Jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to cut 9,000 jobs 

A worker walks beneath one of four large Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines on an Airbus A380 at Vancouver International Airport in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. File Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo

May 20 (UPI) -- British jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it will cut 9,000 jobs as it tries to weather the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the air travel industry.

Rolls-Royce said 8,000 of the cuts will be made in its civil aerospace sector. The losses represent nearly one-fifth of the company's worldwide workforce of 52,000.

"Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we," Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East said in a statement. "We must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times."

Rolls-Royce said the reorganization should save the company about $1.6 billion annually and $858 million immediately.

"We have to do this right, which means we will work closely with our employee and trade union representatives as appropriate, look at any viable alternatives to mitigate the impact, consult with everyone affected and treat our people with dignity and respect," West added.

A number of aircraft use Rolls Royce engines, including Airbus' A330, A340, A350 and A380 jetliners, as well as Boeing's 777 and 787.

The International Air Transport Association said last week it doesn't expect air travel to return to 2019 levels until 2023. Rolls-Royce said it plans to produce just 250 plane engines this year, down from its previous estimate of 450.

Ryanair to cut pay, as many as 3,000 jobs due to travel slowdown

A Ryanair Boeing 737 lands at Dublin Airport in Dublin, Ireland. The carrier said Monday it may ultimately cut 3,000 jobs due to fallout from the coronavirus crisis. File Photo by Aidan Crawley/EPA-EFE

May 18 (UPI) -- Ireland-based Ryanair says it may end up cutting thousands of jobs due to economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The discount airline said in an earnings report Monday that most of its fleet has been grounded since mid-March, which reduced full-year traffic by five million travelers.


Ryanair said it anticipates operating less than 1 percent of its scheduled flights in the quarter from April to June and hopes to fly more than 50 percent of its flights in the following quarter.

The company said it won't take government aid and it has already begun to make labor cutbacks.

"Unlike many flag carrier competitors, Ryanair will not request or receive state aid," the company said. "Consultations about base closures, pay cuts of up to 20 percent, unpaid leave and up to 3,000 job cuts (mainly pilots and cabin crew) are underway with our people and our unions."

The airline said profits had increased by 13 percent for the last fiscal year, which ended in March before the full impact of the coronavirus crisis arrived.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary criticized European restrictions that called for a 14-day quarantine for some passengers on inbound flights. Some have since been eased.

"They removed this idiotic 14-day isolation that is both unimplementable and unmanageable, in favor of using masks and temperature checks," O'Leary told CNBC, calling the proposed quarantine "a joke."

O'Leary said he's hoping to dissuade British officials from imposing their own 14-day quarantine.

"The government has no idea what they are talking about," he said. "They say it is based on science but then [they] can't explain why you're exempting the Irish and the French."

IEA: New renewable energy to decline for the first time in 20 years

Renewable energy installations will decrease in 2020 for the first time in two decades, the IEA report said. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

May 20 (UPI) -- Due to delays in construction caused by lockdown measures, the number of new renewable power installations worldwide will decline in 2020 for first time in 20 years, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

The IEA made the projection in its Renewable Market Update report.

Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis will result in a 13 percent decline in new renewable power capacity coming online this year -- some 167 gigawatts, the report said, although even the lower number represents a 6 percent growth in global capacity.

The growth pattern is forecast to quickly resume in 2021 and rebound to the level set in 2019, mainly due to two new hydropower projects in China and a rush to build new renewable installations in the United States before tax credits expire.

RELATED Satellites help solar power plants anticipate cloud cover, sunlight availability

"The resilience of renewable electricity to the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis is good news but cannot be taken for granted," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "Countries are continuing to build new wind turbines and solar plants, but at a much slower pace."

Despite the demand for renewable energy, Birol urged governments to keep sight of the "essential task of stepping up clean energy transitions to enable us to emerge from the crisis on a secure and sustainable path."

Recovery will be slower in more mature markets such as Europe, however, as global growth for 2020 and 2021 combined is expected to be 10 percent under the IEA's previous forecast.

RELATED Ethanol production plummets as people drive less during pandemic

Wednesday's outlook said solar installations will decline from 110 gigawatts in 2019 to 90 gigawatts this year, followed by a modest rebound in 2021, while decreases in onshore wind power will be "mostly compensated for" next year.

An analysis by the U.S. solar industry says it will employ 114,000 fewer workers by June than previously anticipated, a reduction to 2014 levels.

RELATED JPMorgan pledges to aid with $200B in environmental, economic efforts

McDonald's workers striking Wednesday over COVID-19 conditions

McDonald's says the strike is a "publicity stunt" by labor organizers and that the company has provided an "ample supply" of personal protective equipment.

McDonald's disputes accusations from striking workers and a lawsuit, saying the health of its workers is a top priority. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

MAY 20, 2020 / 6:46 AM

May 20 (UPI) -- Hundreds of McDonald's workers plan to strike on Wednesday, saying the fast-food chain has provided inadequate protection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers in a number of cities are set to take part in the strike organized by the minimum-wage labor campaign "Fight for $15" and supported by the Service Employees International Union ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting

"This is about choices," union President Mary Kay Henry said. "McDonald's can do the right thing and protect its workers. It is choosing not to."

Organizers say McDonald's workers in at least 16 states have contracted COVID-19. They cite a survey in which 42 percent of a sample of 800 workers said they were told by management not to wear gloves or face coverings and 46 percent said they reported to work despite feeling ill out of fear of discipline.

"We are aware of scores of cases of COVID-19-positive workers in at least 16 states across the country. Time and time again, McDonald's has failed to swiftly close and disinfect stores following confirmed reports of COVID-19 employees," an open letter to McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski states. "To make matters worse, your restaurants have also failed to promptly inform workers of exposure to the virus and to provide pay during quarantine."

Five McDonald's workers in Chicago and four of their family members have also filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status, alleging that McDonald's hasn't provided enough masks, gloves and hand sanitizer to protect them from the outbreak.

McDonald's says the strike is a strategically timed "publicity stunt" by labor organizers and denies the accusations made by the suit and strike organizers, saying it's provided an "ample supply" of personal protective equipment.

RELATED MTA testing UV lamps to disinfect COVID-19

"We are grateful for the 850,000 individuals who are the heart and soul of every McDonald's restaurant across the U.S. As a people business, providing a safe environment in the restaurants is a top priority," the company said in a statement Tuesday.

"And we're doing our part while keeping employees and customers safe. Since the start of the pandemic, we have made nearly 50 process changes in our restaurants in accordance with guidance from the CDC and state and local health experts.

"These include providing wellness and temperature checks, masks and gloves, social distancing guidelines, increased cleanings and installing protective barriers."

The strike Wednesday comes as McDonald's prepares to reopen in-restaurant dining at locations nationwide.

"As reopening begins in states across the country, we are implementing a 59-page 'playbook' that outlines the precautions we are requiring before restaurants reopen dining rooms. And we are confident that employees impacted by the virus are receiving sick pay to tend to their healthcare needs."

Workers at Amazon and its Whole Foods subsidiary conducted a worldwide "sick-out" in March to protest conditions and pay provided by the company and were similarly followed by workers at Target, Instacart, FedEx, Walmart and Shipt earlier this month.

DECONSTRUCTING GOVERNMENT
Trump signs executive order to cut regulations hampering economic recovery
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing federal agencies to review regulations that have been suspended in response to the coronavirus pandemic and cut any that would hinder economic recovery.
 Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

REGULATIONS PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT, WORKERS, HEALTH AND SAFETY, POLLUTION, LGBTQ RIGHTS, WOMEN'S RIGHTS, CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS, ETC ETC.

May 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday seeking to cut regulations that hamper economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said the order directs federal agencies to review hundreds of regulations that have been suspended in response to the pandemic and make those suspensions permanent where possible.

"With millions of Americans forced out of work by the virus, it's more important than ever to remove burdens that destroy American jobs," Trump said.

He also said he instructed agencies to use emergency authorities to speed up regulation cuts or "new rules that will create jobs and prosperity and get rid of unnecessary rules and regulations."

The administration has taken steps to loosen some regulations amid the pandemic, including a March memo by the Environmental Protection Agency announcing it suspended enforcement of environmental laws requiring companies to monitor their pollution.

MORE GOOD NEWS
Hurricanes are increasing in intensity, long-term data indicate
By Ed Adamczyk MAY 18, 2020

Damage to homes and property from Hurricane Dorian is seen at Treasure Cay in the Bahamas on Sept. 9, 2019. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
| License Photo

May 18 (UPI) -- The maximum sustained winds of hurricanes are increasing around the world, according to an analysis of 40 years of satellite imagery published on Monday.

The maximum sustained winds in hurricanes have increased by about 8 percent per decade in the period under study, according to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A warming planet, researchers say, could be the cause.

The data was studied by scientists of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Center for Environmental Information and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies

"Through modeling and our understanding of atmospheric physics, the study agrees with what we would expect to see in a warming climate like ours," lead study author James Kossin, a NOAA scientist based at UW-Madison, said in a press release. "Our results show that these storms have become stronger on global and regional levels, which is consistent with expectations of how hurricanes respond to a warming world."

The study builds on a Kossin's 2013 study analyzing hurricanes over a 28-year time span. That study demonstrated that hurricanes are moving farther northward and southward, exposing coastlines to greater risk, and moving more slowly when traveling over land, resulting in greater risk of floods.

The research, Kossin said, increases confidence that global warming is making for stronger hurricanes, "but our results don't tell us precisely how much of the trends are caused by human activities and how much may just be natural variability."

RELATED First storm of the Atlantic hurricane season sets records in Florida

The meteorology service AccuWeather predicted last week that the 2020 hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean will be intense.

Based on the newest forecasting models, the forecasters extended the upper range of hurricanes to 14 to 20 tropical storms with seven to 11 growing to hurricane strength and four to six becoming Category 3 or higher, indicating sustained winds of 111 mph or higher. It also warned that four to six named tropical systems could make direct impacts on the U.S mainland, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

RELATED Ambo makes 6th landfall as torrential rain, damaging winds batter Philippines
THEY SHOULD REALLY MOVE THE PHILIPPINES OUT OF TYPHOON ALLEY

upi.com/7008072

MICHIGAN FLOOD UPDATES

‘Unlike anything we’ve seen’: Gov Whitmer declares emergency

 as Michigan dam breach sends thousands scrambling for shelter

PRIVATELY OWNED DAMS  

NOT REPAIRED OR MAINTAINED AS ORDERED AND REQUIRED

ANOTHER OF THOSE PIECES OF RED TAPE 

WE CALL REGULATIONS

WHICH FAILS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ENFORCED. 

NATIONALISE ALL DAMS IN THE USA UNDER DPA 

PUT THEM UNDER THE ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS TO MAINTAIN AND FUND THEM

Thousands evacuated as river dams break in central Michigan

1 of 18/MAP/INFOGRAM

Mark Musselman brings a chair to the front of his house from the back yard, wading through floodwater, Tuesday, May 19, 2020 in Edenville, Mich. People living along two mid-Michigan lakes and parts of a river have been evacuated following several days of heavy rain that produced flooding and put pressure on dams in the area. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

VIDEO AT THE END
\

EDENVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Rapidly rising water overtook dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in central Michigan, where the governor said one downtown could be “under approximately 9 feet of water” by Wednesday.

For the second time in less than 24 hours, families living along the Tittabawassee River and connected lakes in Midland County were ordered to leave home.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday evening urged anyone near the river to seek higher ground following “castastrophic dam failures” at the Edenville Dam, about 140 miles (225.31 kilometers) north of Detroit, and the Sanford Dam, about seven miles (11.26 kilometers) downriver.


Michigan Gov. Gretchen said downtown Midland, a city of 42,000 about 8 miles (12.87 kilometers) downstream from the Sanford Dam, faced an especially serious flooding threat. Dow Chemical Co.’s main plant sits on the city’s riverbank.

“In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water,” the governor said. “We are anticipating an historic high water level.”

Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County and urged residents threatened by the flooding to find a place to stay with friends or relatives or to seek out one of several shelters that opened across the county. She encouraged people to do their best to take precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, such as wearing a face covering and observing social distancing “to the best of your ability.”

“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in Midland County,” she said. ”If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now.”

Emergency responders went door-to-door early Tuesday morning warning residents living near the Edenville Dam of the rising water. Some residents were able to return home, only to be told to leave again following the dam’s breach several hours later. The evacuations include the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of Midland, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for Midland County.



“We were back at home and starting to feel comfortable that things were calming down,” said Catherine Sias, who lives about 1 mile (1.61 kilometers) from the Edenville Dam and first left home early Tuesday morning. “All of a sudden we heard the fire truck sirens going north toward the dam.”

Sias, 45, said emergency alerts then began coming on her cellphone and people started calling to make sure she was safe.

“While packing, there were tons of police and fire trucks going up and down the roads,” she added. “As far as I know, all of our neighbors got out.”

While driving along a jammed M-30, the state highway that’s the main road through Edenville and that crosses the river north of town, Sias saw the rushing Tittabawassee River. “It was very dramatic, very fast and full of debris,” she said.




THE PROBLEM IS PRIVATIZED DAMS NOT BEING MAINTAINED

Dow Chemical has activated its emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions, spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in an email.

“Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River,” Schikorra said.

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam due to non-compliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.

The Edenville Dam, which was built in 1924, was rated in unsatisfactory condition in 2018 by the state. The Sanford Dam, which was built in 1925, received a fair condition rating.

Both dams are in the process of being sold.

There were 19 high hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition in Michigan in 2018, ranking 20th among the 45 states and Puerto Rico for which The Associated Press obtained condition assessments.

Flood warnings in Michigan were issued following widespread rainfall of 4 to 7 inches (10.2 to 17.8 centimeters) since Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy runoff pushed rivers higher.

The Tittabawassee River was at 30.5 feet (9.3 meters) and rising Tuesday night - flood stage is 24 feet (7.3 meters). It was expected to crest Wednesday morning at a record of about 38 feet (11.6 meters).

The heavy rains early in the week also caused flooding elsewhere in the region. In Chicago, water that flooded some areas downtown was receding Tuesday, but Larry Langford, a fire department spokesman, said that he did not expect power to be restored at the iconic Willis Tower for days because the rains caused the building’s subbasements to fill with as much as 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water. The building was closed to tenants and visitors.


Michigan river rises to highest level ever after dam break

Flooding is seen in Midland, Mich., after a dam failed on Tuesday and forced thousands to evacuate. Photo courtesy City of Midland/Facebook

 MAY 20, 2020 / 10:34 AM

May 20 (UPI) -- A dam breach in central Michigan that forced thousands to evacuate has swelled the Tittabawasse River to its highest level in history, forecasters said Wednesday.

The earthen Edenville Dam held back the river, which reached the record high of 34 feet in Midland, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters expect the water level to rise further before it crests at about 38 feet Wednesday night.

The Edenville Dam ruptured Tuesday after swelling with several inches of rain, and was followed by the failure of Sanford Dam in Midland County. The failures forced thousands to evacuate Midland and surrounding areas and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency.

"This is unlike anything we've seen in Midland County," Whitmer said at a news conference Tuesday. "If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now."

Downtown Midland, the site of a major Dow Chemical plant, is projected to be under as many as 9 feet of water by late Wednesday, Whitmer said.

According to records, the company that owns the dam had a federal license revoked in 2018.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license for Boyce Hydro Power to generate power at the Edenville Dam, citing the company's failure over a years-long span to correct safety problems, including its ability to withstand a major flood.

FERC regulators said they were revoking the license because of the company's "longstanding failure to increase the project's spillway capacity to safely pass flood flows, as well as its failure to comply with its license" and commission regulations.

Midland County and neighboring Gladwin Country agreed to buy the dams from Boyce Hydro in January.

Michigan town could be under 9 feet of water 
by Wednesday, governor says

2020/5/19 ©Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — Urging residents to evacuate and saying downtown Midland could be under nine feet of water by Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer late Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached.

Speaking during a press conference late Tuesday, Whitmer said parts of the city of Midland, the village of Sanford and Edenville and Dow Chemical had been evacuated.

“This is unlike anything we’ve seen before … but this is truly a historic event that’s playing out in the midst of another historic event,” Whitmer said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to stay-at-home orders throughout the state.

She said that despite those orders generally telling people to stay home, it was important that anyone living in the affected areas evacuate as quickly as possible to safer areas, or go to the homes of relatives and friends. She also said shelters have opened at area schools.

The dams were breached earlier Tuesday following several days of rainfall, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in mid-Michigan.

Emergency responders were going door-to-door early Tuesday morning warning residents living near the Edenville Dam of the rising water, the Associated Press reported. Some residents were able to return home, only to be told to leave again following the dam’s breach.

The Sanford Dam was breached later in the day Tuesday.

Whitmer said she had activated the National Guard and Guardsmen were on the scene already. Helicopters were being used to try to find the best way to evacuate people as well. She also said she would turn to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help as quickly as she could.

For now, however, she said it was urgent that people get out of harm’s way.

“Please do not hesitate. Go to stay with a friend or relative or go to one of these shelters now,” she said, adding that even at a shelter, people should try to do the best they can to practice social distancing and wear a face covering to protect themselves and others from coronavirus.

Thousands evacuated following Michigan dam failures

By UPI Staff & Chaffin Mitchell Accuweather.com

MAY 19, 2020 / 8:15 PM / UPDATED AT 2:40 AM

VIDEO AT THE END

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency declaration after two dams failed in Midland County, forcing thousands of residents to immediately evacuate their homes on Tuesday.

Downtown Midland could be under 9 feet of water by Wednesday morning, Gov. Whitmer said during a Livestream on Tuesday night following the two collapses. A flash flood emergency is in effect for the areas downstream, which includes Midland City and Freeland.

Whitmer told residents if they haven't evacuated the area yet, do so now.

"This is unlike anything we've seen in Midland County," she said. "If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now. If you don't, go to one of the shelters that have opened across the county."

Midland County emergency management told people in Midland City who are located west of Eastman and south of US 10, to evacuate immediately on Tuesday afternoon, NBC25 reported.

A slow-moving storm doused Michigan with heavy rains over the period of several days, triggering fear of imminent dam failure and flood warnings across the state.

At least two rivers in mid-Michigan, the Tittabawassee River in Midland and the Rifle River near Sterling, reached their major flood stage on Tuesday afternoon, sending dams past their limits.

Flooding from Pine River in Arenac County. Photo courtesy of the Arenac County Sheriff's Department.

Areas around Midland reported 3 inches to 4 inches of rain since Sunday, which produced a "tremendous" amount of runoff and is causing significant rises on the river system, the National Weather Service said.

The Tittabawassee Fire and Rescue rescued the driver of a pickup truck after the vehicle was swept away while trying to drive on a flooded roadway on Tuesday, WNEM reported.

"A very slowly moving storm system and cold front pushing through the Midwest has produced anywhere from 100 to 200 mm [3 inches to 8 inches] of rainfall in just the past week from the western Great Lakes through northern Indiana and into southern Missouri," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Jack Boston said.

Edenville Township residents along Sanford and Wixom lakes northwest of Midland were urged to evacuate their homes and advised to make arrangements to stay elsewhere through Wednesday. Shelters have been set up at schools in the area.

Officials in Arenac and Gladwin counties also urged residents to evacuate due to the possible dam breach from flash flooding along the Tittabawassee and Cedar rivers.

As floodwaters continued rising, threatening to cut off road access, emergency personnel warned citizens about the potential dangers of flooding and to find alternative routes if met with road closures. If drivers are caught going around a barricade, it can result in a traffic violation with a substantial fine, according to road commission official

Officials with Bay County Road Commission said the county is experiencing water over roads in some areas and water issues with draining. The commission is in the process of working on a map of roads closed and water over the road, according to the commission's Facebook post.

"With all the rain we are getting, the river is rising and roads may be underwater. If you see water over the road, please do not attempt to drive thru it. Find an alternate route. Also, We are also aware there are water issues with draining. We just received a very large amount of rain and it has no where to go. Please be patient over the next couple days," the post reads, MLive reports.

Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Saginaw County Emergency Management Team reported that an Edenville Dam failure in Midland could impact residents along the Tittabawassee River in Tittabawassee and Saginaw townships.

Midland County Emergency Management stated that the Edenville and Sanford dams are "structurally sound but spilling floodwaters" as of around 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to MLive.

Later on Tuesday, Midland County Emergency Management said that the Edenville and Sanford dams "are structurally sound but can no longer control or contain the amount of water flowing through the spill gates." The county is working with the hydroelectric power plant Boyce Hydro to assess the dams.

"At this point, the water is still rising from all of the rainfall we received over the last couple of days and it will continue to do so throughout the day," the Midland County Central Dispatch Authority said Tuesday.

The Tittabawassee River in Midland entered major flood stage Tuesday morning when the river was observed at 28.46 feet, according to a Midland County news release. The flood stage is 24 feet, and the river is expected to crest at 30.6 feet early Wednesday before levels start to subside over the next couple of days.

A flood warning remains in effect for the Tittabawassee, from Midland downstream to Saginaw, and the forecast does not show relief for Midland.

Severe thunderstorms are possible tomorrow afternoon and evening for the highlighted areas. Hazards include damaging winds, large hail and frequent lightning, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday late afternoon.

Severe thunderstorms are possible tomorrow afternoon and evening for the highlighted areas. Hazards include damaging winds, large hail, and frequent lightning. Check back for updates! #txwx #nmwx pic.twitter.com/ZkfJgzgr9x— NWS Midland (@NWSMidland) May 19, 2020

The heavy rain that stretched from Michigan to the Ohio River Valley will shift to the southern Appalachians, Carolinas and western Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center said. The threat of flash flooding is likely, especially in the western Carolinas and Virginia.

BUSTED: Pompeo held dozens of secret dinners for CEOs and right-wing media — on taxpayer’s dime

THE RAW STORY Published May 19, 2020


NBC News released a blockbuster new report on how the State Department on Tuesday evening.

“As federal workers file out of the State Department at the end of a Washington workday, an elite group is often just arriving in the marbled, flag-lined lobby: Billionaire CEOs, Supreme Court justices, political heavyweights and ambassadors arrive in evening attire as they’re escorted by private elevator to dinner with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” explained Josh Lederman, Laura Strickler and Dan De Luce.

“Until the coronavirus shut them down in March, the gatherings were known as ‘Madison Dinners’ — elaborate, unpublicized affairs that Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, began in 2018 and held regularly in the historic Diplomatic Reception Rooms on the government’s dime,” NBC reported.

“State Department officials involved in the dinners said they had raised concerns internally that the events were essentially using federal resources to cultivate a donor and supporter base for Pompeo’s political ambitions — complete with extensive contact information that gets sent back to Susan Pompeo’s personal email address. The officials and others who attended discussed the dinners on condition of anonymity,” NBC reported.

Pompeo held about two dozen of the dinners before coronavirus lockdowns.

“NBC News obtained a master guest list for every dinner through the end of 2019, as well as internal State Department calendars from before the pandemic emerged, showing that future dinners were on the books through at least October. The master list includes the names of nearly 500 invitees and specifies who accepted, although it’s that possible some individuals RSVP’d but did not show up in Foggy Bottom for dinner,” NBC reported. “The records show that about 29 percent of the invitees came from the corporate world, while about a quarter of them hailed from the media or entertainment industries, with conservative media members heavily represented. About 30 percent work in politics or government, and just 14 percent were diplomats or foreign officials. Every single member of the House or the Senate who has been invited is a Republican.”

State Department officials said they raised concerns internally that the events were essentially using federal resources to cultivate a donor & supporter base for Pompeo's political ambitions — with extensive contact information sent back to Susan Pompeo's personal email address
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) May 20, 2020

Trump’s food aid program is paying $100+ million to ‘brand builders,’ wedding planners and other unlicensed contractorsPublished May 19, 2020 By Pro Publica



A food relief program championed by President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka is relying on some contractors who lack food distribution experience and aren’t licensed to deal in fresh fruits and vegetables.

The contractors on Friday began delivering boxes containing fresh produce to food banks and other nonprofits. Forty-nine out of the 159 contractors picked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deliver boxes containing produce don’t have a requisite license from the same agency, according to a search of the USDA’s database using the information released about the contractors.

Some of the contractors are established companies, and many food banks told ProPublica they’re successfully and gratefully receiving shipments. But other contractors have eclectic backgrounds with little track record in food distribution, such as a wedding planner, a caterer and a “brand builder.”

As a result, some food banks are left scrambling for shipments or even callbacks.

“We thought this would work very well, and we really needed the food due to rising unemployment and business closings,” said Pamela Irvine, CEO of Feeding America Southwest Virginia, which serves the poorest and most rural counties in that state. The USDA, she said, “had money and wanted to respond quickly, which they should have because you saw all this produce grounded and milk being dumped. However, they didn’t think about how that product should end up on a table somewhere and didn’t communicate and didn’t have a process in place for bidders to understand.”

The awards to firms for which no licenses could be found amount to $105.3 million, about 15% of the total for produce boxes. The USDA also hired contractors for boxes containing meat and dairy, at a total cost of $1.2 billion for six weeks, with the possibility of extending.

The licenses under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, or PACA, are required for wholesalers, processors, truckers, food-service firms and anyone else who buys or sells more than 2,000 pounds of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables a day, according to the USDA’s website.

“Much like you need a driver’s license to operate a vehicle, the law requires that you have a PACA license to operate a produce business,” the agency’s website says. “A PACA license is proof to your customers and suppliers that you are a serious business person who can be trusted to honor the terms of your contracts.”

The licenses give vendors a way to resolve payment disputes, and many producers won’t sell to someone who isn’t licensed.

“We don’t do business with people without a PACA license,” said Noah Murguia, the CEO of Murguia Fruit, an orange wholesaler in California. Murguia said he is selling oranges to licensed contractors in the program but doesn’t understand why anyone without a license would be allowed to participate. “To me, it’s a big joke,” he said.

The USDA’s official solicitation and application form don’t mention PACA licenses. An agency spokesman said contractors that don’t already have one will need to get one.

“All proposals were carefully reviewed by a team of contracting and technical experts and contracts made accordingly,” the USDA said in a statement. Companies will have to submit documentation showing deliveries that meet the contract requirements in order to be paid, the agency said.

Trump heralded the program in a tweet on May 9, saying it was implemented at his personal direction.

Ivanka Trump also claimed credit for the initiative, telling USA Today, “I’m not shy about asking people to step up to the plate. The whole country needs to be galvanized in the effort, both to combat this deadly virus, but also to rebuild … to rebuild our economy as we emerge.”

Speaking at a kick-off event in Maryland last week, Ivanka Trump addressed the awards to small operators, saying, “We want to encourage and support a robust ecosystem of distributors across the nation.”

The White House referred questions to the USDA.

The USDA has a long-established program that buys and distributes food to schools, food banks and households, totaling 3.3 billion pounds and $3.5 billion in 2019. Vendors have to be preapproved and meet precise specifications.

With millions more Americans struggling to buy food as the coronavirus pandemic shutters businesses, USDA officials decided they needed to be more flexible about vendors, products and quantities. “The development of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program represents a completely different way of doing business for us,” Chris Purdy, associate deputy administrator of the USDA’s commodity procurement program, said in an online seminar for applicants. “But these times call for activities outside of our comfort zone.”

When the program was announced, the nonprofit organization Feeding America surveyed its nationwide network of 200 food banks about their needs and worked with seven national distributors on how to implement the program. But none of those distributors received contracts.

Irvine’s organization, in southwest Virginia, committed to taking 3.3 million pounds of produce, 2 million pounds of meat and 2.5 million pounds of dairy over six months. So far, her team has only secured 480,000 pounds of produce, 25,000 pounds of meat and no dairy after five days of cold-calling distributors who won contracts. Out of nine distributors contacted, three never responded and two didn’t know what the program was, Irvine said.

“This is just going to blow your mind, it makes no sense,” Irvine said: The only distributor who would ship them produce is sending it cross-country from Washington state.

“We actually think he called us by mistake,” Bob Frampton, Feeding America Southwest Virginia’s chief operations officer, said. “But he’s been great to work with, and we took what we could get because we’re not crazy.”

It’s not clear why some offbeat bids were successful. Federal contracts are heavily regulated, but the labyrinthine rules and procedures sometimes lead to curious outcomes. Businesses owned by minorities or veterans routinely have a leg up. The USDA spokesman said the agency looked for contractors who would “support local and regional farmers.”

The contracts also moved much faster than normal. Companies had only a week to submit bids, and the USDA announced winners just a week later.

Rejected applicants received a form letter saying “some of the most common factors” for losing were missing signatures, according to a copy of the letter obtained by ProPublica.

On a conference call a few days after the contracts were awarded, the USDA told winning bidders that they would need to apply for a PACA license if they didn’t already have one, according to Stephen Martin of Blueprint Foods (identified on the USDA’s announcement as SMH2 Manufacturing, receiving $1 million). “We never knew about a PACA license until they brought it up on a conference call,” Martin, whose company typically delivers prepared foods to grocery stores, said in an interview. “What they’re asking us to do is a fairly simple thing, like what we do anyway, except usually we cook things, so it’s actually easier.”

Still, there are challenges for companies like Martin’s that are working on their first government contract. “We still have to go over how to invoice,” Martin said. “The notion that they built the plane in the air is accurate.”

Some “upstanding companies” that have experience with government contracts were denied “on mistaken grounds,” while winning bidders who don’t have their own warehouses, staff and distributions channels are now looking for subcontractors, according to Tom Stenzel, CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association. “This is not ‘sour grapes’ from those that may not have been awarded; this is a genuine effort to ensure integrity and confidence in the program and that fresh produce actually gets to those in need in an efficient and cost-effective way,” Stenzel said in a letter to USDA leaders.

Three companies that received a total of $6 million in contracts are licensed but are involved in business disputes that were reported to the USDA, according to the agency’s public data. Doug Peterson, the CEO of Aggrigator, which received a contract for $2.6 million, said the company is trying to resolve its five disputes and the complaints never came up in the bidding process. Peterson said the company is producing 4,000 boxes a day and started deliveries on Saturday.

A California avocado grower named Ben Holtz received a contract for $40 million, more than any other company without a PACA license. Holtz posted on Facebook, “Looking to buy Truckloads of: USDA Carrots, USA Cucumber, USA Apples, USA Sweet Potatoes, USA Onions, USA Green Bell Peppers, USA Pears, USA Tomatoes. If your Farm or Shed or Packing Operation wants orders, PM me.”

One commenter asked Holtz if his company is in the Produce Blue Book, an industry-standard business directory that rates the creditworthiness of produce suppliers. Without that assurance, the commenter wanted to know if Holtz would be paying cash upfront.

Holtz replied, “Huh?”

Holtz has since made a website and said he has more than 10,000 orders. In a phone interview, he said he’s already delivered more than 2,200 boxes and has thousands more on the way.

“This isn’t foreign to me,” Holtz said in a phone interview. “I have lots of experience running jobs, this is just a job. I’m a fourth-generation avocado grower, I can talk produce. I know how things get to where they need to be. I know how to run jobs with manpower and people with limits and constraints and financing. It’s going to take everything and everybody I’ve ever known to pull this off, and we’re doing it. We’re off to the races.”

Holtz was surprised to win a contract at the top of the range he applied for, for up to 1 million boxes. “Getting up to seven digits was just kind of cool-looking,” he said. “I put it down and they said all right.”

Holtz doesn’t have a PACA license but said he has applied for one and asked the USDA to expedite it. Holtz’s lack of a license and absence from the Produce Blue Book have made some vendors wary of him, Holtz said, but he said he relies on industry contacts or pays cash. “If you want to know anything about me and my reputation, call up anyone in the California avocado world and they will know my name,” he said.

The USDA awarded a $39.1 million contract, including $6.25 million for produce, to CRE8AD8 LLC (pronounced “Create a Date”), a wedding and event planner in San Antonio. “We had no idea we’d be asked to help on this level,” CEO Gregorio Palomino said in a Facebook post. He does not have a PACA license and said he applied last week.

Palomino told the San Antonio Express-News that the job isn’t that different from his usual work. “We knew that we easily could do this because instead of putting tchotchkes in a bag that is going to go to a conference attendee, this is the same exact thing except it’s just food going into a box,” he told the newspaper.

In a statement, Palomino said he’s in an “initial planning phase,” and his next steps will be hiring up to 100 people and assigning roles and tasks. “This is the largest contract we have won to date,” he said in a statement. “This award will help us all rebound from our losses due to Covid-19.”

A $12.2 million contract went to Travel Well Holdings, a California company with no website. According to the LinkedIn profile of founder Desiree Rodriguez, the company “provides a curated line of travel essentials to surprise and delight travelers with unexpected yet much needed items to improve their personal journey.”

Rodriguez, whose profile describes her as a “Business Development Strategist, Entrepreneur, Brand Builder,” declined to comment.

Beena Raghavendran contributed reporting.

• China says boy picked by Dalai Lama now a college graduate

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2015, file photo, tourists take photos of the Potala Palace beneath a security camera in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. China said Tuesday, May 19, 2020, that a boy who disappeared 25 years ago after being picked by the Dalai Lama as Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure is now a college graduate with a stable job. (AP Photo/Aritz Parra, File)
BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday that a boy who disappeared 25 years ago after being picked by the Dalai Lama as Tibetan Buddhism’s second-highest figure is now a college graduate with a stable job.

Very little information has been given about Gedhun Choekyi Nyima or his family since he went missing at age 6 shortly after being named the 11th Panchen Lama.

China, which claims that Tibet is part of its territory, named another boy to the position, Gyaltsen Norbu, who is rarely seen and is believed to spend most of his time in Beijing. He is generally viewed as a political figure under Beijing’s control and shares none of the Dalai Lama’s global fame.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima “received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job.” Zhao said neither the now-31-year-old man or his family wishes to be disturbed in their “current normal lives.” No other details were given.

The tussle between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959, concerns who will determine the future of Tibetan Buddhism, which still commands heavy sway over the people of the Himalayan region that China says has been its territory for centuries but which many Tibetans believe was largely independent.

Tibet’s self-declared government-in-exile in India marked the 25th anniversary of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s disappearance by calling on Beijing on Sunday to account for his whereabouts.

“China’s abduction of the Panchen Lama and forcible denial of his religious identity and right to practice in his monastery is not only a violation of religious freedom but also a gross violation of human rights,” the Tibetan parliament in northern India, known as the Kashag, said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also issued a statement on Monday calling on China to “immediately make public the Panchen Lama’s whereabouts and to uphold its own constitution and international commitments to promote religious freedom for all persons.”

The Dalai Lama named the original Panchen Lama with the help of Tibetan lamas trained in reading portents and signs. China claims the reincarnate can only be chosen by pulling lots from a golden urn, a method it used to pick its own candidate under the control of the officially atheistic ruling Communist Party.

Traditionally, the Panchen Lama has served as teacher and aide to the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s highest leader who is now 84 and is accused by Beijing of seeking independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama denies that and says he advocates greater autonomy for the region

AT&T quits Venezuela as US sanctions force it to defy Maduro

In this Jan. 9, 2020 file photo, a DirectTV dish stands on home in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. AT&T, one of the last major American companies still operating in Venezuela, said Tuesday, May 19, 2020 it will immediately abandon Venezuela’s pay TV market, as U.S. sanctions prohibit its DirecTV platform from broadcasting channels that it is required to carry by the Venezuelan government, making it impossible to comply with the legal requirements of both countries. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)


MIAMI (AP) — AT&T said Tuesday it will immediately ditch Venezuela’s pay TV market as U.S. sanctions prohibit its DirecTV platform from broadcasting channels that it is required to carry by the socialist administration of Nicolás Maduro.

The Dallas-based company’s closing of its Venezuela unit is effective immediately.

It follows a decision by the Trump administration not to renew a license it had granted AT&T to continue carrying Globovision, a private network, sanctioned by the U.S., owned by a businessman close to Maduro who is wanted on U.S. money laundering charges, three people familiar with the situation told the AP. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. government licensing activity.

AT&T joins a number of other U.S. companies — General Motors, Kellogg Co. and Kimberly-Clark — that have abandoned Venezuela due to shrinking sales, government threats and the risk of U.S. sanctions. Around 700 Venezuelans depended on the unit for employment.

“Because it is impossible for AT&T’s DIRECTV unit to comply with the legal requirements of both countries, AT&T was forced to close its pay TV operations in Venezuela, a decision that was made by the company’s U.S. leadership team without any involvement or prior knowledge of the DIRECTV Venezuela team,” the company said in a statement.


At nighttime Tuesday, residents in Caracas started banging on pots and pans for nearly a half hour to spontaneously protest a decline in public services. Some yelled “I want my DirecTV” amid chants against Maduro.

AT&T has a 44% share of the pay TV market and its departure is likely to hit hard working-class barrios of larger cities and the interior that depend on DirecTV for access to information and entertainment.

An Associated Press investigation from January found that AT&T had been under increasing pressure from the Trump administration to stand up to Maduro’s censors, who since 2017 have ordered the removal of some 10 channels, including CNN en Español, that had broadcast anti-government protests.

Local regulators accuse the channels of violating the Law on Social Responsibility on Radio and Television, which seeks to guarantee socially responsible programming but that press freedom groups consider it a tool to muzzle critical coverage due to its ambiguous language and heavy penalties. DirecTV is also a major platform for the broadcast of state-run TV outlets criticized by the opposition as propaganda.

A never-implemented plan promoted by the State Department would have forced AT&T to pull the plug on Globovision and the state-run channels while restoring some of the banned international news channels, according to five people familiar with the discussions cited in the earlier AP investigation.

AT&T hasn’t made money from its Venezuelan operations for years due to strict government controls that keep the price of its packages artificially low — a few pennies per month. The situation has become so dire that DirecTV in 2012 stopped importing set-top boxes, choking its growth. In 2015, it wrote down its assets in the country by $1.1 billion.

But the company was reluctant to close down its operations in Venezuela because of its market share — the largest it has anywhere in the world — and its commitment to a satellite broadcast center from which DirecTV beams about a third of its programming to several parts of South America.

An AT&T executive said that while its broadcast signal in Venezuela will stop working Tuesday, the company has enhanced other facilities in the region to ensure that service continues uninterrupted throughout South America. The executive spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.

AT&T’s departure deprives many Venezuelans of what had been a cheap form of entertainment in a nation ravaged by 2 million percent hyperinflation. Among them is Maduro himself, who at a recent press conference boasted that he’s a fan of CNN’s English language channel, even rattling off the channel — 706 — where it appears on DirecTV’s platform.

Socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello on Twitter said “no blockade will censure us” and invited his followers to watch his weekly TV program that is broadcast on state TV on a streaming platform.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump administration.

With AT&T’s announcement Tuesday, however, some DirecTV subscribers reported that their service immediately went dark, displaying the message: “Channel not available.”

Pedro Zambrano, a taxi driver waiting on a client at a Caracas supermarket, said he has subscribed to DirecTV for years to watch his favorite series and tuned in nightly to the German government’s Deutsche Welle channel, which broadcast international news in Spanish.

The 54-year-old said the loss of DirecTV amid the coronavirus pandemic, where he and others are forced to spend long stretches at home, is only likely to further erode a quality of life that has worsened in recent years by frequent power outages and shortages of water and gasoline for his car, which provides his living.

“I don’t know how a person can live with dignity in a country like this,” Zambrano said. “Well, what can I tell you? We’re sunk.”

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Smith reported from Caracas. AP Writer Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela