Justice watchdog: Trump's border family separation policy was poorly planned

NO, IT WAS PERFECTLY PLANNED 

TO DO WHAT SESSIONS & TRUMP WANTED


A young mother sits with her daughters at a migrant camp in Tijuana, Mexico, in November 2018. The family fled gang violence in Honduras seeking safety in the United States. File Photo by Patrick Timmons/UPI

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified in Congress on Thursday about the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policy, which separated parents and children at the Mexico border.

Horowitz appeared before the House oversight and government reform committee for a hearing, titled "Accountability and Lessons Learned from the Trump Administration's Child Separation Policy."

The department's chief internal watchdog, Horowitz has been critical in reviews of former President Donald Trump's policies, including his "zero tolerance" immigration stance.

Last month, Horowitz said in a report that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew years ago that the administration's position on immigration would break up families.

At Thursday's hearing, he said the departments of Homeland Security and Justice failed to consult with other key officials like U.S. Attorneys in border states, U.S. Marshals or the Health and Human Services Department, which was tasked with caring for the children who'd been separated.

"They should have consulted ... to make sure there was an ability to reunite children after they were separated," Horowitz said, adding that health officials learned of Trump's policy from news media.

Starting in 2017 with a pilot program, federal immigration authorities under Trump separated more than 3,000 children and parents at the border -- a practice that drew outrage nationwide.

"I have put in place a 'zero tolerance' policy for illegal entry on our Southwest border," Sessions said in 2018. "If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It's that simple.

"If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required by law."

Horowitz said Trump's policy expanded prosecutions in immigration cases, even if they involved misdemeanor violations. Before the policy, unlawfully crossing the border without a prior deportation or conviction was a misdemeanor and handled in administrative immigration court.

RELATED Biden signs orders to 'reunify' families at U.S.-Mexico border

Trump's change swamped the courts, detention centers and law enforcement agencies, Horowitz said, which then became overwhelmed by the influx. With no advance warning, U.S. Marshals were told to find jail cells for hundreds of migrants every day, he added.

The family separation policy was rooted partly in a 2015 court ruling that limited the amount of time migrant children could be held.

Democrats on the committee were harsh in their appraisal of the Trump-era policy.

"Unfortunately, the stain of the Trump child separation policy will remain etched on the forehead of America for posterity," said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., who added that he visited private detention centers in his state that profited from "prolonged misery of asylum seekers."

Some of the panel's Republicans were less critical.

Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., blamed the separation policy on a "broken immigration system" and the "catch and release" policy that came before Trump.

"This whole argument about children being separated was a deterrent -- not to legal immigration, but to illegal immigration," Hice said. "Separating the children was part of trying to stop people from coming here illegally."

Border officials ultimately lost track of some parents and many were deported without their children. Hundreds are still missing.

The Trump administration later rescinded the order to separate families in 2018 after a federal judge halted the practice, but advocates said children were still being separated in 2019.

In sweeping executive actions related to immigration this week, President Joe Biden created a task force to reunite migrant parents and their children, ordered reforms for the U.S. asylum and naturalization processes and revoked Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy that kept refugees out of the country while their applications moved through the cour

Biden announces end of U.S. support for Yemen military operations



President Joe Biden addresses staffers at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | 

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday said he's ending U.S. support for offensive military operations in Yemen.

He made the remarks during his first official visit to the State Department as commander in chief.

"This war has to end," Biden said. "We are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.

"At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks and [unmanned aerial vehicle] strikes and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries. We are going to continue to help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, at her briefing Thursday, also acknowledged the change of course for operations in Yemen, which has been fighting a civil war for years. The United States has supported Saudi-led operations there.

Biden said he has spoken to some of the United States' closest allies in Britain, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea and Australia to solidify bonds of cooperation.

He also asked Tim Lenderking, deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran, Iraq and regional affairs, to lead the effort to end the war in Yemen.

"I have asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations' initiative to impose a cease-fire, open humanitarian channels and restore long-dormant peace talks," Biden said.

Biden thanked department employees when he arrived on Thursday afternoon.

"It's been a difficult few years." he told Foreign Service officers. "You not only have great intellectual policy, you have incredible courage."

