app ($2) and Do Inks Green Screen for iOS ($3) are two inexpensive options. KineMaster for Android and iOS ($5 a month for the full version) can make green-screen videos and do all sorts of other moviemaking tasks.If you prefer to import the clips and edit on a desktop computer, Movavi Video Editor and Wondershare Filmora9 are both $40, and the industry standard, Adobe Premiere Pro ($21 a month), can also handle green-screen work. All three of those programs work on Windows and Mac systems and include a free trial period and they have more features than most mobile apps with support for more precise editing, special effects and different types of media. On a budget? Software like VSDC Free Video Editor for Windows or Apples iMovie for macOS is free. (The iMovie for iOS app does not include green- or blue-screen controls.)Step 3: Record the ActionOnce you hang your backdrop, make sure its as smooth as possible. Tape and clips can be used to stretch it tight against a wall or counter. Position your subject a few feet in front of the screen to avoid shadows, and begin recording. You may have to do a few takes to get the action the way you want it, especially when recording with unpredictable pets. If you want to be in the scene yourself, stick the phone or camera on a tripod, which also steadies the recording.Step 4: Select a New BackgroundIf your app does not offer alternative backgrounds to use during your initial recording, you can insert a different scene later. Most programs allow you to choose another video, a photograph or an animation to replace the green or blue screen in the background of your first video.You can also download green-screen clips and backgrounds online. Sites like Pexels, Pixabay and Videvo offer free or inexpensive content if you just want to play around or add unexpected elements into your video as you edit it together.Step 5: Fine-Tune the SceneChroma key works the same way in most programs, but check your apps help guide for specific instructions for deleting the green or blue backdrop. If youre using a full video-editing program (instead of a dedicated green-screen app for quick clips), you typically have more control and may even be able to compensate for uneven lighting by removing multiple shades of color. In addition to the chroma-key tool, programs like iMovie and VSDC Free Video Editor let you arrange your clips in different layers on a timeline, trim out the boring parts and add music to your project before you output the project and show off your Hollywood special-effects skills to the world. | Tech |
The medical team for the Democratic nominee in Pennsylvanias Senate race has not spoken about John Fettermans prognosis. But cardiac experts saw clues in campaign statements.Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York TimesMay 23, 2022What really is the prognosis for John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee from Pennsylvania who had a stroke on May 13?The 52-year-old lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania clinched his partys nomination just a few days later, setting up one of the most consequential Senate contests of the midterm elections. But urgent medical questions remain.He was discharged from the hospital, his campaign said on Sunday, and Mr. Fetterman has said doctors assured him that he would make a complete recovery but the campaign has not said when he will be able to return to campaigning.I am going to take the time I need now to rest and get to 100 percent so I can go full speed soon and flip this seat blue, Mr. Fetterman said in a statement on Sunday, adding that he felt great but intended to continue to rest and recover.With such an important race in the balance, one that could decide the Senate majority, the state of Mr. Fettermans health is of intense public interest. Yet, despite repeated requests, his campaign did not make him or his doctors available to discuss his stroke and his medical treatment.And specialists in stroke, heart disease and electrophysiology said that some of the campaigns public statements do not offer a sufficient explanation for Mr. Fettermans described diagnosis or the treatment they say he has received.The stroke, he said in a statement released by his campaign, was caused by a blood clot. He said the clot was the result of atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat chaotically and are out of sync with the lower chambers of the heart. The campaign said the clot was successfully removed by doctors at a nearby community hospital, Lancaster General Hospital.On May 17, the day of the primary election, Mr. Fetterman had a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted in his heart which, his press office said in a statement, will help protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke, atrial fibrillation (A-fib), by regulating his heart rate and rhythm. His press office said he is expected to fully recover from his stroke.Medical specialists asked questions about Mr. Fettermans treatment with a defibrillator. They say it would make sense only if he has a different condition that puts him at risk of sudden death, like cardiomyopathy a weakened heart muscle. Such a heart condition may have caused the blood clot. Or, the doctors say the campaign could be correct about afib causing the clot.Thrombectomy, the method likely used to remove the clot, also indicates that Mr. Fetterman experienced more than a tiny stroke, although prompt treatment may have averted damage and saved his brain.I was just in the hospital for over a week, Mr. Fetterman said in a statement. I am aware that this is serious, and I am taking my recovery seriously.In a brief interview on May 20, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, Mr. Fettermans wife, told the story of his stroke, from her perspective.We had been on the road campaigning, she said. We had had breakfast, and he was feeling fine.The couple got into a car to go to an event at Millersville University when, she said, the left side of his mouth drooped for just a second.I had a gut instinct that something was happening, Ms. Fetterman said. I yelled to the trooper, I think hes having a stroke. He said, Im fine. What are you talking about? I feel fine.ImageCredit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York TimesThe state trooper soon drove Mr. Fetterman to Lancaster General Hospital where his treatment began. Ms. Fetterman said it involved going through his groin, which suggests he had a thrombectomy, a procedure in which doctors slide a small plastic tube through the groin, advance it into the brain and then pull the blood clot out using suction or a wire mesh.It was not until two days later that his campaign reported that Mr. Fetterman had been hospitalized with a stroke. Asked about the delay, Ms. Fetterman said, Less than 48 hours is pretty impressive timing when dealing with sensitive medical issues.Shortly after that question, Rebecca Katz, a senior adviser in Mr. Fettermans campaign, abruptly ended the call with Ms. Fetterman.Medical specialists said that some aspects of the story were difficult to reconcile with their knowledge of stroke treatment.Dr. Lee Schwamm, a stroke specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said doctors do a thrombectomy only when a large artery in the brain is blocked.You typically wouldnt do it for someone with just a little bit of facial droop, he said. Dr. Schwamm wondered if the doctors who examined Mr. Fetterman in the hospital had noticed other symptoms, like a loss of vision on his left side or lack of awareness of his left side, often called neglect.These strokes tend to be very severe, Dr. Schwamm said. He is fortunate that he went to a hospital that could treat it.Pressed about the stroke symptoms as described by Ms. Fetterman, a spokesman for Mr. Fetterman wrote in an email that he told The Associated Press last week that Gisele noticed that John was not himself, and shortly after he started slurring his speech.But what caused the stroke?Ms. Fetterman said her husband knew he had atrial fibrillation, which confers a high risk of stroke, and that he had taken anticoagulants, a standard method of reducing the stroke risk in people with atrial fibrillation, on and off.But the treatment with a pacemaker and defibrillator is a puzzle if all he had was atrial fibrillation, medical specialists said.This doesnt entirely make sense, said Dr. Brahmajee Nallamothu, an interventional cardiologist at the University of Michigan.Dr. Elaine Wan, an associate professor of medicine in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology at Columbia University Medical Center, said defibrillators which always come with pacemakers are used to prevent sudden death. They usually are implanted in people with weakened heart muscle, or those who survived an episode in which the heart stopped, or in people with a genetic predisposition for sudden cardiac death.We would not use it for atrial fibrillation, Dr. Wan said.Dr. Rajat Deo, an associate professor of medicine and a cardiac electrophysiologist at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine, agreed about the use of defibrillators and said he shared Dr. Wans suspicion that Mr. Fetterman has a damaged heart.I think it would be fair to say he has at least two separate issues, Dr. Deo said of Mr. Fetterman. One is afib, from which he most likely suffered a stroke that was successfully treated.He added, The second issue is that he likely has some underlying cardiac condition that increases his risk for ventricular arrhythmias and thus sudden cardiac death.The afib could be related to the other condition, Dr. Deo said. Patients with a weakened heart muscle are also at risk of developing atrial fibrillation.On the other hand, Dr. Deo says, Mr. Fettermans atrial fibrillation may have nothing to do with his weakened heart. Without more information from his doctors it is impossible to know.Dr. Deo added that if Mr. Fetterman is receiving appropriate state-of-the-art medical therapies and is protected with a defibrillator from sudden cardiac death, he should do quite well while he continues his campaign.Experts also raised concerns about the prospects for former Vice President Dick Cheney, who had a defibrillator implanted in 2001. He finished two terms in the White House, including a hard-fought re-election in 2004.And there is time before general election campaigning in Pennsylvania begins in earnest: It is unclear who Mr. Fettermans opponent will be, as the Republican race remains too close to call and may head to a recount.But Dr. Wan was less sanguine than Dr. Deo about Mr. Fetterman.He is at risk for sudden cardiac death, she said. For someone on the campaign trail that might raise concerns. | Health |
Credit...Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse Getty ImagesJune 12, 2018WASHINGTON Peter Navarro, one of President Trumps top trade advisers, said on Tuesday that it was a mistake to suggest that there is a special place in hell for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, offering a rare apology from a White House that almost never walks back heated rhetoric.In conveying that message, I used language that was inappropriate and basically lost the power of that message, Mr. Navarro said at an event hosted by The Wall Street Journal. I own that, that was my mistake, those were my words.He said he was trying to send a signal of strength on behalf of the administration, but that his language was inappropriate. In the future, Mr. Navarro said, he will stick to discussing serious policy issues and differences.If you make a mistake, you should admit it, learn from it, dont repeat it, Mr. Navarro said.Asked if he was apologizing, Mr. Navarro said, yeah, absolutely.His earlier comments had followed Mr. Trumps own sharp words for Mr. Trudeau, whom the president called dishonest and weak and accused of making false statements.Mr. Trump was angered by Mr. Trudeaus remarks at the end of the Group of 7 gathering on Saturday that Canada would not be bullied by the United States; the president lashed back in a series of tweets aboard Air Force One as he headed to Singapore for a summit meeting with Kim Jong-un.On Sunday, Mr. Navarro, who is Mr. Trumps most hawkish trade adviser, assailed Mr. Trudeau for engaging in bad faith diplomacy in the wake of the G-7 meeting.Theres a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door, Mr. Navarro said on Fox News Sunday.And thats what bad faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference, Mr. Navarro said.While Mr. Navarro backed down from his attack, Mr. Trump did not, continuing on Tuesday to accuse Mr. Trudeau of acting in bad faith and trying to take advantage of the United States.At a news conference in Singapore, the president said Mr. Trudeau only made his comments about not being bullied because he thought Mr. Trump was on an airplane and would not hear about them.Justin probably didnt know that Air Force One has about 20 televisions, and I see the television, Mr. Trump said. And hes giving a news conference about how he will not be pushed around by the United States. And I say, push him around? We just shook hands. It was very friendly.Mr. Trump, who has since threatened to impose tariffs on Canada, added: He learned. Thats going to cost a lot of money for the people of Canada. He learned. You cant do that. You cant do that.Mr. Navarro was not the only White House adviser to hit the airwaves on Sunday with a tough message about Mr. Trudeau.Larry Kudlow, the head of Mr. Trumps National Economic Council, also called Mr. Trudeaus behavior a stunt and a betrayal while speaking on CNN on Sunday. He suggested that Mr. Trump was trying to project strength ahead of his summit with the North Korean leader.Mr. Navarros remarks strained the already tense negotiations between the United States and Canada. Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian foreign minister, called them inappropriate and warned that ad hominem attacks are not a productive way to conduct international relations.Mr. Navarro, who has frustrated some members of the Trump administration by fanning his protectionist instincts, was also rebuked by Republicans for his coarse language.Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said, I thought he shouldve kept his big mouth shut.And Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, said that Mr. Navarros comments were not the words that he would have chosen to characterize the leader of Canada.I think that the Judgment Day that separates us from Heaven and Hell is not dependent on whether you agree with the president, Mr. Short told CNN. | Politics |
The New Old AgeCredit...David PlunkertMarch 11, 2016I know my television is too loud.Im asking people to repeat themselves more often.Im the restaurant patron asking the manager to please turn down the music so I can hear my friends across the table.Almost two-thirds of Americans older than 70 have meaningful hearing loss, experts say, and I probably will be among them. I should do something about it.One reason I havent is the average price for hearing aids: roughly $2,500, often more and most of us need two. That helps explain why only 20 percent of those with hearing loss use hearing aids.Medicare declines to cover a number of products and services that older beneficiaries need. Dental care ranks high on my personal list of exclusions that make the least sense, but the fact that the 1965 Medicare law specifically prohibits the national insurance program from paying for hearing aids is also a strong contender.So its heartening to notice some recent developments that might lead to more rational policies and more affordable and accessible devices. An October report by the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended federal actions to simultaneously decrease the cost of hearing aids, spur technology innovation and increase consumer choice options.The council suggested, for example, that the Food and Drug Administration permit a basic hearing aid, for mild to moderate age-related hearing loss, to be sold over the counter something every state prohibits.The report also urged the Federal Trade Commission, whose rulings enabled consumers to comparison shop for eyeglasses and contact lenses, to treat hearing devices more like visual ones. It should be like a prescription for eyeglasses, said Dr. Christine Cassel, a co-chairwoman of the councils hearing technologies working group.The hearing aid itself represents only about a third of what audiologists charge. (Medicare does cover testing with a physicians referral.)After an audiologist or physician provides an audiogram assessing your hearing, Dr. Cassel said, you should be able to take it with you and shop around for the best prices on devices. In June, the Institute of Medicine will issue a report on hearing health that tackles key questions like federal regulation, insurance and price. A number of major players among them the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Aging and the Pentagon have sponsored the yearlong effort. The F.D.A., acting on recommendations by the presidents council, will host a public workshop next month to consider whether its hearing aid regulations may hinder innovation, reduce competition and lead to increased cost and reduced use.The agency has also reopened public comments on proposed regulation of so-called personal sound amplification products and their marketing.Reports, comments, workshops we can be forgiven for rolling our eyes and wondering if anything useful will emerge. Still, these actions represent a greater national focus on hearing loss and rehabilitation than we have seen in decades.Whats driving this interest, apart from the demographic bulge that means the hearing-impaired population is about to grow much larger, is a wave of new research.Congress banned Medicare coverage of hearing aids 50 years ago because people thought hearing loss was just a normal part of aging, said Dr. Cassel, one of the authors of a recent JAMA editorial on hearing health policies. They didnt see it as a disability or a medical problem.But were learning that, however normal, hearing loss can have significant consequences.Older adults with poor hearing report a greater number of falls than those with normal hearing, a Finnish study found. American researchers have demonstrated a similar association in those 40 to 69.Older adults with hearing loss are also more apt to report periods of poor physical and mental health, and to be hospitalized.Perhaps most disturbing, studies also show a relationship between hearing loss mild, moderate or severe and accelerated rates of cognitive decline. Older people with hearing loss also are more likely than those with normal hearing to develop dementia.How can aging ears affect so many other aspects of our health? Dr. Frank Lin, an otolaryngologist and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who has led many of these research efforts, points to several possible causes. With diminished hearing, your brain is constantly having to work harder to process garbled sounds a concept called cognitive load and may have less capacity for other mental tasks.Alternatively, hearing loss may lead to changes in brain structure. In one of Dr. Lins studies, magnetic resonance imaging tests showed greater brain atrophy among those with poor hearing.A struggle to hear can also lead to isolation, and weve known for years that social connectedness is important for cognitive health, Dr. Lin added.Technology put the Internet in our pockets, but hasnt done much to affordably improve our hearing.In every other aspect of our lives, advances in electronic technology have made things cost much, much less, Dr. Cassel said. That hasnt happened with hearing aids.Almost annually, she added, some congressperson gets energized about this and tries to pass legislation to remove Medicares hearing aid restriction. Last year, it was Representative Debbie Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, with six Democratic co-sponsors. The bill stalled in committee, but we are not giving up the fight, Ms. Dingell said in an email.Driving down the cost of the devices could make them more widely available in several ways.If its $200 instead of $2,000, more people could pay out of pocket, Dr. Cassell said. And that also means Medicare might cover it unlikely at current prices.Its clearly possible to provide good devices for far less than we now pay. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which negotiates with manufacturers for lower prices, provided comprehensive hearing care to more than 900,000 veterans in 2014 and dispensed almost 800,000 hearing aids without copays. The average cost per device: $400.Price isnt the only obstacle to wider use. In European countries where insurance does cover hearing aids, theyre still underused. Clearly, our discomfort with age-related disability plays a role.So do the shortcomings of hearing aids. Though theyre improving, no technology will ever correct hearing loss like glasses correct vision, Dr. Lin said.As hearing declines with age, the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that receives and transmits sound, sustains irreversible damage.Still, the way we acquire hearing aids, or dont, has costs beyond the obvious. Daunted by the multiple visits, the adjustments and especially the expense, people often delay for years while their mild or moderate hearing loss worsens.Over that time, youve lost some of the neural pathways from the ear to the brain, Dr. Lin said. With longstanding hearing loss, rehabilitation is much harder. The earlier you address it, the easier it is and the more successful you can be. | Health |
Greta Gerwig It's 'Lady Bird' Mania At Her Old High School!!! 1/20/2018 Greta Gerwig's critically-acclaimed "Lady Bird" -- which she wrote and directed -- figures to be an Oscar darling, but it's already a huge winner at her alma mater. Greta's former high school, St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento, CA -- where the movie is based -- is totally stoked about Gerwig's success and not afraid to show it. Sources close to the situation tell us Greta's parents heard the school was buzzing about "Lady Bird," so they delivered movie posters to the school and pins for the students to wear. We're told if Greta or her movie get nominated for the Academy Awards -- which is more than likely -- the school plans to have an Oscars watch party for the big night and cheer her on. The Oscars air Sunday, March 4. | Entertainment |
Science|Is Earth Getting Bigger Over Time?https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/science/earth-size-mass.htmlGood QuestionThe planet is a magnet for stuff: space dust, dead leaves, old refrigerators. Is all that mass adding up?Dec. 10, 2019Has Earth grown larger from the buildup of decaying vegetation through the ages? Robert in Spartanburg, S.C.Earth isnt getting bigger. Its actually getting smaller!Decaying vegetation does pile up across the planet, but not everywhere equally. Wind and rain erode the ground over time, and even where leaves and other vegetation do gradually accumulate, like peat bogs and river deltas, that material doesnt add to Earths bulk. ImageTrees are built from air well, air and water. The water comes from the rain and the ground, but most of the rest of a tree is carbon and oxygen that was extracted, by photosynthesis, from the carbon dioxide in the air. And that carbon dioxide came from somewhere else on Earth. None of these processes actually makes the Earth bigger or smaller no mass is being created or destroyed. Atoms are just getting moved from one place to another.But Earths size isnt quite constant. Space around Earth is dusty; its full of asteroid debris, comet trails and ionized particles streaming away from the sun. And as our planet flies through that dust, our gravity vacuums it up.The dust enters the atmosphere, drifts around and eventually settles on the surface. This steady flow of dust along with occasionally larger chunks in the form of meteorites adds about 43 tons of mass to Earth every day. Its possible that a few molecules of the dust on your dresser recently arrived from another planet.But that 43 tons a day is small potatoes compared to Earths mass, which is about 5,972,200,000,000,000,000,000 tons.Moreover, and in spite of the added space dust, the planet is actually losing mass over all, because our atmosphere leaks. Gravity does a decent job of keeping Earths air wrapped around us, but a faint stream of lightweight gasses mostly hydrogen, but also helium and oxygen is continually escaping from the fringes of our atmosphere. These streams are particularly dense near the poles, where gas ionized by the sun flows out along the magnetic field lines in the form of the polar wind.Thanks to our leaky atmosphere, Earth loses several hundred tons of mass to space every day, significantly more than what were gaining from dust. So, overall, Earth is getting smaller.Dont worry: At the current rate, it would take quadrillions of years for Earth to evaporate completely, millions of times longer than the expected lifetime of the sun. But if the air leak bothers you, you could always try to convince NASA to build a giant lid.Randall Munroe is the author of the web comic XKCD and, most recently, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real World Problems. | science |
Politics|Melania Trump Returns to the Border, This Time Without Subtexthttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/melania-trump-border-visit-arizona.htmlCredit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesJune 28, 2018TUCSON Melania Trump made her second visit in a week to the border on Thursday as her husbands administration continued to struggle with the fallout from its zero tolerance policies that resulted in the separation of migrant children from their parents.The first lady met with officials at a Border Patrol office in Tucson and later toured a Department of Homeland Security facility in Phoenix where some of the separated children are being temporarily housed.I want to thank you for all your hard work that you do, Mrs. Trump told the officials in Tucson. Im here to support you and give my help, whatever I can for behalf of the children and the families. Thank you for having me.President Trumps crackdown on illegal border crossers in early May led to more than 2,300 children being separated from their families, causing a humanitarian outcry and a political crisis for many of his Republican allies.The president issued an executive order last week aimed at ending family separations, but the government is struggling to reunite the families already broken apart. Critics have filed several lawsuits, and one federal judge has ordered the government to reunite all of the children with their parents within 30 days.Thursdays trip was Mrs. Trumps first public appearance since her first border visit was marred by a controversy over her decision to wear a jacket that said I REALLY DONT CARE. DO U? on the back during a visit last week to a Texas border facility.That fashion choice which Mrs. Trumps spokeswoman dismissed as a meaningless decision overshadowed the first ladys Texas visit and her effort to demonstrate the Trump administrations empathy for the plight of the separated children.Her clothing choices on Thursday were far less controversial: Mrs. Trump arrived in Arizona wearing a black sweater and white slacks for her visit with officials and children.During the visit to Phoenix, Mrs. Trump toured several classrooms at Southwest Key Campbell, a facility partly funded by the Department of Health and Human Services where children some of them separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally are being held.In one classroom, about 10 boys and girls were making colorful pictures of animals when Mrs. Trump arrived. When she asked the children how old they were, several shouted Cinco! in Spanish.Using the classrooms teacher as a translator, Mrs. Trump asked: Do you like it here with some friends?S, one little girl answered.Do you like to dance with some music? Mrs. Trump asked.The girl shook her head, no.Theyre honest, her teacher said.Mrs. Trump also visited a room where young children ranging in age from 6 months to 2 years were being kept. A marker board on the wall read, Head count 6.28.2018: 9 little ones. Four mothers were also in the room.Where are the moms? Mrs. Trump asked. Where is your baby? she asked one young woman, who pointed out a boy who was 14 months old. She said they had been at the shelter for 12 days.Wow, so cute, the first lady said.Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys communications director, told reporters that Mrs. Trump has frequently shared her views about policy issues privately with her husband. But she conceded that Mrs. Trump has been more visible about the family separation issue at the border.I would say this is very visible. She cares about children deeply, Ms. Grisham said. She also believes in strong border laws and treating everybody equally. | Politics |
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/technology/personaltech/dedicated-app-mobile-website.htmlTECH TIPA companys app may offer more features than a visit to its site through the browser on your phone or tablet, but it may take up more space and resources on your device.June 29, 2018Q. When researching a topic on a website, I frequently get a pop-up alert that suggests I use that same sites mobile app for iOS. What is the downside of using the sites app? Does the app track personal information? A. Using a companys own smartphone app instead of its mobile website may have some clear advantages, but it varies by app. As for tracking personal information, that also depends on the company that made the app and the data it declares it will collect from you in the user agreement, device permissions and terms of service. So read those carefully before installing anything.Well-designed mobile apps are often faster than mobile sites, as they are designed for specific operating systems. Some apps can display content more uniformly than what a mobile browser may render. Other typical benefits of apps include notifications, automatic updates and stored content you can see offline. However, apps can be buggy at times, and some may use more of your network bandwidth than you realize if the app is set to download new content in the background.ImageCredit...The New York TimesIn comparison, mobile websites usually take up less space on your phone than an app. Mobile sites may deposit tracking cookies and store data of their own on your device. With a mobile site, you dont have to install updates from an app store each time the developer adds new features. However, unless youve saved some pages for offline viewing, you need an internet connection to see the mobile site.If you are not sure which version you want to use, check the apps size and permissions requirements before you install it to make sure you are comfortable with the programs access to your device. You can always uninstall the app if you dont like it.App icons on the home screen are handy shortcuts. If you prefer using a mobile website instead, you can save shortcut icons for your favorite sites on both the Android and the iOS systems.Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to [email protected]. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. | Tech |
Credit...Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated PressFeb. 15, 2014NEW ORLEANS Tim Hardaway Jr., a rookie swingman who has been a bright spot for the Knicks in an otherwise drab season, is a full-grown adult capable of his own decisions, but he still calls his father for advice.Last week, Hardaway Jr. picked up the phone with a message of his own: His father, a five-time All-Star who retired in 2003, might want to get back into the gym. The two had been selected as teammates in the Shooting Stars challenge, an exhibition that was to be staged Saturday night as part of the N.B.A. All-Star weekend.I wanted to make sure he got some shots up, Hardaway Jr. said.The opposing team was to feature another father-son pairing, Stephen and Dell Curry, and it was no coincidence. For a growing number of fathers and sons, the N.B.A. is a family business. This season, 19 second-generation players have appeared in games a total that represents 4.2 percent of the league, and is nearly twice as many players as a decade ago.Consider that three second-generation players were selected to participate in Sunday nights All-Star Game here: Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. (Bryant, voted in by the fans, will not play because of a knee injury.)Even more progeny are on the way. Two of this countrys top college players Andrew Wiggins, a freshman at Kansas, and Jabari Parker, a freshman at Duke are sons of former N.B.A. players. Both are expected to be lottery picks whenever they decide to make themselves eligible for the draft.ImageCredit...Todd Warshaw/Getty ImagesPlayers and coaches cite several factors in the rise of second-generation players, who tend to benefit from genetics (it helps to be tall) and from early access to top-notch instruction. Steve Kerr, a former guard and front-office executive, likened the setting to being immersed in a basketball think tank from childhood.When you grow up in that world, youre exposed to the best teaching and the best coaching, said Kerr, an analyst for Turner Sports.And then there is the appeal of the league, with its nonstop television coverage and its lucrative contracts, which provide plenty of incentive for young players who already have inherent advantages over their peers. Its so much more popular now, said Mychal Thompson, a former forward whose son Klay plays for the Warriors.When Michael Cage was playing in the N.B.A., he was known for his tenacious rebounding and for his radiant Jheri curl, in no particular order. These days, Cage is a broadcaster who maintains his ties to the Los Angeles Clippers by participating in alumni events. Last summer, as he often did, he was planning to take his son M. J., 15, to one of the teams charity golf tournaments.Days before the tournament, the Clippers called with unexpected news: M. J., a sophomore at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., was no longer welcome.Having sprouted to 6 feet 10 inches and with top-tier college programs like Kentucky and Arizona already offering scholarships, M. J. was suddenly a prospect. The Clippers explained that it would be considered tampering if they were to provide him with benefits (a round of golf, say), even if he was part of the organizations extended family. Rules are rules, and the Clippers did not want to cause any trouble.ImageCredit...Ben Solomon for The New York TimesAt that point, I just said, O.K., I guess this is serious now, Michael Cage recalled in a recent interview.One of his first moves was to make a series of phone calls, including one to Dell Curry and another to the former N.B.A. guard Glen Rice, whose son is a first-year player with the Washington Wizards. Cage said he began both conversations the same way: Hey, man, how did you do this with your kids?There is no secret formula, and it is not always easy. Gerald Henderson, who plays for the Charlotte Bobcats and whose father won three N.B.A. titles in a 13-year career, said he learned early that he had to be realistic about his career, or else the pressure to meet expectations would overwhelm him. I had to attain my own goals, he said.For the Hardaways, there was continual strife. Hardaway Sr. was always challenging his son to be tougher and stronger.He wanted me to become a better ballplayer than he was, Hardaway Jr. said, adding, So in order to do that, he thought he had to push me, talk trash to me different stuff to make me hungrier.Their childhoods could not have been more different, after all. Hardaway Sr. grew up on Chicagos South Side, where the courts were daily proving grounds. Nothing came easily. Hardaway Jr., on other hand, was born into a life of relative privilege: big house, nice clothes, all the fancy residuals of his fathers successful career. Their different backgrounds became a source of unspoken tension between them, one that was most apparent on the basketball court. ImageCredit...Tim Shaffer/ReutersAs a boy, Hardaway Sr. had used the game as an escape from a tough neighborhood. His circumstances were part of his motivation. He wanted to get out. But what was motivating his son?As a result, Hardaway Sr. felt it was up to him to drive his son, to manufacture desire by pushing and prodding. It nearly destroyed their relationship. They sometimes went weeks without speaking to each other. I was trying to make him want the game as badly as I wanted it, Hardaway Sr. said.The turning point came during Hardaway Jr.s junior year at Miami Palmetto Senior High School. Hardaway Sr. liked to sit courtside so he could communicate with his son during games. It was not an ideal situation for Hardaway Jr., who never knew whether to listen to his coach or his father. I couldnt do both, he said.The schools athletic director kindly requested that Hardaway Sr. plant himself in the bleachers, saying the coach had everything under control. Hardaway Sr. said he realized then that he needed to take a step back. He relayed that message to his son.I told him I was sorry, Hardaway Sr. said. I told him: Im going to let you figure it out for yourself, and if you need me, Ill be there for you. But Ive got to leave you alone because Im tearing up the family. I also wanted to be Dad. I wanted to be able to just kick it with him, and I was losing that.Dell Curry, who spent most of his 16-year career with the Charlotte Hornets, said he wanted his sons to discover the game for themselves. Only after they expressed an interest did Curry become actively involved, and even then, he said, he did his best not to be obnoxious about it.ImageCredit...Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThe last thing you want is to go home and hear your kids saying, Oh, here comes Dad again, Curry said. As a parent, you cant push your child to do something that you want more than they do. Its not going to last.By the end of his career, Curry was earning more than $2 million a season, and his family enjoyed a comfortable life in North Carolina. Curry and his wife, Sonya, an educator, could have provided their children with everything they wanted. Instead, he said, they chose to give them only what they needed. There was a difference the difference between earning and taking. And when it came to basketball, Curry said, he wanted his sons to earn everything.There were unavoidable advantages, of course. One was the Curry boys entree to the N.B.A. from an early age: the practices, the games, the impromptu tutorials from their fathers teammates. Stephen and Seth, a guard with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the Development League, got to experience it all.They went everywhere that I went, Dell Curry said.Another was the familys full-length basketball court in the backyard, complete with lights. It was in continual use. Shots in the morning. Shots after summer-league games. Shots well after midnight, the court aglow as if it were midday. The family had tolerant neighbors.We loved it, Dell Curry said. We knew where they were, we knew they were safe, and we knew they were doing something they loved.Neither son was bestowed with extraordinary genetic gifts. Stephen, in particular, was small as a high school senior, his 6-foot, 145-pound frame warding off top-tier college recruiters even as he coped with the unique pressures that came with being the son of an N.B.A. player. Opposing crowds heckled him to the point of ridicule, according to his father, not that it seemed to bother Stephen all that much.ImageCredit...Jack Smith/Associated PressHe wasnt afraid to go out and fail, Dell Curry said. He wasnt afraid of big crowds. He wasnt afraid of hecklers. He relished all those things.Kenny Smith, a former N.B.A. point guard, said his son K. J. benefited from osmosis the process of simply being around great players and absorbing what they had to say. A junior point guard at Oaks Christian High School near Thousand Oaks, Calif., K. J. has scholarship offers from colleges like Oregon and U.C.L.A., and his father said there was never any doubt that K. J. had a head start against many of his peers because of his N.B.A. ties.It opens up all kinds of doors, Kenny Smith said. Say I wanted to be a singer. And Im just singing in my house, singing with local neighborhood bands. And all of a sudden, you tell me: You know what? I know all the best producers, all the best singing coaches. Youre just going to get better faster.High-level instruction is one thing, though. Kenny Smith said his son also came to realize that he needed to work hard. It doesnt just happen automatically, Smith said. I always told him: If my dad was a brain surgeon or an astronaut, Id still have to put in the work. But once you decide to put in that sweat equity, youll have a huge advantage because of the resources available to you.For M. J. Cage, the game was inescapable. He was a toddler when his fathers playing career was winding down. Later, when Michael Cage began broadcasting games for the Memphis Grizzlies, players like Shane Battier and Pau Gasol befriended M. J. at practices. Even today, M. J. occasionally runs into Kobe Bryant a neighbor in Orange County, Calif. and they will stop and chat. At this point, little seems to leave M. J. star-struck.ImageCredit...Stuart Palley for The New York TimesStill, Michael Cage said he was concerned about M. J.s development when he was younger, largely because M. J. was much more interested in playing soccer than in shooting hoops. It took an intervention from Michael Cages wife, Jodi, to calm his fears. Soccer was not such a terrible sport, she told him. Besides, if Michael was so worried about M. J.s basketball career, playing soccer would only enhance his footwork in the long run.When M. J. did express an interest in basketball as a sixth grader, his father said, the plan was to shield him from public inspection. He wanted M. J. to be free to enjoy the game without being associated with his famous father, at least for a while. Michael Cage knew such comparisons were inevitable.When youre 6 feet 10 as a 15-year-old and your last name is Cage, people are like, Wait a minute, he said. You cant keep that secret forever.As M. J.s talent became more apparent, Michael Cage entrusted his development to the directors of Cal Supreme, a Nike-sponsored summer-league program. He said he wanted other people to coach his son, in part to preserve their relationship M. J. would be better off having someone besides his father growl at him about that missed free throw but also to ensure expert instruction.Of course, none of that has prevented Michael Cage from supplementing his sons training with countless hours of collaborative work on the portable hoop in front of their home. Their drills go far beyond the usual diet for post players. For example, Michael Cage has M. J. sharpen his ball-handling skills by dribbling with two basketballs.M. J. also works on his outside shooting, an area of the game where his father endured epic (and sometimes humiliating) struggles. Over 15 N.B.A. seasons, Michael Cage went 0 for 25 from 3-point range. It was a source of endless frustration.Ive tried to develop him into the player I never was, Michael Cage said. Its almost like you get a do-over with your kid. | Sports |
Credit...Daniel Berehulak for The New York TimesMarch 14, 2017MANILA President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines defiantly rebuked human rights groups and international organizations on Tuesday, pledging to continue his deadly antidrug crackdown despite mounting calls for a criminal investigation into his actions.Human rights, United Nations, thats fine. If you have complaints, O.K. You want to file charges, fine. Look for evidence, Mr. Duterte told a gathering of mayors in Manila, the capital.But still, I will kill you, he warned the criminals and drug users who have been the focus of his crackdown.The president spoke just weeks after a retired police officer said he would be willing to testify in domestic and international courts that Mr. Duterte had ordered him and other hired hit men to routinely carry out killings when Mr. Duterte was mayor of Davao.Mr. Duterte said his tough anti-crime stance was the only formula that worked in my city of Davao, and voters across the country elected him last year by a wide margin to replicate that policy nationwide.And human rights groups have been after me for a long time. They say my mouth encourages the police to take the law in their own hands, he said. But now, I have included the military because drugs have become a threat to national security.Last week, Mr. Duterte signed an executive order that revived his antidrug crackdown. It was temporarily suspended when rogue police officers were implicated in the murder of a Korean national whom they had kidnapped and accused of being a drug dealer.That order created the Interagency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, which reports directly to the president and is backed by the military.ImageCredit...Aaron Favila/Associated PressTwo men, Arthur Lascanas, a former Davao City police officer, and Edgar Matobato, a self-described hit man, have said they were members of a death squad led by Mr. Duterte that targeted petty criminals, drug traffickers and political opponents.Their lawyer, Jude Josue Sabio, said both mens statements were tantamount to accusations of crimes against humanity and they would take their case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague by April.Both Matobato and Lascanas are vital witnesses to prove that the Davao death squad was used by Duterte as a template, or as a strategy or policy, for crime control through extrajudicial killings since he became president, Mr. Sabio said in an interview.Their accusations came after a report by Human Rights Watch, which found that the police had falsified evidence to justify unlawful killings and that the majority of those killed were poor. The report urged the United Nations to create an independent, international investigation into the killings.Rommel Banlaoi, the director at the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies, said accusations against Mr. Duterte of human rights abuses should be handled domestically.There is still a general support on the war against drugs, but the opposition is raising the issue of extrajudicial killings as a pretext to challenge the reign of Duterte, Mr. Banlaoi said. If Duterte fails to perform and the Philippine economy deteriorates to a level that hurts the stomach of the middle class, not to mention the lower class, the opposition can muster support to topple his regime.Mr. Duterte has said the accusations against him were attempts to destabilize his administration.When will I stop? When you threaten me with extrajudicial accusation? That threat has been going on since I was a mayor, he said on Tuesday. Just try.He told the police to continue their drug raids and to shoot criminals if necessary. I have said those who are accused while in the performance of their duty, I have your back.If police officers who followed his orders were convicted of crimes, he said, he would pardon them.Then I will say, Go back to the person who accused you, and kill him. I will pardon you, he said. | World |
Patients with diabetes are also more likely to be described as noncompliant, according to large studies of medical records.Credit...Jae C. Hong/Associated PressFeb. 16, 2022Medical records contain a plethora of information, from a patients diagnoses and treatments to marital status to drinking and exercise habits.They also note whether a patient has followed medical advice. A health provider may add a line stating that the patient is noncompliant or non-adherent, signaling that the patient has been uncooperative and may exhibit problematic behaviors.Two large new studies found that such terms, while not commonly used, are much more likely to appear in the medical records of Black patients than in those of other races.In medicine, we tend to label people in derogatory ways when we dont truly see them when we dont know them or understand them, said Dr. Dean Schillinger, who directs the Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and was not involved in the studies. The process of labeling provides a convenient shortcut that leads some physicians to blame the patient for their illnesses.The first study, published in Health Affairs, found that Black patients were two and a half times as likely as white patients to have at least one negative descriptive term used in their electronic health record. The study was based on an analysis of more than 40,000 notes taken for 18,459 adult patients at a large urban medical center in Chicago between January 2019 and October 2020.About 8 percent of all patients had one or more derogatory terms in their charts, the study found. The most common negative descriptive terms used in the records were refused, not adherent, not compliant and agitated.Its not so much whether you should never use these words, but why are we applying these words with so much more frequency to Black patients? said Michael Sun, the lead author of the study and a third-year medical school student at the University of Chicagos Pritzker School of Medicine. Do we really believe Black patients are truly not compliant, so many more times than white patients?Rather than assume the patient is lacking in motivation or disengaged, he said, the medical team should inquire whether the patient is facing financial barriers, transportation difficulties or other obstacles to adhering to treatment, such as illiteracy or trouble with English.The researchers found that outpatient clinic records were far less likely to contain the negative comments, compared with records from hospitals and emergency rooms, perhaps because outpatient providers have ongoing relationships with their patients and are more familiar with their circumstances.Regardless of race, unmarried patients and those on government health plans like Medicare and Medicaid were more likely to have negative descriptors applied to them than married or privately insured patients. Patients in poor overall health, with several chronic underlying health problems, were also twice as likely to have negative adjectives in their medical records, the study found.The second study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed the electronic health records of nearly 30,000 patients at a large urban academic medical center between January and December 2018. The study looked for what researchers called stigmatizing language, comparing the negative terms used to describe patients of different racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as those with three chronic diseases: diabetes, substance use disorders and chronic pain.Overall, 2.5 percent of the notes contained terms like nonadherence, noncompliance, failed or failure, refuses or refused, and, on occasion, combative or argumentative. But while 2.6 percent of medical notes on white patients contained such terms, they were present in 3.15 percent of notes about Black patients.Looking at some 8,700 notes about patients with diabetes, 6,100 notes about patients with substance use disorder and 5,100 notes about those with chronic pain, the researchers found that patients with diabetes most of whom had type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with excess weight and called a lifestyle disease were the most likely to be described in negative ways. Nearly 7 percent of patients with diabetes were said to be noncompliant with a treatment regimen, or to have uncontrolled disease, or to have failed.A note might say that a patient refused diabetic diet, for example, or was noncompliant with insulin regimen. The more severe the disease, the more likely the patient was to have notes with negative descriptors.In contrast, only 3.4 percent of patients with substance use disorders were described in negative terms, and fewer than 1 percent of patients with chronic pain had notes with negative descriptions.The medical record is the first thing a hospital-based health provider sees, even before meeting the patient, said Dr. Gracie Himmelstein, the papers first author, and it creates a strong first impression.Before I even go meet a patient in the emergency room, the first thing I do is call up their record and read through the previous admission notes and get a sense of their history, said Dr. Himmelstein, a resident physician at the University of California, Los Angeles, who carried out the research as part of her doctoral thesis at Princeton University. Im looking to see what their medical problems are, but as I do so, Im also reading a narrative of their interactions with previous physicians.Instead of relying on vague and stigmatizing terms like noncompliant, physicians should try to understand why a patient isnt cooperating and note specific reasons in the medical record, Dr. Himmelstein said.If the patient is, quote-unquote noncompliant with the regimen, what is going on? she said. Its hard for people to manage insulin. It can be prohibitively expensive. There can be issues around health literacy. We need to pinpoint where that problem is.The labels have consequences, Dr. Schillinger warned. While some of the notes convey critical information, the terms used can cloud the physicians and future clinicians judgment and decision-making, diminishing their compassion and empathy. And that may cause patients to lose trust in their providers.Patients whose physicians tend to judge, blame or vilify them are much less likely to have trust in their doctors, and in the medical system overall, Dr. Schillinger said. Having health care providers who are trustworthy who earn their patients trust by not judging them unfairly is critical to ensuring optimal health and eliminating health disparities. | Health |
Africa|Retired Rwanda Politician Dies While Jailed in Burundi as a Spyhttps://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/world/africa/retired-rwanda-politician-dies-while-jailed-in-burundi-as-a-spy.htmlMarch 31, 2016NAIROBI, Kenya A retired senior Rwandan politician has died in a Burundian jail where he was being held on suspicion of spying, both countries said on Thursday, adding to cross-border tensions that have escalated dangerously in recent months. The politician, Jacques Bihozagara, a former Rwandan ambassador to France and Belgium, as well as a former government minister, died on Wednesday in a jail in Burundis capital, Bujumbura, where he had been held on espionage charges since December.We assume he had a hypertension, and plan to carry out an autopsy today, Elie Ntungwanayo, a spokesman for Burundis Justice Ministry said on Thursday.Rwanda called the death suspicious. Jacques Bihozagara is one of many Rwandans in Burundi who died violently or suspiciously in the past months, said a Rwandan Foreign Ministry official, Eugene Ngoga.In Washington, the State Department said Mr. Bihozagaras death highlighted concerns about reports of arbitrary arrests and torture in Burundi, and urged its government to allow monitors from the African Union and other organizations to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.Burundi has been in political turmoil since last April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term, leading to street protests, a failed coup and an exodus of refugees across the border to Rwanda.Burundi, where Mr. Nkurunziza eventually won re-election, accuses Rwanda of supporting a rebel group recruiting members in the refugee camps with the aim of bringing down the Burundian government, an accusation dismissed by Rwanda.In February, a Human Rights Watch report described widespread abuses by Burundian security forces of suspected opponents.Along with a border, Rwanda and Burundi share a legacy of violence and bloodshed between their two largest ethnic groups, the Tutsis and the Hutus. | World |
Launched in 2007, the spacecraft discovered bright spots on Ceres and forbidding terrain on Vesta. Credit...NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDANov. 1, 2018NASAs Dawn spacecraft, in orbit around the asteroid Ceres, has died quietly, the space agency announced on Thursday. Dawn missed its appointed check-in on Wednesday. Mission managers concluded that the propellant for its thrusters had run dry, and Dawn could no longer control its orientation. Its antenna turned away from Earth, and its radio signal was lost forever.It was an expected end to the mission, although the spacecraft lasted two years longer than originally planned.Launched in 2007, Dawn has been sending home close-up views of Ceres and Vesta the largest asteroids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter as well as clues to the building blocks of the solar systems planets.These are time capsules from the very beginning of the solar system, said Carol Raymond, principal investigator of the mission, during a NASA preview last month of Dawns demise.Here are some of Dawns biggest discoveries.[Sign up to get reminders for space and astronomy events on your calendar.]The glints of CeresCeres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, although it is smaller than most of the solar systems larger moons. Giuseppe Piazzi, an Italian priest and astronomer, discovered it in 1801, and it was declared at first to be a planet. But then other astronomers kept finding more rocks in that region, and eventually they were all classified as asteroids. In the most recent reshuffling of planets, Ceres received a promotion, and it is now classified as a dwarf planet because it is large enough to be round.Among Dawns findings, the most unexpected were shiny splotches on Ceres some 300 of them. The discovery set off waves of scientific wondering. Was it frozen water? Other ices? How did they get there? What was going on below the surface? What we saw was completely mind-blowing, Dr. Raymond said.The white stuff turned out not to be snow or ice, but sodium carbonate, a type of salt. On Earth, sodium carbonate is often known as washing soda or soda ash. It is used in the manufacture of glass, in some detergents and as a water softener.Sodium carbonate is not common in the solar system, Dr. Raymond said. ImageCredit...NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDABut it does show up in a couple of intriguing places, she said: drying lake beds on Earth and in the plumes shooting out from Enceladus, a moon of Saturn known to have an ocean below its outer icy shell.On Ceres, what appears to be happening is that reservoirs of salty brine remnants of a subsurface ocean still occasionally well up to the surface to create the bright spots. That means Ceres, even though it is just 588 miles in diameter, is still geologically active, and spewing ice instead of lava what is known as cryovolcanism.The bright spots almost all lie in or near craters. That suggests meteor impacts created the spots, either by kicking up material below the surface or by cracking the outer crust, allowing subsurface brines to flow upward. At the surface, the water escaped to space, leaving deposits of sodium carbonate as well as ammonium chloride, another type of salt.The biggest, brightest of allThe most striking feature on Ceres are the bright regions within a 57-mile-wide, 2.5-mile-deep crater called Occator. In the crater, a central dome called Cerealia Facula is thought have been formed by icy lava sputtering up through fractures, possibly pushed by gases in the brine. Nearby is another bright region named Vinalia Faculae, which is more diffuse in shape and texture, and it appears to have been formed by a somewhat different process. Scientists hypothesize that gases dissolved in the liquid caused it to sputter through cracks onto the surface, like champagne spilling out of a just-opened bottle.One mountainAnother eye-catching feature is a 13,000-foot-high mountain near Ceress Equator. Named Ahuna Mons, it is indeed the only mountain on Ceres. Scientists described it as a result of an unusual type of volcanism involving salty water and mud: Thick molten material is squeezed up like toothpaste, without an explosive eruption, to create a dome shape.The volcano is not active today. Dr. Raymond said that over time Ahuna Mons, perhaps a few hundred million years old, would likely spread, flatten and eventually disappear, and that there were likely other volcanic mountains in the past.A (very) thin atmosphereCeres is too small and its gravity too weak to hold onto a significant atmosphere. Yet back in 2014, the European Space Agencys Herschel space telescope detected water vapor around the asteroid, later confirmed by Dawn.This transient atmosphere is generated by high-energy particles from the sun slamming into water molecules at or near Ceres surface and kicking them up. The same phenomenon happens at Mercury and on Earths moon.A tale of two asteroidsBefore Dawn orbited Ceres, it visited Vesta, another asteroid, from 2011 to 2013. Exploring this 330-mile-wide rock which looks like a cratered potato and its contrasts with the rounder and wider Ceres offered astronomers additional insights into how objects in the solar system formed.The differences go beyond size. Vesta is dry and heavily cratered, resembling the moon, while Ceres is full of water.This is almost like night and day, said James L. Green, NASAs chief scientist.Why are they so different? Planetary scientists now think that Ceres formed much farther out in the solar system and then was pushed inward by the jostling of giant planets like Jupiter. Vesta, on the other hand, probably formed close to where it is today, a region in which ice would have been heated away early in the history of the solar system.Even though Vesta is diminutive, it still exhibits some planetlike qualities. As it formed, it heated enough to melt, with the heavier elements sinking to the core.The Dawn findings also confirmed that certain meteorites found on Earth originated from Vesta. Transfer in the beltDawns trip from Vesta to Ceres made it the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around one world, and then leave to orbit a second world. That is possible because of the spacecrafts three ion engines. Unlike most propulsion systems for vessels in space, which produce thrust through chemical reactions, the electric fields of ion engines accelerate xenon atoms. The amount of thrust is tiny. Each engine generates up to 91 millinewtons, which is about the force you need to hold up a sheet a paper on Earth. But ion engines are much more efficient and can fire for long stretches of time, instead of the short bursts employed in chemical propulsion. BepiColombo, the European Space Agencys recently launched mission to Mercury, also uses ion propulsion, and NASA intends to develop a more powerful version to carry large amounts of cargo to Mars.Going back to Ceres?Spacecraft carry microbial hitchhikers from Earth that can contaminate the worlds where they land. NASA tries to minimize that risk when a mission ends; engineers flew the Cassini probe, for example, into Saturns atmosphere last year.For the last part of its mission, Dawn was sent on an elliptical orbit that swooped to within 22 miles of the surface, making one orbit every 27 hours. That provided the sharpest images yet of features like Occator crater.Though out of power, the spacecraft will continue in that orbit for at least 20 years, possibly decades longer, at which point it could crash into Ceres. That is not long enough for all of the Earth microbes on Dawn to die, but NASA officials hope that 20 years would be long enough for the space agency to make another visit there to study whether Ceres ever had conditions amenable for life before Dawn crashes and contaminates it. | science |
Credit...Drew Angerer for The New York TimesDec. 10, 2015WASHINGTON As General Motors publicly expressed remorse over its decade-long failure to disclose defective ignition switches, it successfully fought to retain its protection from any lawsuits for crashes that occurred before its 2009 bankruptcy.Instead, G.M. offered compensation to those victims on its own terms, with a fund run by the lawyer Kenneth R. Feinberg and limited to 2.6 million small cars that were recalled in early 2014.Now the scope of that toll has become clearer: More than 100, or nearly one-third, of the switch-related death and injury claims approved by Mr. Feinberg were for accidents that happened before the companys bankruptcy filing. The data was included in the final status report on the G.M. compensation fund issued early Thursday by Mr. Feinberg.The legal strategy had been part of a broader effort by G.M., the nations largest automaker, to move past the biggest safety scandal in its history.G.M. stepped up to its responsibility for the ignition switches, but they made a decision to limit their larger financial exposure to pre-bankruptcy cases, said Cindy Schipani, a law professor at the University of Michigan.Mr. Feinberg said in his report that 399 death and injury claims out of 4,343 claims filed were found eligible for compensation. They include 124 deaths, 18 catastrophic injuries and 257 other types of injuries. He said that 128 of the approved claims or 32 percent of the total were for accidents that happened before G.M. went bankrupt.While Mr. Feinberg declined to comment further on details of the fund, his final report said that G.M.s potential legal defenses were ignored in the process of determining damages.The program did not consider legal defenses that might otherwise be available to G.M. in litigation, such as contributory negligence, statutes of limitations or the bankruptcy shield.The report also showed that many claims were settled by the fund despite evidence that the victims were speeding, driving recklessly or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or not wearing a seatbelt. In all, about 61 percent of the eligible claims involved one or more factors characterized as contributory negligence by drivers of the vehicles, the report said.For example, the report said that 124 of the eligible claims involved a victim who was not wearing a seatbelt. Excessive speeding was cited in 151 cases, and drug or alcohol use was present in 68 cases.A G.M. spokesman, James Cain, said on Wednesday that the compensation fund was designed to take a nonadversarial approach to settling claims in which people were killed or injured because faulty switches had suddenly cut engine power and disabled airbags in affected models.G.M., he said, decided not to challenge damage awards if other factors, like driver errors, were involved.We faced the ignition switch issue with integrity, dignity and clear determination to do the right thing both in the short and long term, Mr. Cain said. The settlement facility is just one example.Over all, Mr. Feinberg said that he authorized a total of $595 million in payments to the 399 eligible claimants. G.M. had estimated in its second-quarter earnings report that the final total would be about $625 million.The report said that just over 90 percent of the compensation offers were accepted by the victims or family members who filed the claims and about 9 percent were rejected. None of the offers in a death claim were rejected. At least one offer is still under consideration until a January deadline.Neither G.M. nor Mr. Feinberg has shared any details on specific accidents.Before the compensation fund was started in June 2014, the automaker repeatedly said it had identified only 13 deaths in connection with defective switches since it began recalling affected models in February 2014.But the number of deaths grew steadily as claims poured into the compensation fund, and became public as Mr. Feinberg published monthly tallies of his damage awards.Some people who filed claims for pre-bankruptcy accidents were aware that the compensation fund might be their only opportunity for a settlement from G.M.Ken Rimer is the stepfather of Natasha Weigel, an 18-year-old woman who died in 2006 in an ignition-related crash in Wisconsin.He said on Wednesday that Ms. Weigels family had to weigh whether to accept an award from Mr. Feinberg or possibly receive no compensation if G.M. was ultimately shielded from pre-bankruptcy litigation.We wanted to have our day in court with G.M., Mr. Rimer said. But we figured that was never going to happen.G.M. has so far avoided lawsuits that predate its bankruptcy, which was aided by a $49 billion bailout by the federal government.Last April, Judge Robert E. Gerber upheld G.M.s immunity shield, which forced all litigants to pursue lawsuits against the automakers previous corporate entity, commonly referred to as old G.M.That decision has been appealed by plaintiffs to a higher court, with a ruling expected next year. Until the appeal is ruled on, a number of active ignition-switch lawsuits are stalled.In September, G.M. agreed to pay $575 million to resolve the cases of 1,380 people who had sued the company for accidents involving ignition switches, as well as settle a shareholder suit.But the lawyer in the cases, Robert C. Hilliard, said that 180 pre-bankruptcy lawsuits were excluded from that settlement.Those 180 cases are among the outstanding claims against G.M. included in the so-called multidistrict litigation that will be heard in a series of trials next year in New York.Mr. Hilliard said the claimants in the pre-bankruptcy cases are counting on the federal appeals court to overturn Judge Gerbers ruling on G.M.s legal immunity. Without a favorable ruling, theyll get nothing, he said. | Business |
Politics|Treasury Dept. Hits Russia With New Sanctionshttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/us/politics/russia-sanctions-treasury-department.htmlCredit...Stephen Crowley/The New York TimesJune 11, 2018WASHINGTON The Treasury Department imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia on Monday, escalating its response to Russian cyberwarfare as the administration continues to warn about Russias potential to meddle in Americas coming midterm elections.The sanctions target five Russian companies and three individuals, some of whom are accused of directly supporting Russias intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, in its efforts to carry out cyberattacks. They follow sanctions that the United States imposed in April on a roster of Russian business tycoons, government officials and corporations, and are the latest example of the hot and cold approach that the Trump administration has taken in handling one of Americas most prominent adversaries.The United States is engaged in an ongoing effort to counter malicious actors working at the behest of the Russian Federation and its military and intelligence units to increase Russias offensive cybercapabilities, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement.The sanctions come as President Trumps presidential campaign continues to face a federal investigation into improper coordination with Russia, which meddled in the 2016 election. Last year, Congress passed legislation that curtailed Mr. Trumps power to lift sanctions on Russia on his own, tying his hands with a rare showing of overwhelmingly bipartisan defiance.That has not stopped Mr. Trump from embracing the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. Over the weekend, Mr. Trump called for Russia to be readmitted into the Group of 7 industrialized nations, despite having been kicked out for annexing Crimea in 2014.The actions on Monday were required as part of the 2017 legislation the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and it was not the first time the Trump administration used such measures to penalize Russias nefarious actions. In March, the administration took direct action against Russian organizations accused of interfering in the American election.The Treasury Department said on Monday that the moves were in response to malign and destabilizing activities such as the NotPetya cyberattack in Ukraine last year, intrusions into Americas energy grid and efforts to compromise global digital infrastructure, including routers and switches. The sanctions are also intended to scuttle Russian efforts to track underwater communications cables that transmit much of the worlds data.Digital Security, Kvant Scientific Research Institute and Divetechnoservices were among the groups that were sanctioned. The sanctions freeze the assets of the firms and individuals, and Americans are barred from doing business with them.The timing of the sanctions announcement is interesting considering Trumps recent call for a summit meeting with Putin and his call for Russia to be invited back into the G-7, said Michael Casey, a sanctions expert at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis.Mr. Trump has been giving mixed signals to Russia in recent days. On his way to the Group of 7 gathering in Canada last week, the president declared that he has been Russias worst nightmare.However, in the next breath, he said that Russia should rejoin the alliance.Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? Mr. Trump asked. We should have Russia at the negotiating table. | Politics |
He disputed the Freudian view that dreams held encrypted codes of meaning, believing instead that they resulted from random firings of neurons in the brain.Credit...Paul O. Boisvert for The New York TimesJuly 28, 2021Dr. J. Allan Hobson, a psychiatrist and pioneering sleep researcher who disputed Freuds view that dreams held hidden psychological meaning, died on July 7 at his home in East Burke, Vt. He was 88. The cause was kidney failure resulting from diabetes, said his daughter, Julia Hobson Haggerty.For some time, sleep was not taken seriously as an academic pursuit. Even Dr. Hobson, who was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, joked that the only known function of sleep was to cure sleepiness.But over a career that spanned more than four decades, his own research and that of others showed that sleep is crucial to normal cognitive and emotional function, including learning and memory.In more than 20 books among them The Dreaming Brain (1988); Dreaming as Delirium: How the Brain Goes Out of its Mind (1999), and Dream Self (2021), a memoir he popularized his research and that of others, including the findings that sleep begins in utero and is essential for tissue growth and repair throughout life.He showed that sleep isnt a nothing state, Ralph Lydic, who conducted research with Dr. Hobson in the 1980s and is a professor of neuroscience at the University of Tennessee, said in a phone interview.He demonstrated that the brain is as active during R.E.M. sleep as it is during wakefulness, he added, referring to sleep characterized by rapid eye movement. We know as much about sleep as we do in part because of him.One of his most influential contributions to dream research came in 1977, when Dr. Hobson and a colleague, Robert McCarley, produced a cellular and mathematical model that they believed showed how dreams occur. Dreams, they said, are not mysterious codes sent by the subconscious but rather the brains attempt to attribute meaning to random firings of neurons in the brain.This view, that dreams are the byproduct of chemical reactions, was a departure from psychological orthodoxy and heresy to Freudians, and it remains in dispute.But to Dr. Hobson, the content of dreams was not as important as the electrical activity of the brain during the dream state.His work became foundational for many other sleep researchers, including Carlos H. Schenck, whose team in Minnesota found a link between behavioral disorders during R.E.M. sleep punching ones bed partner, for example, or even jumping out of a window and the likelihood in some of those people of developing Parkinsons disease.Allan Hobson helped us understand the dream abnormalities of R.B.D. right from the beginning in 1986, Dr. Schenck said in an email, referring to R.E.M. sleep behavioral disorders.ImageCredit...Basic BooksDr. Hobson thrived on controversy, and it was no surprise to many that he challenged his own profession of psychoanalysis and its founding father. Even as a child, he constantly questioned the status quo. At 4, he took measurements and concluded that Santa Claus could not fit down the chimney.Im skeptical about any absolute set of rules, scientific rules, moral rules, behavioral rules, he said in a 2011 interview with The Boston Globe. Thats one reason why I dont feel bad taking on Sigmund Freud. I think Sigmund Freud has become politically correct. Psychoanalysis has become the bible, and I think thats crazy.In one of his books, Out of Its Mind: Psychiatry in Crisis A Call for Reform (2002, with Jonathan A. Leonard), he called for an overhaul of the profession.I think people became disillusioned with psychoanalysis because it was, ultimately, a strange way of caring for people, he told The New York Times in 2002.There was this tendency in the psychoanalytic world to imply that everything was psychodynamic, he added, noting that some doctors reflexively blamed mothers for their childrens behavior.But Dr. Hobson softened his views in his later years.He came to believe that psychoanalysis could be useful for treating mental disorders, Dr. Lydic said, but he did not believe in a rigid symbolism in the interpretation of dreams.For the most part, Dr. Hobson still believed, as the saying goes, that a cigar was just a cigar.John Allan Hobson was born on June 3, 1933, in Hartford, Conn. His mother, Ann (Cotter) Hobson, was a homemaker. His father, John Robert Hobson, was a lawyer.John attended the Loomis School, now the Loomis Chaffee School, in Windsor, Conn., graduating in 1951. He spent a year abroad, then returned to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he majored in English, graduating in 1955. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1959.He married Joan Harlowe in 1956; they divorced in 1992. He married Dr. Rosalia Silvestri in the mid-1990s, and she survives him.In addition to his wife and daughter, Dr. Hobson is survived by four sons, Ian, Christopher, Andrew and Matthew; his brother, Bruce; and four grandchildren.After medical school, Dr. Hobson interned for two years at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. In lieu of military service, he served in the Public Health Service of the National Institutes of Health.He was influenced by Michel Jouvet, a neurophysiologist who discovered the region of the brain that controls rapid eye movement and who helped steer Dr. Hobson to study sleep and dreams.Apart from his research, Dr. Hobson was most passionate about his farm in Vermont, which he acquired in 1965 and had since been its steward.He converted part of one barn on the property into a small, interactive sleep museum and classroom for local students, basing it on his multimedia exhibit Dreamstage, which celebrated the art and science of sleep and toured science museums across the United States in the late 1970s. His museum featured, among other things, a preserved brain as well as artwork of brains.The farm was a gathering place for family and friends. Dr. Hobsons children said that the dining room table was often the scene of celebratory recitations of poetry and song. Afterward, the kitchen would fill with the sound of Big Band favorites and become a dance floor.Dr. Hobson wrote in his memoir that he spent 10 years reading all of Marcel Proust twice. He read 10 pages a day.I simply admire his persistent and revealing self-analysis and his description of mental life in and at the edges of sleep, Dr. Hobson told The Globe. His self-observation is much more careful than that of Freud. | science |
On BaseballCredit...Illustration by Sam Manchester/The New York Times; Photographs by Getty ImagesFeb. 8, 2014Ten years ago this weekend, The New York Times published an article about the Boston front office under the headline Red Sox Trying to Picture the Parade. Team executives, we later learned, were not pleased. They thought the headline was presumptuous and made them sound as if they assumed they would win the World Series.Well, they went on to do just that, adding a title in 2007 and another in October. No team can hold a parade without picturing it, or at least plotting a route to get there.For the 2013 Red Sox, the formula was this: returning core of stars plus new manager plus seven high-character, complementary free agents equals a title. Nobody knew last February that, of all the ways to chase a championship, this would be the one to succeed. We knew we would be tested, and there would be skepticism, rightfully so, along the way, said General Manager Ben Cherington, whose 2012 team finished in last place in the American League East. So we felt like if we had a core, kind of a critical mass of guys in the clubhouse who really wanted to be there for the right reasons, they would embrace everything that came along with being in Boston.What will be the right recipe for 2014? With most teams opening spring training camps this week, lets skip ahead to the victory celebration and imagine how baseballs general managers and decision makers might sum up a run to the championship.ANGELS, Jerry DipotoRemember when Albert Pujols went on Sesame Street last winter? Grover was amazed he was actually an athlete, saying, Wow, you are good at baseball! Turns out that was just the start of Alberts campaign to prove his doubters wrong.ASTROS, Jeff LuhnowWeve been making steady progress toward building baseballs best farm system. But when Nolan Ryan accepted our invitation to work for the team, and then somehow made a heroic comeback and threw 25 no-hitters, that accelerated the process to competing. Incidentally, Nolan loves how much hitters strike out these days.ATHLETICS, Billy BeaneWe finally figured out how to destroy those Al Davis seats in center field: with a barrage of Yoenis Cespedes batting-practice home runs. Once that happened, we swung our karma, and the law of averages went our way.BLUE JAYS, Alex AnthopoulosThe problem wasnt that we hit too many home runs; it was that we didnt get on base enough to make those home runs matter. Having Jose Reyes healthy set up our offense, and adding three new starting pitchers after the start of spring training really helped.BRAVES, Frank WrenWhen you have a lot of guys just entering their prime, sometimes they all take a step forward together. But getting Dan Uggla and B. J. Upton back to their old selves, and maintaining a solid pitching staff, put us over the top. BREWERS, Doug MelvinPeople forget that we were actually over .500 after Ryan Brauns suspension last year. With Braun back, the offense we already had, a strong bullpen and Matt Garza making our rotation deeper, this isnt really a surprise to us.CARDINALS, John MozeliakWe didnt touch the pitching, Peter Bourjos caught everything in center, and Jhonny Peralta gave us a real hitter at short. Knowing that we would have the rookie of the year in Oscar Taveras, we thought it was pretty much a formality that wed win 110 games before sweeping the World Series.CUBS, Jed HoyerThey tell me our flight home is delayed because pigs are occupying the airspace over OHare. So I guess these guys really did win the title.DIAMONDBACKS, Kevin TowersHow fitting that Gerardo Parra throws out a guy at the plate to end the World Series. When you have him in right, and Paul Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo hitting 80 homers in the middle of the order, you dont need a No. 1 starter to win.DODGERS, Ned CollettiLast year we had the best rotation in baseball, and Dan Haren only made us deeper. With a full season of Yasiel Puig and Brian Wilson, and good health for Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez, nobody could stop us. GIANTS, Brian SabeanHow many times do we have to say it? Every even-numbered year, we win the World Series. Well see you right back here in 2016.INDIANS, Chris AntonettiThe funny thing about last year is, we made the playoffs even though some of our best hitters had down years. Guys like Michael Bourn, Asdrubal Cabrera and Nick Swisher were bound to bounce back, and we found a legitimate staff ace in Danny Salazar.MARINERS, Jack ZduriencikSure, its a top-heavy payroll, but Brad Miller, Kyle Seager and Mike Zunino provided major production at minimal cost, and Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker gave us three shutdown starters in October.MARLINS, Dan JenningsWe built our ballpark on the site of the Orange Bowl, so it was pretty cool to see Jose Fernandez predict this upset and make the No. 1 sign as he left through the tunnel. And no, were not trading him.METS, Sandy AldersonIke Davis, Curtis Granderson and Chris Young all rediscovered their 30-homer bats, and when Bartolo Colon went down in the playoffs, Matt Harvey came off the disabled list. When he struck out Stephen Drew to win the World Series, it was amazin!NATIONALS, Mike RizzoDoug Fister gave us a four-deep rotation, Bryce Harper was named the National Leagues most valuable player, and Washington is so crazy for us that even congressmen walk around with their shirts untucked like Rafael Soriano after the last out.ORIOLES, Dan DuquetteWe didnt do much last winter, but we knew what we had in Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. The way we played after they came up from the minors to lead the rotation, it was like 1966 all over again.PADRES, Josh ByrnesWell, Kennedy/Johnson was the winning ticket back in 1960, and here we are again. Ian Kennedy and Josh Johnson reversed their regression to lead our rotation behind Andrew Cashner, and our young hitters all broke out together.PHILLIES, Ruben AmaroYou see, things like experience, saves and runs batted in still have meaning in this game. And when you have two of the best starters in baseball, you have a big edge in a short series.PIRATES, Neal HuntingtonYes, we were quiet last winter, but we didnt need to waste money on so-so free agents when we knew we had impact players coming up from the minors. Gregory Polanco gave the lineup a midseason jolt, and Jameson Taillon was this years Michael Wacha.RAYS, Andrew FriedmanAfter seven years of strong teams on low payrolls in the A.L. East, its gratifying to finally win the World Series. Now its time to trade David Price for some more young talent to keep the good times going.RANGERS, Jon DanielsShin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder gave our offense a huge boost, and our pitchers really surprised us by filling in so well for Derek Holland after his knee operation in January. But taking Russell Wilson in the Rule 5 draft gave us that championship edge wed been missing.RED SOX, Ben CheringtonThe last time we won a title for the second year in a row was in 1916, and Babe Ruth pitched all 14 innings to win Game 2. But I think Jon Lesters no-hitter tonight tops even that.REDS, Walt JockettyYou saw in Boston, with John Farrell, how a former pitching coach could make a great manager. Bryan Price proved it for us again this year. But his best move was giving the steal sign to Billy Hamilton as often as possible. ROCKIES, Bill GeivettIts so rare to find two up-the-middle teammates as dynamic as Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. And Brett Anderson, LaTroy Hawkins and Boone Logan really stabilized our staff and helped our young pitchers do some amazing things.ROYALS, Dayton MooreThe pitching was tremendous, again. But look at our lineup. Last year, our leadoff hitters had a .309 on-base percentage, 13th in the league. Getting Norichika Aoki fixed that, and the young guys behind him finally took that jump wed been waiting for. TIGERS, Dave DombrowskiThe only real difference this postseason was that Miguel Cabrera was healthy, Prince Fielder was gone, and our new late-inning relievers, Bruce Rondon and Joe Nathan, didnt give up backbreaking grand slams. TWINS, Terry RyanByron Buxton and Miguel Sano were 20 when this season started, and now theyve brought Minneapolis its first title since before they were born. What a thrill to see Phil Hughes jump into the arms of first baseman Joe Mauer after the final out.WHITE SOX, Rick HahnNobody thought wed be standing here after scoring the fewest runs in the league in 2013 while allowing the most unearned runs. But then again, nobody knew how good Jose Abreu would be.YANKEES, Brian CashmanHow funny that we won our 28th championship while using only one player under 28 years old in the World Series. Of course, that player was Masahiro Tanaka. His three wins and a save will go down in Yankees lore. | Sports |
Credit...Andrea Morales for The New York TimesJune 1, 2018IUKA, Miss. When Chris McDaniel first ran for Senate four years ago, his campaign became a cause for disaffected and restless Republicans across the country. Activists waving Dont Tread on Me flags flooded Mississippi. Tea Party-aligned groups spent millions supporting him. Donald J. Trump who was still a year away from announcing his presidential campaign took notice and tweeted his endorsement: He is strong, he is smart & he wants things to change in Washington.Mr. McDaniel, a state senator and a lawyer, received more votes than any other candidate in that Republican primary, but eventually lost in a runoff to the incumbent, Thad Cochran. But now as Mr. McDaniel embarks on another run for Senate, his campaign contributions are a fraction of what they were in 2014. On a good night, a few dozen people show up to hear him speak. And President Trump is so far keeping his distance from the race.Mr. McDaniels faded political fortunes point up one of the more unforeseen effects of Mr. Trumps leadership of the Republican Party. Instead of elevating the renegade, insurgent conservatives who have vowed to challenge party leaders in Washington candidates who are politically and temperamentally cut from the same cloth as the president Mr. Trump has effectively shut off the oxygen to the noisiest and most fractious wing of his party.He has endorsed almost every incumbent Republican senator, making it much more difficult for challengers like Mr. McDaniel to wage the kind of primary fights that have sown division inside the party for most of the last decade. In Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia, Mr. Trump has actively worked against candidates that had strong support from grass-roots conservatives.And while the president has publicly carped at Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader while also privately badmouthing them as unreliable and weak he has maintained a partnership of mutual convenience with these frequent targets of the rights ire.ImageCredit...Andrea Morales for The New York TimesMr. Trumps repositioning has led some self-styled conservative agitators to acknowledge that their bomb-throwing, anti-establishment playbook is in need of refinement.People are starting to realize that the anti-establishment thing is kind of a luxury we cant afford right now, said Stephen K. Bannon, the presidents former chief strategist who six months ago said it was his objective to see Mr. McConnell removed as the Senate Republican leader.That effort has been put on hold. And Mr. Bannons rebellion has considerably smaller ambitions than it did six months ago, when he was trying to recruit challengers to every Republican incumbent senator up for re-election this year, with the exception of Ted Cruz of Texas.Of those Mr. Bannon worked most closely with, just two are still running: Mr. McDaniel and Kelli Ward in Arizona, who is competing in a three-way primary for the seat that opened up after Senator Jeff Flake announced his retirement. The candidate Mr. Bannon backed most conspicuously, Roy S. Moore of Alabama, lost in December after multiple women accused Mr. Moore of sexual misconduct.As Mr. McDaniel campaigned in Mississippi last month, the challenge of hitting the right note with voters was evident. If he talked too much about how Washington has failed, he might leave the impression he was criticizing Mr. Trump a third rail with Republican voters in deeply red states. Attacking Mr. McConnell was useful, but only to a point. So he tried a softer, more self-reflective approach.Were thankful for Donald Trump. Were thankful to have him in the White House. But he cant do this by himself, Mr. McDaniel told a room of about 30 people at an American Legion post in Iuka, a town of about 3,000 in the northeast corner where Mississippi borders Tennessee and Alabama.ImageCredit...Andrea Morales for The New York TimesSend him to the Senate, Mr. McDaniel went on, and he would do his best to be a vehicle for the will of the people of Mississippi. Im just a guy with a message, he said, a flawed individual; a sinner saved by grace.This is not the campaign Mr. McDaniel thought he would be running. Last fall he was the standout candidate in Mr. Bannons class of Republican rogues. The party establishment was spooked, having just lost two incumbents to retirement, Mr. Flake and Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee.But Mr. Trump thwarted Mr. McDaniels would-be mutiny before it could get off the ground. He endorsed Senator Roger Wicker, the man Mr. McDaniel hoped to replace and had spent months attacking as halfheartedly committed to the presidents programs.Seeing Mr. Wicker as a much stronger opponent with the presidents backing, Mr. McDaniel switched races after Mississippis other senator, Mr. Cochran, resigned because of poor health. Now, in a special election being held in November, he is running against Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who was appointed in March to fill Mr. Cochrans seat. Establishment Republicans in Washington have tried to convince Mr. Trump to endorse her, though he is wary of intervening in some state-level races and has held off so far.In other cases, the presidents endorsements have defied his reputation as a political outsider who has little interest in going along to get along.In Nevada, he pressured Danny Tarkanian, the Senate candidate preferred by Mr. Bannon and many conservative activists, to run for a House seat instead despite the fact that the incumbent, Senator Dean Heller, had enraged Mr. Trump and the partys right flank by waffling on a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.ImageCredit...Andrea Morales for The New York TimesIn Utah, Mr. Trump made a once unthinkable concession and endorsed Mitt Romney, a pillar of the Republican establishment whom he once attacked as a fool who was too awkward and goofy to win the White House.If these moves seemed off-brand for Mr. Trump, Republican voters didnt seem to mind. They have appeared willing to follow his lead, party strategists and candidates said, much as they have on issues that once drove the Republican agenda like fiscal responsibility and the debt, which Mr. Trump has largely ignored.There are a lot of Republicans that dont care a lot more than Ive ever seen before, because President Trump has signed off, Mr. Tarkanian said, referring to the anti-deficit and spending campaigns that animated Tea Party-styled candidates like him. If anybody questions who controls the Republican Party, or who Republican primary voters support, he added, theyre not out talking to them. They support Trump.Mr. Trumps maneuvers have largely worked. Mr. Tarkanian eventually dropped his challenge to Mr. Heller. And Mr. Trumps backing of Senators Deb Fischer in Nebraska and John Barrasso in Wyoming appeared to head off any serious challenges from the right before they could get off the ground. (Ms. Fischer won her primary last week with nearly 76 percent of the vote; Mr. Barrasso is running unopposed in the Wyoming primary, after Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, considered and ultimately chose not to challenge him.)Then, this month in West Virginia, Mr. Trump intervened at the last minute to encourage voters to oppose Don Blankenship, a coal executive recently released from prison who tried to pull off a cruder version of the presidents punch-down, no-apologies style of political combat. Mr. Blankenship came in a distant third in the Republican Senate primary.When Mr. McDaniel ran four years ago, his lane was much clearer. His opponent, Mr. Cochran, was seeking his seventh term, making him an easy target for Mr. McDaniels appeal that it was time to pass the torch of liberty to a new generation. He could make a clearer case that he was the true conservative who would fight the kind of pork barrel spending that made Mr. Cochran a legend. His complaints that millions in this country feel like strangers in this land sounded fresher in a pre-Trump Republican Party.Mr. McDaniel said he expected more attacks from fellow Republicans this time. My party finds conservatives; they target us; they spend untold amounts of money against us. Then they say, See, hes unelectable, he said in an interview before he boarded a camper that would carry him across the state for his speech in Iuka. Its the same vehicle he used in his first Senate campaign, with the same three-foot-high decal of the Constitution slapped on the side. New stickers that say 2018 cover up where it used to say 2014. It breaks down more frequently now.There is no primary to fill Mr. Cochrans seat. Its candidates from both major parties competing directly against each other: Ms. Hyde-Smith and Mr. McDaniel, and the Democrats Mike Espy and Tobey Bartee. If none receive a majority on Nov. 6, the top two will compete again three weeks later.The United States Chamber of Commerce, a longtime ally of Mr. McConnell and the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill, has already committed $750,000 to pay for ads supporting Ms. Hyde-Smith and attacking Mr. McDaniel. A new Mississippi-based super PAC run by the nephews of Haley Barbour, the former governor and Republican National Committee chairman, is waiting in the wings for the right time to strike at Mr. McDaniel, likely closer to the election.On the Democratic side, Mr. Espy, a former congressman and Agriculture secretary, is hoping to push Mr. McDaniel into a runoff.Mr. McDaniel said he has been puzzled by some of Mr. Trumps political choices, especially the Romney nod. Mitt Romney could not have been more establishment, more hateful toward Donald Trump. And he endorsed him. How do you look at that? he asked.On one level he said he understands Mr. Trumps approach. Hes raged against the machine and won. And now hes pretending to work within the machine, he said. I think its probably necessary under the circumstances to play some of those games.But as for how Mr. Trumps realignment has affected him, Mr. McDaniel said, Its changed the whole ballgame. | Politics |
Credit...Tim Clayton for The New York TimesFeb. 4, 2014As ice hockey hotbeds in the United States go, the three Ms Michigan, Massachusetts and Minnesota lead the way. Maine, upstate New York and North Dakota also have been prominent feeder spots.But if United States Olympic mens and womens hockey rosters are an indication, Connecticut is rising in status. Five men and women who were named to the national hockey teams for the Sochi Games played for the Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association in Stamford: Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty and St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk of the mens team, and forward Kendall Coyne and defenseman Josephine Pucci of the womens team. In all, former Mid Fairfield players make up 11 percent (5 of 46) of the United States Olympic hockey rosters. (A sixth player with Connecticut ties, the four-time Olympian Julie Chu, of Fairfield, is also going to Sochi.)I think its a fantastic honor, the Mid Fairfield president, Lance Marciano, said. The fact that Mid Fairfield could push them to this level is fantastic.Olympic athletes chose us. They felt that at that time, it was the best platform to reach the next level.For Pacioretty and Shattenkirk, both 25, the Olympics will be their first time playing together since they were teenagers. They were teammates on the Mid Fairfield Blues under-16 team that won the national championship in 2005.Were both pretty excited about it; the last time we played together was for Mid Fairfield, Shattenkirk said. Weve been good friends. And now that its become a reality, itll be fun to share that moment and that memory with him.Mid Fairfield sponsors 11 boys travel teams in five divisions and five girls squads in four age groups. The clubs are based at the two-year-old Chelsea Piers complex in Stamford. Marciano, who played college hockey at Yale, identifies the programs coaches many of whom were drafted by N.H.L. organizations as Mid Fairfields greatest strength. I think its important to have volunteers to have that passion, experience and knowledge, Marciano said. We dont find volunteer coaches living vicariously through their kids because theyve played in college and have lived it themselves.Doug Messier, father of the former Rangers captain Mark Messier, is the coach of Mid Fairfields Midget Major 1 program. Mark helps out his fathers team as an assistant.You can pick a player off Dougs midget team, and he is as close to being a pro as is possible of an 18- or 19-year-old, Marciano said. He wont tolerate boys that arent good young men.The high-level alumni have helped the program grow and gain prominence. Quick, 28, from Hamden, Conn., and Pacioretty, from New Canaan, Conn., have assisted in camps and clinics for Mid Fairfield, and Shattenkirk, a native of New Rochelle, N.Y., is scheduled to visit later this year. There are a long list of players who have been through Mid Fairfields program, and the kids know it, Marciano said. But the parents spend more time on it. Theyre excited when Max comes back and signs a hat.The club is also proud of its girls hockey program, which is 10 years old. Pucci, 23, from Pearl River, N.Y., led the club to second- and third-place national finishes in its early years. Theres a strong womens hockey presence there, Shattenkirk said. I think its great to see. From where it was when we were there is far behind where it has come now.Another sign of growth is the clubs new facility. The organization used to share time at Darien Ice Rink and the Twin Rinks in Stamford, but it now has its own home.Its great for us for a variety of reasons, Marciano said. We have full sheets at the same time, and it helps us when our younger kids watch the older teams.Connecticut is a budding hockey state, and Marciano wants to keep the high-level talent coming. The program follows the American Developmental Model of USA Hockey, which promotes preparation, performance and retention over specialization and travel.Our challenge is to make sure that there is another Kevin Shattenkirk in a decade, Marciano said. I think any program, when you have success, itd be foolish to believe that that success will just continue. Our challenge is to not be complacent. | Sports |