Court issues stay on hog slaughter inspection rule


USDA photo by Preston Kere  

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector shows Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue around the processing floor of the Triumph Foods pork processing facility April 28, 2017. The facility houses 2,800 employees in St. Joseph, Mo.

USDA has 90 days to determine next steps in how to address courts’ criticisms of considering impact of worker safety.

Jacqui Fatka | Apr 02, 2021

The U.S. District Court of Minnesota issued a decision in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local No. 663 v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, requiring the new administration’s USDA to decide how to proceed on the 2019 rule to change line speeds on hog slaughter inspection lines.

The decision essentially threw out the elimination of line speed limits because USDA did not adequately consider the impacts of the increased slaughter speeds on worker safety, the court says. The rest of the rules remained in place, and the court stayed its order for 90 days, giving the new administration the opportunity to rewrite the policies. Public Citizen Litigation Group represented four UFCW locals and UFCW International, which represents 33,000 workers in the pork processing industry.

The court held that USDA acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it refused to consider the impact of eliminating line speeds on worker health and safety in a rule it issued creating the New Swine Inspection System in October 2019. The court also rejected the meatpacking industry’s arguments that increased line speeds do not put workers at increased risk of harm, citing evidence showing a relationship between high speeds and musculoskeletal injuries, lacerations and amputations.

“The court’s decision recognized that Trump’s USDA violated basic principles of administrative law when it refused to consider the impact of its actions on plant workers and claimed, contrary to its longstanding practice, that it was not allowed to do so,” says Adam Pulver, the Public Citizen attorney who serves as lead counsel on the case.

The court vacated the provision of NSIS that eliminates line speed limits but placed its order on hold for 90 days to allow USDA time to develop a plan with respect to those plants that have converted to NSIS.

“The Administration is deeply committed to worker safety and a safe, reliable food supply. This is an important decision, and we are reviewing it closely in light of the authorities, mission and mandate of the Food Safety and Inspection Service,” according to a statement from a FSIS spokesman.

The North American Meat Institute also says it offered compelling evidence about the safety of workers under NSIS in its amicus brief. “For these reasons, we would like to see the agency appeal and ask for a stay,” says Meat Institute spokeswoman Sarah Little.

Line speeds are adjusted in all plants to optimize efficiencies without jeopardizing worker safety, animal welfare, food safety or quality. Line speeds depend on many factors, such as livestock conditions, staffing, equipment capabilities and food safety controls.

“NSIS comes with new, additional requirements, such as monitoring to ensure process control. FSIS inspectors may slow the line,” explains Little.

FSIS’s analysis shows that plants operating under the pilot program – HACCP Inspection Models Project or HIMP - averaged line speeds of 1,099 head per hour, with speeds varying from 885 head per hour to 1,295 head per hour, the Meat Institute shares.

FSIS states, “Although they are authorized to do so, market hog HIMP establishments do not operate at line speeds that are significantly faster than the current maximum line speeds for market hogs.” Maximum line speed for the traditional system is 1,106 head per hour.

FSIS compared establishment injury rates between HIMP and traditional establishments from 2002 to 2010. The preliminary analysis shows that HIMP establishments had lower mean injury rates than non-HIMP establishments. Plants that elect to operate under NSIS must provide safety attestations annually. In addition, FSIS inspectors have the authority to reduce speeds if they believe the line speed poses a worker safety risk, the Meat Institute adds.

FSIS evaluated the HIMP inspection program and found that HIMP market hog establishments receive more off-line food safety related inspection verification checks than the traditional non-HIMP market hog establishments, the Meat Institute adds.

“HIMP market hog establishments have higher compliance with Sanitation SOP [standing operating procedures] and HACCP regulations, lower levels of non-food safety defects, equivalent or better Salmonella verification testing positive rates than traditional non-HIMP market hog establishments, and lower levels of violative chemical residues. Under NSIS, market hog establishments are receiving an increased level of Sanitation SOP and HACCP inspection,” the Meat Institute explains.

“Food and Water Watch claims HIMP/NSIS FS-2 rates of violations are higher than traditional plants, but this is incorrect,” adds Little. “Under the traditional system, inspectors check 11 carcasses for violations, but in a HIMP/NSIS facility inspectors check twice as many (24) carcasses for violations.”

FDA investigating cause of bad batch of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

Batch had to be thrown out after mistake at Emergent manufacturing plant

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Published: April 1, 2021 
By Peter Loftus and
Thomas M. Burton

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating what caused a batch of the active ingredient for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to be scrapped for failing to meet quality standards at a contract manufacturing plant, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The FDA may send an inspection team to assess the situation at the Baltimore plant operated by contractor Emergent BioSolutions Inc. EBS, -13.40%, the person said.

The regulatory scrutiny follows J&J’s disclosure Wednesday that a batch of the main ingredient for its COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at the Emergent plant didn’t meet standards. The batch didn’t reach the vial-filling and finishing stage, and no doses from it were distributed.

J&J JNJ, -0.92% says the quality lapse didn’t affect vaccine doses that have been distributed in the U.S. since the vaccine was authorized in late February, and the company still has enough supply to meet near-term commitments. J&J also makes the main ingredient for the vaccine at its own plant in the Netherlands.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

US Manufacturing sector marks highest growth since December 1983


Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan. File Photo by Morry Gash/EPA-EFE

April 1 (UPI) -- Economic trends show that U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest point in more than 37 years in March, the Institute For Supply Management said Thursday.

The last month alone marked the fastest rate of growth in the last 12 months, with the ISM index of national factory activity growing to a reading of 64.7% in March from 60.8% in February, figures show in the ISM report.

A reading above 50% indicates the manufacturing economy is expanding and below 50% indicates it's contracting, according to ISM, which uses the Purchasing Managers' Index for economic trends.

The employment index has grown for four consecutive months. It rose to 59.6% in March, its highest reading since February 2018, and 5.2 percentage points higher than February reading of 54.4%.

The manufacturing economy has been expanding for 10 consecutive months after contracting in April and May, figures show, amid closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the pandemic has shot up demand with companies struggling to keep up with it.

"The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in March," ISM Chair Timothy Fiore said in a statement Thursday. "However, Survey Committee Members reported that their companies and suppliers continue to struggle to meet increasing rates of demand due to coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts limiting availability of parts and materials."

The manufacturing sector makes up about 11.39% of the U.S. economy, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

The S&P 500 hit a new milestone above 4,000 amid investor reaction to the manufacturing growth, MarketWatch reported.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed the month with a previous record high of 3,972.89.

Technology stocks contributed to the gains as investors reacted to President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan. The plan would raise the corporate tax rate to fund the plan within 15 years.

RELATED ADP, Moody's: U.S. added 517,000 new jobs in March


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London police officer found guilty of membership in banned neo-Nazi group

Hannam's conviction for a terrorism offense marks a first for a British officer


Met officer Benjamin Hannam has been found guilty

 of involvement in a proscribed terrorist group. 

Photo courtesy of Met Police

April 1 (UPI) -- A London police officer has been found guilty of membership in a banned neo-Nazi group, the Metropolitan Police said Thursday.

Probationary Police Constable Benjamin Hannam, 22, of North London, was found guilty of membership of proscribed terrorist organization National Action, following a trial at the Old Bailey, Met Police said in a statement. He was convicted of two counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of possession of document likely to be of use to a terrorist.

The Home Secretary proscribed the racist neo-Nazi group National Action as a terrorist group on December 16, 2016.

"The public expect police officers to carry out their duties with the very highest levels of honesty and integrity," said Commander Richard Smith of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. "Sadly, PC Hannam showed none of these qualities, firstly by joining with a far-right proscribed organization, and then when he lied about his past links to this group when applying to become a police officer."

Hannam is slated for sentencing on April 23.

He was suspended from duty following his arrest on March 5 of last year. His arrest stemmed from a Counter Terrorism Command investigation in February of last year into individuals, including suspected National Action members, linked to a far-right extremist Internet forum 'Iron March.'