American Airlines to furlough 13,000 pilots, flight attendants, other workers


American's pilots union places some of the blame for the furloughs on the carrier's past fiscal decisions. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- American Airlines has sent out furlough notices out to about 13,000 employees, as federal coronavirus relief aid will soon expire.

Among those getting notices are 1,800 pilots, 4,200 flight attendants, 1,400 maintenance workers, 3,100 in fleet services, 1,200 passenger service staffers, 100 dispatch employees and 40 cleaning crew members, the carrier said Wednesday.

"We are nearly five weeks into 2021, and unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation similar to much of 2020," American said in a filing with federal regulators.

"We fully believed that we would be looking at a summer schedule where we'd fly all of our airplanes and need the full strength of our team. Regrettably, that is no longer the case."

American said the national distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is moving at a much slower pace than expected and new restrictions on international travel, which require customers to provide negative coronavirus tests, have "dampened demand."

"We will fly at least 45% less in the first quarter [of 2021] compared to what we flew for the same period in 2019, and based on current demand outlook, we will not fly all of our aircraft this summer as planned," American added.

"Consequently, like last fall, we will have more team members than the schedule requires after federal payroll support expires April 1."

The Allied Pilots Association, the carrier's pilots union, said it hopes for an extension of the federally funded Payroll Support Program, but placed some blame for the furloughs on American's past fiscal decisions.

"Management's unilateral actions over the years, along with their treatment of our airline's balance sheet, have placed American in a more precarious situation than our competitors," the union said in a statement.

"Collaboration with APA will be key if management hopes to successfully navigate these turbulent times."

United Airlines recently said it may have to lay off as many as 14,000 of its workers.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Mining company to pay $7B for deadly Brazilian dam collapse


The Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil left 270 people died in January 2019. 

File Photo by Antonio Lacerda/EPA-EFE

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Brazilian mining company Vale on Thursday agreed to pay $7 billion in compensation for a 2019 dam collapse that killed 270 people.

Prosecutors said the reparations will go to the government of Mines Gerais state, where the Brumadinho dam disaster took place.

Minas Gerais Gov. Romeu Zema praised the settlement on Twitter, saying it wouldn't affect any other criminal or civil claims against Vale.

"We can't change the past but we can improve the future," he told Brazilian newspaper Estado de São Paulo.

The Wall Street Journal said it was the largest settlement in Brazilian history. The funds will pay for the environmental and economic impact of the disaster.

The dam, operated by the Vale mining company, collapsed Jan. 25, 2019, sending a wall of water and waste sludge slamming into homes, vehicles and a group of miners taking a lunch break.

More than a dozen Vale executives have been charged with murder and environmental crimes for the disaster. Prosecutors said Vale officials knew the dam in Brumadinho was at risk of collapse since at least November 2017 and it was on an internal list of 10 dams at risk of bursting.

Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo issued a statement Thursday saying the company has "work to do" in response to the disaster.

"Vale is committed to fully repair and compensate the damage caused by the tragedy in Brumadinho and to increasingly contribute to the improvement and development of the communities in which we operate," he said.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

SEC: 17,000 investors defrauded in $1.7B Ponzi-like scheme


Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged investment adviser GPB Capital Holdings as well as three executives and their related entities for running a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded more than 17,000 retail investors of $1.7 billion.

The SEC charged GPB Capital's owner and CEO David Gentile; Jeffry Schneider, the owner of GPB Capital's placement agent Ascendant Capital; and GBP Capital's former managing partner Jeffrey Lash of using investors' own funds to pay distributions rather than placing them toward customers' investments as well as violating whistleblower protection laws.

The complaint alleges that GPB Capital told investors that distribution payments were paid exclusively with funds generated by its portfolio companies when in reality it used investor money to pay portions of the annualized 8% distribution payments.

Additionally, the company also allegedly manipulated financial statements to present the false appearance that the funds' income was closer to "generating sufficient income to cover the distribution of payments" than it was in reality.

"As alleged in our complaint, the defendants told investors that they would be paid distributions from profits of the portfolio companies when, in reality, many of the payments were being made from the investors' own funds," said Richard Best, director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "This action shows our continued pursuit of those who deceive investors and conceal their misconduct to reap profits for themselves."

The state of New York also filed a lawsuit against GPB Capital over the scheme.

"Investors put more than $1.8 billion into GPB funds but were left without a single cent of profit," New York Attorney General Letitia James said. "GPB and its operators fleeced New Yorkers and investors around the country while subsidizing their own lavish lifestyles."

The SEC's complaint also alleges that GPB Capital violated the SEC's whistleblower provisions by including language in termination and separation agreements that impeded individuals from coming forward to the SEC and retaliating against a known whistleblower.

In a statement to CNN Business, GPB Capital denied the claims and said it acted in good faith when managing the funds of its investors.

"GPB denies these allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself in court where, for the first time, the firm will be able to present significant evidence in its favor," the company said.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Popular baby food brands contain toxic heavy metals, says U.S. report

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Many commercial baby foods "are tainted with significant levels of toxic heavy metals," a report released Thursday by a House subcommittee said, raising concerns over the safety of the products industry wide.

According to the staff report by the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, leading brands of U.S. baby foods contain dangerous levels of inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, heavy metals that even at low levels pose particular risk to babies and children, both the U.S. Federal Drug Administration and the World Health Organization have said.

The report was based on internal documents and test results voluntarily submitted to the committee by Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain and Gerber, showing that the companies were aware that their products were contaminated and to what degree but continued to sell them to unsuspecting parents anyways. 

Walmart, Campbell and Sprout Organic refused to participate with the subcommittee's investigation, leading it to have "grave concerns" about the quality of their products, it said.

"The subcommittee is greatly concerned that their lack of cooperation might be obscuring the presence of even higher levels of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products than their competitors' products," the report said.

The report also found that the levels of toxic heavy metals in the foods often exceeded the companies' own internal standards that already permitted dangerously high levels of such contamination.

Arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury were found in food produced by all four companies, the report said, adding they were found at levels "multiples higher" than allowed under existing regulations for other products

It also said that the administration of former President Donald Trump ignored a secret industry presentation to federal regulators that revealed the increasing risk of heavy metals in baby foods and that product testing was inadequate.

"The Trump FDA took no new action in response," the report said. "To this day, baby foods containing toxic heavy metals bear no label or warning to parents. Manufacturers are free to test only ingredients, or, for the vast majority of baby foods, to conduct no testing at all."

The subcommittee recommended for the FDA to require baby food manufacturers to test their finished products for heavy metals and not just their individual ingredients, for product labels to include levels of toxic heavy metals the foods contain, for the voluntary phase-out of ingredients that contain such metals and for the FDA to set maximum levels of toxic heavy metals permitted in baby foods.

Subcommittee chairman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said baby food manufacturers hold public trust and consumers mistakenly believe that they would not sell unsafe products.

"I hope companies will commit to making safer baby foods," he said in a statement. "Regardless, it's time that we develop much better standards for the sake of future generations."

Campbell, which makes baby food under the brand name Plum Organics, said it responded quickly to the subcommittee's questions and that "we are surprised that the committee would suggest that Campbell was less than full partners in this mission."

Walmart, which sells baby food under the brand name Parent's Choice, said in a statement to UPI that it provided the subcommittee with information nearly a year ago and invited more dialogue on the issue but never heard back from them.

The company said its manufacturers must comply will all laws and regulations while its own private table product suppliers must meet its own internal goods specifications.

"We will review the report now that it is available," it said.

Nurture's Happy Family Organics said on its website that it was "aware" of the report while stating it is "proud" of its testing protocols.

"We only sell products that have been rigorously tested and we do not have products in-market with contaminant ranges outside of the limits set by the FDA," it said.

Krishnamoorthi said he expects the FDA to make changes to how it regulates baby food following this report.

"I look forward to FDA's careful regulation of these toxic heavy metals in baby foods, followed by strict compliance requirements and mandatory consumer labels," he said.


upi.com/7073219

BURNING QUESTION OF THE DAY

Scientists figure out why food sometimes sticks to nonstick pans

Dry spots form in the middle of frying pans and cause food to stick, even "non-stick" ones pans, because of something called thermocapillary convection -- but researchers say this situation can be avoided. Photo by Alex Fedorchenko

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Nine out of ten times, the eggs, perfectly cooked, slide seamlessly from pan to plate.

That kind of performance is good enough for most home cooks, but researchers at the Czech Academy of Sciences found themselves perplexed by that tenth breakfast.

Even the best nonstick pans don't work 100 percent of the time -- occasionally, food sticks.

To find out why, scientists coated a variety of pans with a thin sheen of oil, turned on the burner and filmed the action from above.

Using the camera footage, researchers measured where dry spots formed and how quickly they grew inside the oiled pan.

Researchers watched and analyzed how dry spots formed and expanded inside both ceramic and teflon coated pans.

The team of physicists detailed their observations in a new paper, published Tuesday in the journal Physics of Fluids.

RELATED Nonstick chemicals may cut birth weight

"We experimentally explained why food sticks to the center of the frying pan," study author Alexander Fedorchenko said in a news release.

"This is caused by the formation of a dry spot in the thin sunflower oil film as a result of thermocapillary convection," said Fedorchenko, a researcher with the Institute of Thermomechanics at the Czech Academy of Sciences.

When any pan is heated from below, a temperature gradients forms within the layer of oil -- including sunflower oil, which the researchers used for their experiments.

Because heat lowers surface tension, a surface tension gradient followed the formation of the temperature gradient in the pan. Sunflower oil slipped away from the center of the pan, where it was hottest, and concentrated around the pan's outer edges.

This gradient creates what's called thermocapillary convection, researchers said. As heat flows through the middle and toward the outside of the pan, the oil film in the middle becomes stretched thin, destabilized and eventually ruptures.

Thermocapillary convection occurs within both flowing and stationary films. When the film becomes thinner than a critical value known as capillary length, the film breaks.

This deformity inhibits the performance of the nonstick film, whether flowing oil or the nonstick coating itself, and allows food to stick.

"To avoid unwanted dry spots, the following set of measures should be applied: increasing the oil film thickness, moderate heating, completely wetting the surface of the pan with oil, using a pan with a thick bottom or stirring food regularly during cooking," Fedorchenko said.

The phenomenon can help explain the behavior of films, not just in pans, but in electronic devices and other kinds of technologies.

"Dry spot formation or film rupture plays a negative role, resulting in sharp overheating of the electronic components," said Fedorchenko. "The results of this study may, therefore, have wider application."

Mammals are getting hit by airplanes at greater rates than ever before


In Britain, rabbits are the most common mammals hit by airplanes, according to a new study that shows an annual 68% global increase in mammals struck by aircraft. Photo by Samantha Ball


Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Pursued by poachers and pushed out by development and deforestation, many of the planet's terrestrial mammal species are increasingly threatened by human activities -- including air travel.

According to a new study, published Wednesday in the journal Mammal Review, mammals are being killed and maimed by aircraft at greater rates than ever before.

Every year, planes strike thousands of animals. Most of the animals are birds, but according to a newly analyzed strike data from national aviation authorities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and the United States, mammals are also getting hit at prodigious rates.

Over the last decade, mammal strikes by aircraft have increased annually by an average of 68 percent.

"Mammals are incredibly diverse and those involved in strike events are no exception," lead study author Samantha Ball said in a press release.

"As we identified 47 countries which have reported strikes with mammals, the species involved ranged from some of the world's smallest mammals, such as voles, all the way up to the mighty giraffe and included mammals of all sizes in between," said Ball, a doctoral student in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University College Cork in Ireland.

Bats and deer are the mammals most threatened by aircraft in the United States. Bats are also the most common mammals threatened by airplane collisions in Australia.

In Canada, Germany and Britain, rabbits and dog-like carnivores (CAYOTES) are the mammals most frequently struck by aircraft.

Airports work hard to keep birds away from runways, but the increase in aircraft-mammal collisions may require new strategies for warding away animals.

Over the last three decades, mammal strikes caused more than $103 million worth of damage in the United States.

"As strike events can affect everything from passenger safety, airline economics and local conservation, understanding the species composition and ecology of the local fauna at an airfield is paramount for effective strike mitigation," Ball said.

#LEGALIZEALLDRUGS

Study: One-third of U.S. teens, young adults misuse prescription drugs


   

Almost 33% of teens misuse prescription psychoactive drugs they take for behavioral and mental health disorders, a new study has found. Photo by rawpixel/Pixabay

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Almost one in three teens and young adults who take prescription stimulants or tranquilizers misuses the drugs for recreational purposes, according to a study published Tuesday by Family Medicine & Community Health.

This inappropriate use of these medications, known as psychoactive drugs and prescribed to address mental health or behavioral disorders, is even higher among older teens and young adults, the data showed.

"It is important to monitor the diversity of medication misuse behaviors among youth and young adults, given their potential for abuse liability," the researchers wrote.

"[Our findings] underscore the need for comprehensive approaches toward health promotion among youth and young adults," they said.

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Psychoactive drugs can alter the consciousness, mood and thoughts of those who use them, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Examples of these drugs include prescription stimulants like methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin, pain relievers such as oxycodone and tranquilizers such as diazepam.

Commercial products including tobacco, alcohol and cannabis and illegal drugs including ecstasy, cocaine and heroin also are considered psychoactives.

Each year, more than 33% of teens and young adults in the United States are prescribed a psychoactive drug to treat conditions that range from anxiety, depression and ADHD to pain and bipolar disorder, among others, researchers said.

For this study, they analyzed data on 110,556 U.S. residents aged 12 to 25 years who participated in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health Sampling, a federal government-led study.

Of these participants, 35% said they had taken a prescribed psychoactive drug in the past year and 31% reported that they had misused that drug, the data showed.

RELATED U.S. sees 5-fold increase in methamphetamine overdose deaths

Opioid prescription drugs were used by 19% of teens, while stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives were taken by 7%, 4% and 2% of teens, respectively.

One in 10 respondents indicated that they took at least two prescribed psychoactive drugs, while 58% said they misused at least one of them, the researchers said.

Forty-five percent of those taking prescribed stimulants and tranquilizers admitted to misusing these drugs, compared with18% of those on prescription opioids and 14% in sedatives.

In addition, 87% admitted to misusing another substance, such as alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, cocaine or heroin.

While one in four teens age 12 to 17 reported taking a prescription psychoactive drug over the past year, 41% of those age 18 to 25 used these drugs, the researchers said.

Among 18- to 25-year-olds, 35% reported misusing the drugs, the data showed.

Nearly 12% of the study participants in this age group indicated they were dealing with serious psychological distress, which was consistently associated with misuse of psychoactive drugs, the researchers said.

"Mental health and medical providers would benefit from using a team approach and having open communication with other health providers to ensure evidence-based guidelines are used when assessing for, and treating, mental health and substance use difficulties," they wrote.

WHO team visits Wuhan Institute of Virology, meets bat researcher

The World Health Organization team probing the origins of the coronavirus visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology on Wednesday. File Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA-EFE

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the novel coronavirus visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology on Wednesday, a day after China called for similar investigations in countries like the United States.

The WHO team including Peter Daszak and Thea Fischer met with scientists at the Wuhan research lab and agreed to international scientific cooperation and exchange, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. Chinese state media claimed the WHO team was "impressed" by the professionalism of the scientists at the Wuhan Institute

The international team did not disclose their findings after their visit, but the lab has been at the center of speculation about the origins of the novel coronavirus.

China has claimed the first COVID-19 outbreak occurred at a wet market in Wuhan and rejected theories about the lab's role in the epidemic. But the virology institute was known for conducting studies of deadly diseases.

Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance in New York, tweeted he had met with key figures at the lab, including Shi Zhengli, the Chinese scientist nicknamed "Bat Woman" for her research into bat coronaviruses. Shi has denied SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, leaked from the lab.

As the WHO team continues its two-week investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 2 million people globally, China claimed it has "maintained close communication and cooperation with WHO on global origin-tracing in an open and transparent manner."

Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman has continued to deny COVID-19 originated solely from China.

"According to a U.S. CDC report, COVID-19 antibodies were detected in blood donations collected in December 2019, which means that the virus may have already been spreading in the United States by then, earlier than January 21," Wang Wenbin said Tuesday at a regular press briefing.

"More and more clues, reports and studies have indicated that the infections broke out in multiple places in the world in the latter half of the year 2019."

Analysts are divided about the theory the virus first leaked from the lab in Wuhan.

RELATED COVID-19: WHO investigators visit 2 hospitals in Wuhan