Smith said in a statement Hannam was arrested shortly after investigators were able to "link his online profile to his real-world identity."

After his arrest, investigators found that he had not only engaged with National Action offline since March 2016, but also had direct involvement with the group offline after it was banned. Hannam joined the Met in March 2018 after lying about his involvement with the banned group when applying the prior year.

His involvement with the banned group ended prior to the start of his police training, according to the police statement. Until the summer of 2017, when he applied to the Met, he had attended various activities and events organized by the group.

Hannam was also a recruiter for National Action, Sky News reported.

Detectives spotted an image of Hannam online after his arrest, which showed him in a police uniform, with a Hitler-style mustache superimposed on his face and a Nazi badge on his lapel, according to Sky News.

They also discovered Hannam had a knife-fighting manual, and a copy of the "manifesto" of right-wing extremist Anders Breivik, which included bomb-making instructions and "exhaustive justifications for his mass-casualty attacks," prosecutors said, Sky News added.

Breivik killed 77 people in a terrorist bombing and shooting rampage in Oslo, Norway, in 2011.

Hannam's conviction for a terrorism offense marks a first for a British officer, the BBC reported.

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Climate change, biodiversity loss the top concerns

 in UNESCO survey

Many respondents in the UNESCO survey said better education is probably a key tool in the fight against concerns like climate change. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

April 1 (UPI) -- Ongoing climate change and declines in biodiversity have been identified as the world's chief environmental concerns in a new United Nations survey.

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said more than 15,000 people, mostly under the age of 35, participated in The World in 2030 survey.

As part of the survey, respondents were asked about their most pressing concerns. Apart from climate change and biodiversity decline, most identified violence and conflict, discrimination and equality and lack of food, water and housing as other top worries.

"At a time of massive disruption linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, our goal was to listen to the challenges being faced by people all over the world, and they have told us loud and clear," UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

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"Greater efforts are needed to address people's specific concerns, and multilateralism is the way to do this. Restoring confidence in multilateralism requires the implementation of concrete and impactful projects."

Many respondents answered that improvements in education are likely a prime solution to fighting many of their most pressing concerns.

"This reflects a collective conviction in the importance of education not only as an end in and of itself but as a valid and wide-reaching solution to our many and varied global challenges," the report states. "Education was also considered the area of society which will most need to be rethought in light of the COVID-19 crisis."

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On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency also sounded an alarm over climate change -- saying that new commitments, substantial policy changes and far less reliance on fossil fuels are needed to achieve environmental goals around the world established to slow global warming.

Boxed in by poachers, African elephants only use fraction of potential range

Elephants alter their movement patterns and feeding times to avoid poachers, today occupying just 17% of their potential range in Africa as a result of threats posed by humans. Photo by David Giffin

April 1 (UPI) -- African elephants have habitat to spare, but new research suggests their range has been constrained by 2,000 years of human pressure.

Despite human development and population growth across Africa, a new survey of the African elephant's potential range -- published Thursday in the journal Current Biology -- suggests there is still plenty of suitable habitat.

Humans have been targeting elephants for their tusks for thousands of years, but the ivory trade began rapidly expanding during late 17th century.

The growth of the ivory trade, as European colonizers arrived on the continent, dramatically shrank the size of the African elephant population, as well as the species' geographic range.

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Today, the continent's elephants remain hemmed in by poachers, unable to utilize the full scope of Africa's available habitat.

According to the new study, roughly 62% of Africa, or 7 million square miles, is suitable for elephant habitation. Much of the potential habitat is only sparsely populated by humans.

For the study, scientists used GPS collars to track where elephants roam today.

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Researchers analyzed the habitat features present across their current range, including vegetation type, tree cover, surface temperature, precipitation, slope and human influence.

Finally, scientists extrapolated the data to determine where else the megafauna could live but don't.

Researchers found large swaths of unused habitat in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where not long ago massive forests hosted hundreds of thousands of elephants.

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Today, the two nation's are home to just 5,000 to 10,000 elephants.

The authors of the new study also pinpointed places where elephants are unable to survive.

"The major no-go areas include the Sahara, Danakil and Kalahari deserts, as well as urban centers and high mountaintops," study co-author Iain Douglas-Hamilton said in a press release.

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"That gives us an idea of what the former range of elephants might have been. However, there's a dearth of information about the status of African elephants between the end of Roman times and the arrival of the first European colonizers," said Douglas-Hamilton, a zoologist at Oxford University and founder of Save the Elephants.

Historical evidence suggests elephants once occupied nearly every part of the African continent.

But through the centuries, these highly intelligent animals have learned to avoid humans and the threats they pose, concentrating themselves into a drastically reduced range.

"Elephants are quick to recognize danger, and find safer areas," said Douglas-Hamilton.

Previous studies have shown elephants alter their migration and feeding patterns to avoid poachers.

The latest findings are a reminder of what the African elephant's range and population size might look like if the threat of poaching was eliminated, researchers said.

"Elephants are generalist mega-herbivores that can occupy fringe habitats," Wall concludes. "Their range may have shrunk, but if we gave them the chance they could spread back to parts of their former habitat."


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White House: U.S. wind power plan would avert 80M tons of carbon emissions


A wind turbine is seen at a farm near Somerset, Pa. The administration said Monday that reaching the new goals would create more than $12 billion in annual investments and create more than 77,000 clean energy jobs. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

March 29 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Monday launched an ambitious program to greatly boost the development of offshore wind power in the United States, initially focusing on the Eastern Seaboard.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, national climate adviser Gina McCarthy, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other administration officials said the plan calls for deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power across the country by 2030.

The United States currently has only 28 megawatts of capacity and one functioning offshore wind farm.

Reaching the goals will create more than $12 billion annually in capital investment along both U.S. coasts and create tens of thousands of jobs in the industry and in spin-off areas, the officials estimate.

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Additionally, the plan says the efforts will prevent nearly 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, create close to 50,000 direct jobs in the offshore wind sector and 33,000 indirect jobs.

"President Biden has declared very clearly that when he thinks of climate, he thinks of people and jobs -- good-paying, union jobs," McCarthy said in a statement issued by the White House.

"This offshore wind goal is proof of our commitment to using American ingenuity and might to invest in our nation, advance our own energy security, and combat the climate crisis," added Granholm.

RELATED Early, steady investment in wind, solar best way to decarbonize economy

Under the measures announced Monday, the Interior Department unveiled a new priority wind energy leasing area in the New York Bight -- a swath of shallow waters in the Atlantic Ocean between Long Island and the New Jersey coast -- which a recent study showed could support up to 25,000 development and construction early in the 2030s.

The administration also said it has launched the environmental permitting process for the proposed 1,110-megawatt Ocean Wind offshore farm -- which, if built, would be located 15 miles off the southern New Jersey shore and provide enough power for 500,000 homes in the state.

The Interior Department earlier this year began environmental reviews for the proposed Vineyard Wind farm in Massachusetts and the South Fork in Rhode Island, with up to ten additional projects to be considered later in 2021.

Okla. asks court to reconsider overturned murder conviction in tribal dispute

April 1 (UPI) -- Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has asked a state appeals court to reconsider its ruling overturning the conviction of a death row inmate on tribal jurisdiction grounds.

Hunter filed a motion Thursday asking the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to rehear Shaun Bosse's case.

He was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in 2010 for the deaths of his girlfriend, Katrina Griffin, and her two children, Christian Griffin and Chasity. The conviction was overturned earlier this year after the Supreme Court ruled that state courts don't have jurisdiction over crimes that happen on tribal land and involve tribal members.

Griffin and her children were members of the Chickasaw Nation and their slayings happened on tribal lands.

The Supreme Court decision doesn't mean Bosse will walk free, though. Rather, it means he must be prosecuted under the Major Crimes Act. Only federal prosecutors can bring a case in crimes committed by or against American Indians on reservation land.

Hunter said the case, though, should be reheard in state court because Boose isn't an American Indian.

"This is about fighting to ensure justice for victims of not only the brutal crimes committed by Shaun Bosse, but also those being revictimized by fallout from the McGirt ruling," he said. "We continue to believe the state has jurisdiction over non-Native Americans on tribal reservation lands, even if the federal government also has jurisdiction. Exclusive federal jurisdiction only applies to Native Americans."

The Chickasaw Nation filed a brief Wednesday saying it supports the continued prosecution of Bosse for the slayings.

"We grieve for the family of Mr. Bosse's victims," the tribe said in a document shared with KTEN-TV in Ada, Okla. "At the same time, our unequivocal view is that the court's opinion is correct.

"What is more, we are dedicated to the fulfillment of our rights and responsibilities as a sovereign tribal government with jurisdiction over the Chickasaw Reservation in accord with federal law."

RELATED UPI Archives: Triple-murder suspect recaptured in Okla.

Haaland establishes missing, murdered Native American women unit


Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the new Missing & Murdered Unit will offer federal resources to investigate cases of missing and slain American Indian and Native Alaskan women. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

April 1 (UPI) -- Newly sworn-in Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Thursday she's establishing a new unit to address missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Haaland, who is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, said the new Missing & Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services will provide federal assistance to the investigation of such cases.

The department said the crimes often go unsolved due to a lack of resources and funding in local jurisdictions.

"Violence against Indigenous peoples is a crisis that has been underfunded for decades," Haaland said.

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"Far too often, murders and missing persons cases in Indian country go unsolved and unaddressed, leaving families and communities devastated. The new MMU unit will provide the resources and leadership to prioritize these cases and coordinate resources to hold people accountable, keep our communities safe, and provide closure for families."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third-leading cause of death for American and Alaska Native girls and women aged 10 to 24. Some 1,500 American Indians and Alaska Natives are on the National Crime Information Center's list of missing persons in the country, and about 2,700 murders and homicides have been reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

The Interior Department said the new unit will build on a task force established in 2019 by former President Donald Trump to address the issue.

The MMU will work with tribal authorities, the BIA and FBI on active missing and homicide investigations. The unit also will work with the Justice Department's National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the FBI's Forensic Laboratory and Behavioral Analysis Units, the U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"Whether it's a missing family member or a homicide investigation, these efforts will be all hands-on deck," Haaland said. "We are fully committed to assisting Tribal communities with these investigations, and the MMU will leverage every resource available to be a force-multiplier in preventing these cases from becoming cold case investigations."

Celebrities, activists sign open letter supporting transgender women

March 31 (UPI) -- Hundreds of celebrities and activists are showing their support for transgender women and girls.

Singers Selena Gomez and Janelle Monáe, actresses Laverne Cox and Gabrielle Union, activist Gloria Steinem and over 460 others signed an open letter from GLAAD released Wednesday on Transgender Day of Visibility.

The letter declares "that transgender women are women and that transgender girls are girls" and denounces anti-transgender attacks, rhetoric and legislation.

"All of us deserve the same access, freedoms, and opportunities. We deserve equal access to education, employment, healthcare, housing, recreation, and public accommodations. And we must respect each person's right to bodily autonomy and self-determination," the statement reads.

The letter also calls out trans-exclusionary feminists for "promoting damaging and violent ideas about trans people for years."

"True feminists do not wish to limit any woman's identity or freedom to fully be herself," the letter reads.

The letter also addresses the "ongoing epidemic of murder and violence" specifically targeting Black and Latinx trans women. More than 44 trans people were killed in 2020, while at least nine deaths have been reported this year.

"We all must fight against the unnecessary and unethical barriers placed on trans women and girls by lawmakers and those who co-opt the feminist label in the name of division and hatred. Our feminist must be unapologetically expansive so that we can leave the door open for future generations," the letter concludes.

Other notable signatories include Regina King, Cynthia Erivo, Brie Larson, Wanda Sykes, Lena Waithe, Sarah Paulson, America Ferrera, Halle Berry, Melissa Etheridge and Lena Dunham.

Earlier this week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued executive order banning transgender girls and women athletes from competing in female sports at public schools.

In addition, Arkansas passed a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors.