White House climate czar to AP: 

Texas storm ‘a wake-up call’

By MATTHEW DALY


FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2021 file photo, National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy speaks during a press briefing at the White Housein Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The deadly winter storm that caused widespread power outages in Texas and other states is a “wake-up call” for the United States to build energy systems and other infrastructure that are more reliable and resilient in the face of extreme-weather events linked to climate change, President Joe Biden’s national climate adviser says.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gina McCarthy said Friday that the storm that devastated Texas and other states “is not going to be as unusual as people had hoped. It is going to happen, and we need to be as resilient and working together as much as possible. We need systems of energy that are reliable and resilient as well.″

McCarthy said the scientific evidence is clear that more frequent and more dangerous storms are likely, “and if we really care about keeping our people working and keeping our kids healthy and giving them a future we’re proud of, then we’re not going to ignore these wake-up calls. We’re going to take action.

McCarthy’s comments came as Biden and his wife Jill were in Texas to survey damage caused by the storm, which caused millions of homes and business to lose heat and running water. At least 40 people in the state died.

“We need to envision a future and an optimistic way of giving people hope again — that we are building back better,″ she said, using Biden’s slogan for a plan costing at least $2 trillion to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and create clean-energy jobs.

“It is a catchy phrase, but it also is a kind of optimistic rallying cry and I think we ought to heed it,″ McCarthy said.

McCarthy said she expects an “after-action” report on the Texas crisis and ways it can be avoided in the future. Many people were caught in frigid homes that lacked heat for days in subfreezing temperatures.

Texas is not connected to the rest of the nation’s power grid, and McCarthy said the storm may be reason to rethink that.

“You know, now’s not the time for me to be pointing fingers, but clearly the United States has always done best when it’s worked together and relied on one another,″ she said. “And I think Texas might ... have a real opportunity and probably ought to think about making sure they join with their neighbors in an interstate grid system that allows them flexibility, and that helps them help their neighbors when the time comes.″

While Oklahoma, Louisiana and other neighboring states also were hit hard by the storm, they were able to rely on each other, she said.

McCarthy said Biden is committed to an all-of-government response to climate change, which she said was “part and parcel of a strategy to strengthen our economy and grow jobs” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden has set a goal of eliminating pollution from fossil fuel in the power sector by 2035 and from the U.S. economy overall by 2050, speeding what is already a market-driven growth of solar and wind energy and lessening the country’s dependence on oil and gas. The aggressive plan is aimed at slowing human-caused global warming that is magnifying extreme weather events such as the Texas storm and deadly wildfires in the West.

Biden also wants to ensure that efforts to address climate change include “workers that have been left behind” by closed coal mines or power plants, as well as communities located near polluting refineries and other hazards, McCarthy said.

“We’re going to push the clean energy, we’re going to push for better cars, but it’s also going to be about capturing the will of the public to actually face the challenges we’re facing today and meet them in a way that’s going to be beneficial to them,″ she said.

For example, Biden’s plans to provide 500,000 charging stations for electric cars and invest in battery technology are intended to make it easier for the public to participate in a clean-energy economy. “If we can lower that cost, and everybody knows they can get where they need to go when they need to get there” in an electric car, “we’ll get the kind of demand on the auto-sector side that we need,″ she said.

Similarly, if utilities are given the right incentives, they can meet Biden’s goal to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2035, McCarthy said. The head of a lobbying group for electric utilities said earlier this month that the 2035 date would be “an incredibly difficult situation to handle” for most U.S. providers.

While she respects the group and individual utilities, 2035 is Biden’s goal “and I think we will get there,″ McCarthy said.

On coal, McCarthy convened a working group Friday to discuss ways to help communities affected by coal-mine closures and shuttering of coal-fired power plants.

The working group is intended to “bring a high level of representation from every single agency ... to come around the table and start thinking about ways in which we can really address communities that may be having difficult transitions,″ she said.

One idea, endorsed by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, is to ramp up a program to seal and clean abandoned coal mines in his state and across the country. Former coal miners and power plant workers “have a terrific skill set that could be used in the same areas to start closing some of the mines,″ she said. “We can provide significant resources to keep people working in those areas ... and it’s going to reduce methane emissions″ that are now spewing virtually uncontrolled.

Similar challenges exist in the oil and natural gas industry, McCarthy said.

“From a climate perspective, we can address a dangerous problem,″ she said, while also “investing in ways that continue to build up opportunities for workers to work.″

Tribes want Native statue to replace one tied to massacre

By PATTY NIEBERG

February 25, 2021

DENVER (AP) — Months after protesters tore down a statue of a U.S. soldier who took part in the slaughter of Native Americans, tribal members and descendants of those who survived the Civil War-era attack urged Colorado lawmakers on Thursday to replace it with the likeness of an Indigenous woman at the state Capitol.

The new statue would replace the one depicting a Union Army soldier who helped carry out the Sand Creek Massacre of 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in 1864, one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history. It was toppled over the summer amid the national reckoning over racial injustice and the movement to remove symbols from public spaces that are tied to military atrocities against people of color, typically the Confederacy

FILE - In this June 6, 2020 file photo, a demonstrator raises his fist after chaining himself to the Civil War Monument during protests over the death of George Floyd in front of the State Capitol in downtown Denver. On Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, state lawmakers are considering what to put on the pedestal on which the monument stood until it was toppled in late June 2020 The monument, which portrays a Union soldier and was erected in 1909, was targeted during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd before the statue was pulled down by four individuals. On Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, Colorado lawmakers will discuss what to put in place of the statue. . 

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The proposed new bronze statue would depict a young woman sitting on a white flag, wearing a native Cheyenne dress, with her left arm extended. She has cut off her braids and the joint of a finger on her left hand in signs of mourning.

Ryan Ortiz of the Northern Arapaho Tribe testified virtually in favor of the new statue for the Capital Development Committee. He said the massacre is the origin of historical trauma for the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes and that the statue would be a chance to right previous wrongs.

“It’s not very often in history do we have a chance to atone for our ancestors’ mistakes,” Ortiz said.

Otto Braided Hair, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member and descendent of a Sand Creek survivor, has worked on education surrounding the massacre for the last 20 years. He shared details passed down by his great-grandfather.

“He was part of a recovery crew to go down and look for survivors and couldn’t get near the village because the whole valley permeated with burnt bodies,” Braided Hair said. “And so that’s what the soldiers did and the soldier represents for us.”

On November 29, 1864, Col. John Chivington led around 700 U.S. volunteer soldiers to a village of nearly 500 people camped along the banks of Big Sandy Creek. Chivington ordered his men to attack and kill mostly women, children and elderly at the camp. The village had believed they were under the protection of the U.S. Army, and people even approached the unit with white flags.

Over the next two days, the troops shot and hunted fleeing women and children in a 35-square-mile (90-square-kilometer) area. Chivington never faced a trial for his actions.

The Sand Creek Massacre site is tucked away in rural southeastern Colorado and honors the victims

“We should be your neighbors. We should be living amongst you. But we were forced out of the area,” Ortiz said to the committee.

State Rep. Susan Lontine, a Democrat and chairwoman of the Capitol Building Advisory Committee that reviews art, memorials and architectural designs, said she supported the statue after hearing from tribal members.

“We are at a moment of social reckoning, and we have, as a state, our own sins to atone for,” she said.

Lontine, whose committee approved the replacement in November, said the statue’s placement is important to the tribes because after the massacre, soldiers came back to Denver, displaying the victims’ body parts as trophies and ended their parade at the steps of the Colorado Capitol.

“We’re also dealing with Indigenous people to our state who have suffered numerous broken promises, and I feel that the approval of the committee is a step toward a promise to fulfilling and placing their memorial on the Capitol grounds,” Lontine said.

The Capital Development Committee, which is in charge of reviewing funding requests for projects, will deliberate the new statue and make a decision over the next few weeks.
___

Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Pandemic leaves tribes without US recognition at higher risk

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO

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FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2020, file photo, Tony A. (Naschio) Johnson, center, elected chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, plays a drum as he leads tribal members and supporters as they march to the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Wash., as they continue their efforts to regain federal recognition. As COVID-19 disproportionately affects Native American communities, many tribal leaders say the pandemic poses particular risks to tribes without federal recognition. The Chinook Nation received some federal funding through a local nonprofit for small tribes to distribute food to elders and help with electricity bills, tribal Johnson said. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Rachel Lynne Cushman is used to getting calls from Chinook Nation members worried about losing housing or having their power shut off. Since COVID-19 hit, they come in daily.

Cushman is secretary-treasurer for the group of tribes whose rural, ancestral lands are based in one of Washington state’s poorest counties. While they mostly have been spared from the health effects of the coronavirus, the pandemic has taken a significant economic toll.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Cushman said. “But the reality is we don’t have the resources to help.”

Unlike federally recognized tribes, the Chinook Nation doesn’t have a political relationship with the United States, which would make it eligible for federal coronavirus relief funding for state, local and tribal governments. Hundreds of tribes lack the designation, which they say leaves them struggling to help their members and less equipped to combat a pandemic that’s disproportionately affected Native Americans and other people of color.

The 574 federally recognized tribes shared $8 billion from a massive coronavirus relief package approved last March. They have used the money to provide meals, personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, COVID-19 testing, business support, housing relief and more. Another bill that passed in December gives those tribes another year to spend the money and includes funding for vaccines, testing and housing assistance for federally recognized tribes.

The Chinook Nation — consisting of the Lower Chinook, Clatsop, Willapa, Wahkiakum and Kathlamet tribes — received some federal funding through a local nonprofit for small tribes to distribute food to elders and help with electricity bills, tribal council chairman Tony A. (Naschio) Johnson said. But even paired with grants, he said it’s a drop in the bucket.

“It’s completely unfair for our neighbors to get millions of dollars, and for us to get some trickle-down, if anything,” Johnson said. “That’s not to say that other tribes shouldn’t be getting funding; we just need funding, too.”

The path to federal recognition is long, complicated and expensive, requiring deep anthropological and genealogical research and extensive documentation proving that the tribe is distinct from others and has continuously operated since the 1900s. The process can cost millions of dollars.

Five tribes were recognized under the Obama administration and seven tribes under the Trump administration, the latest being the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, according to the Interior Department.

Tribes have received the designation through treaties, acts of Congress or by applying to the Interior Department. With it, tribal land is protected from being sold, their governments are recognized as sovereign, and they share in federal funding for things like public safety, education and health.

The Chinook Nation’s quest for federal recognition started with hiring lawyers to fight for land rights in 1899. The tribe was recognized in 2001, but the status was revoked 18 months later after the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled that it failed to prove it had consistently existed as a tribe through history.

The revocation was traumatic, said Johnson, who cut his hair in a traditional sign of mourning. He said he sometimes looks back at a letter he wrote to his children about the bright future ahead and wants to scream.

They’re still battling for the status and got a boost from a U.S. judge who ruled about a year ago that a ban on the tribe reapplying for federal recognition was unjustified.

Meanwhile, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, a tribe in Los Angeles County without a land base, has raised $2.6 million to build a case. It’s among six tribes based in California, Florida, Michigan and New Mexico whose petitions are being considered by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Five more tribes in Louisiana, North Carolina and California are seeking federal recognition but haven’t completed their paperwork yet.

The Los Angeles-area tribe’s 900 members are facing job losses and food insecurity, tribal President Rudy Ortega said.

The problems are not unlike what federally recognized tribes and others are facing in the pandemic, he said, but his tribe has additional roadblocks to financial help. Grant funding has helped, but applying for the money has become more arduous after 10 tribal government employees were laid off, Ortega said.

“We do the best with what we have, but we wish we had more because we can’t fulfill everyone’s needs on our own,” he said.

The tribe is recognized by California, but that doesn’t guarantee government funding. While it can open access to state funding, state recognition is mostly seen as a stepping stone to federal recognition.

In the meantime, the tribe’s leaders are asking members for help delivering food and donating money for emergency rental assistance, COVID-19 testing and protective equipment. Other than that, much of the tribe’s funding comes from grants and an online store.

Likewise, efforts within the Chinook Nation to combat the pandemic haven’t gone far enough, tribal leaders say. While they have taken strict COVID-19 precautions, including canceling big events and encouraging people to socially distance, there was little to prepare the tribe for the economic effects.

Tribal leaders expanded a distribution system for those most in need and invested in a traditional foods program. They distributed two to five fish per household each week last summer, and processed elk and bear that volunteers offered for tribal refrigerators.

But Johnson, the tribal chairman, said what they need most is federal status and funding, which members have been fighting for through letter-writing efforts and social media campaigns.

“With federal recognition, that’s how we’re going to change the future of our community,” he said.
___

Fernando reported from Chicago. Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed. Both are members of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. Follow Fernando on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christinetfern and Fonseca at https://twitter.com/FonsecaAP.

Amendment would ban ‘servitude’ by California prison inmates

By DON THOMPSON

February 25, 2021

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FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2020, file photo, inmate firefighters - notable by their bright orange fire gear compared to the yellow worn by professional firefighters - prepare to take on the River Fire in Salinas, Calif. California could change its constitutional ban on slavery to remove the words "unless for the punishment of crime," further reducing the state's already faltering dependence on thousands of inmate firefighters, under a proposed amendment backed Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, by local officials and actor-activist Danny Glover. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California relies on thousands of inmates to fight massive wildfires, churn out vehicle license plates, mop prison floors and myriad other tasks — all for wages that rarely top a few dollars a day.

Opponents want to end what they call a visage of slavery. They propose to amend the state Constitution’s ban on indentured servitude to remove an exemption for people who are being punished for crimes.

Prison labor predominantly affects Black and Latino people who make up the majority of inmates, San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney said Thursday. He is asking the Board of Supervisors to become the first to formally back the overhaul proposed by Democratic Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager of Los Angeles.

“Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, California inmates have been forced to work for as low as 8 cents per hour,” he said. “Many have been on the front lines fighting our increasingly dangerous wildfires, earning just $2 to $6 a day.”

California has long depended on inmate firefighters to help battle increasingly monstrous wildfires. But their numbers have dwindled in recent years as the state has eased sentencing laws and shifted more offenders to county custody instead of state prisons.

Along with daily wages of $2.90 to $5.12, depending on skill level, inmate firefighters get an additional $1 an hour when assigned to emergencies, corrections officials said.

The state also depends on inmates to work as cooks, custodians, gardeners and many other roles that keep the prison system running from day to day.

Inmates also work for the Prison Industry Authority, which has produced most of the prison system’s protective equipment during the pandemic along with more traditional products such as vehicle license plates, furniture, road signs, clothing and numerous food products.

Ending such programs “would be devastating to California, especially on the fire crews,” said Nina Salarno, president of Crime Victims United of California. “This law would hurt rehabilitation efforts ... because you are then taking away incentives for inmates to learn skills and trades so they can come back into society and be self-sufficient.”

State officials did not comment on the proposal to end the practice, but the authority promotes the programs as training inmates to be “job ready” upon release. Those inmates “are getting jobs and paying taxes. For every inmate that does not return, taxpayers save money!” it says on its website.

Inmates who apply to work for the authority receive credits toward earlier release, along with the potential for industry certifications in fields such as comoputer coding, welding or metal working. Nearly 4,700 inmates are currently in the program, which has space for more than 6,700 inmates.

They are generally paid 40 cents to $1 an hour, though the limited number who work for private companies while serving their sentences receive industry-comparable wages.

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children executive director Dorsey Nunn, who co-founded the reform group All of Us or None, was sentenced to life in prison when he was 19 then paroled in 1981.

He disputed the benefits of the prison work while arguing that an amendment would do more to promote racial equity and healing than recent efforts to rename schools and tear down statues of controversial figures.

“People actually thought that my rehabilitation was occurring because they were forcing me to work. Actually, involuntary servitude gives work a bad name,” Nunn said. “You can’t volunteer when you’re being forced to do this stuff. Nobody in their right mind in the state of California would take a job if they was paying you 15 cents an hour or seven cents an hour or $2 a day.”

He and other proponents hope a change in the California Constitution would eventually lead to a similar ban in the U.S. Constitution. The state’s current wording dates from 1974 and reads, “Slavery is prohibited. Involuntary servitude is prohibited except to punish crime.”

The proposed amendment would change the wording to, “Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited.”

George Galvis, co-founder of All of Us or None and executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, said there still could be room under the change for prison work and rehabilitation programs leading to jobs.

“The key word is ‘involuntary,’” Galvis said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be employment or vocational programs and opportunities,” but he said inmates should be paid competitively.

The good job-training programs now benefit relatively few of California’s 95,000 inmates, argued Nunn, while “half the people that work in the prison are sweeping, picking up paper and doing other stuff. It’s no great skill being taught and they’re being paid pennies on the day.”

Putting the amendment before voters would take a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Legislature, where Democrats hold such an edge. Proponents noted that similar changes have already been adopted in the more conservative states of Colorado, Nebraska and Utah.

The Abolish Slavery National Network says similar efforts are underway in New Jersey and South Carolina. Changing the U.S. Constitution would take approval from two-thirds of states.

Riverside County Supervisor Manny Perez intends to bring up a resolution supporting the California effort when his board meets March 9. He called inmate labor part of “the lingering legacy of slavery.”

 

Virginia lawmakers vote to legalize marijuana in 2024

By DENISE LAVOIE and SARAH RANKIN59 minutes ago

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Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, left, Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, center and Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, right, confer on marijuana legislation before the floor session of the Virginia Senate, which is meeting inside the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers gave final approval Saturday to a bill that will legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, but not until 2024, when retail sales of the drug would also begin.

With a compromise bill clearing the House and Senate, Virginia becomes the first Southern state to vote to legalize marijuana, joining 15 other states and the District of Columbia. The legislation now goes to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports legalization.

The bill was a top priority for Democrats, who framed legalization as a necessary step to end the disparate treatment of people of color under current marijuana laws. But talks between Democrats in the House and Senate grew tense in recent days, and a compromise version of the massive bill did not emerge publicly until late Saturday afternoon.

“It’s been a lot of work to get here, but I would say that we’re on the path to an equitable law allowing responsible adults to use cannabis,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, the chief sponsor of the Senate bill.

Several Democrats said they hoped Northam would send the legislation back to them with amendments, including speeding up the date for legalization.

“If we have already made the decision that simple possession should be repealed, we could have done that today and ended the disproportionate fines on communities of color,” said Sen. Jennifer McClellan.

“Let’s be absolutely clear — this bill is not legalization, and there are a lot of steps between here and legalization,” she said.

Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said the governor “looks forward to continuing to improve this legislation.”

“There’s still a lot of work ahead, but this bill will help to reinvest in our communities and reduce inequities in our criminal justice system,” she said.

Under the legislation, possession of up to an ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana will become legal beginning Jan. 1, 2024, at the same time sales will begin and regulations will go into effect to control the marijuana marketplace in Virginia.

Under a provision Senate Democrats insisted on, the legislation will include a reenactment clause that will require a second vote from the General Assembly next year, but only on the regulatory framework and criminal penalties for several offenses, including underage use and public consumption of marijuana. A second vote will not be required on legalization.

The Senate had sought to legalize simple possession this year to immediately end punishments for people with small amounts of marijuana, but House Democrats argued that legalization without a legal market for marijuana could promote the growth of the black market.

Lawmakers last year decriminalized marijuana, making simple possession a civil penalty that can be punished by a fine of no more than $25.

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring said that while the legislation isn’t perfect, it was a “justice bill.”

“This moves us in a ... direction to strike down and to address those institutional barriers, and over-policing, over-arrests, over-convictions of African Americans who do not use marijuana at a higher rate than our white counterparts, but we seem to get the brunt of criminal convictions,” Herring said.

A recent study by the legislature’s research and watchdog agency found that from 2010-2019, the average arrest rate of Black individuals for marijuana possession was 3.5 times higher than the arrest rate for white individuals. The study also found that Black people were convicted at a rate 3.9 times higher than white people.

The bill calls for dedicating 30% of marijuana tax revenue — after program costs — to a Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund. The money would be used to help communities that have been historically over-policed for marijuana crimes, with funds going toward scholarships, workforce development and job placement services, and low- or no-interest loans for qualified cannabis businesses.

Virginians who have a marijuana-related conviction, have family members with a conviction, or live in an area that is economically distressed could qualify as social equity applicants who would get preference for licenses to get into the marijuana marketplace as cultivators, wholesalers, processors and retailers.

The largest portion of the tax revenue from marijuana sales would go toward funding pre-K for at-risk kids.

The bill drew sharp criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and and other racial justice advocacy groups.

“Today, the Virginia General Assembly failed to legalize marijuana for racial justice. Lawmakers paid lip service to the communities that have suffered decades of harm caused by the racist War on Drugs with legislation that falls short of equitable reform and delays justice,” the ACLU said in a tweet.

Groups that opposed legalization entirely have said they are concerned that it could result in an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes and the use of marijuana among youth.

Republican lawmakers spoke against the measure Saturday night, saying such a critical issue deserved a less rushed approach.

“I would say there are not more than two or three members of this body that have a clue about the comprehensiveness of what this bill does,” said Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment.

Invading retrovirus linked to high rates of lymphoma, leukemia among koalas


A novel retrovirus is rapidly rewriting the koala genome, and researchers say it is causing high numbers of cancers in the animals. File Photo by Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A novel retrovirus is rapidly rewriting the koala genome, and new research -- published Friday in the journal Nature Communications -- suggests the virus, known as the koala retrovirus, or KoRV, is responsible for elevated rates of lymphoma, leukemia and other cancers among northern Australia's koala population.

Like HIV and other retroviruses, KoRV makes copies and inserts its DNA into the host's genome. These mutations can cause health problems.

The genomes of almost all animals, including humans, contain the remnants of past "germ line" infections. Because most of these infections -- identified by degraded viral fragments -- occurred millions of years ago, figuring out how they might have impacted animal health is near impossible.

Koalas, on the other hand, have provided scientists the opportunity to study a retrovirus invasion in real-time.

In Australia and New Zealand, koalas are regularly attacked by dogs and hit by cars. As a result, large numbers of koalas are rescued and rehabilitated -- and tested for diseases.

"The koalas undergo thorough diagnostic procedures under general anaesthetic performed by experienced wildlife veterinarians which allows diagnosis of tumors or cancer," lead study author Gayle McEwen, scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, told UPI in an email.

As a result of this practice, cancer rates among koalas are well documented. Captive and rescued koalas are also regularly tested for KoRV.

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Because retroviruses have been shown to cause cancer in other animals, researchers hypothesized that KoRV was to blame for elevated cancer rates in koalas.

To confirm the connection, researchers sequenced DNA from wild koalas diagnosed with cancer. Genomic analysis revealed the locations where KoRV had inserted its DNA.

By comparing retrovirus insertion sites between healthy koalas and koalas with cancer, as well as genetic differences between healthy and tumor tissues in individual koalas, researchers identified a strong correlation between KoRV mutations and genes causing cancers common among koalas.

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When comparing the genomes of different koalas, researchers found KoRV insertion sites varied dramatically. Among the genomes of humans and other animals, the signatures of ancient germ line infection are mostly found in the same places in any two individuals.

"Over time, endogenous retroviruses accumulate mutations and become degraded and so there will be fewer re-integration events and only some specific integrations will remain in the population until eventually all individuals in the population have integrations at the same loci -- ones which don't have a highly deleterious effect," McEwen said.

The diversity of KoRV mutations found in koala genomes confirmed the retrovirus infection is still in its earliest stages. That's bad news for koalas.

"The constant generation of new integrations increases the likelihood that they will land someplace harmful, such as in oncogenes," co-author Alex Greenwood, professor of wildlife diseases at Leibniz-IZW, told UPI.

An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer.

Despite the diversity of KoRV insertion sites revealed by the latest analysis, researchers were surprised to find that KoRV mutations were concentrated around certain hotspots.

The proteins that guide the viral DNA insertion process seem to prefer certain sequences in a host's genome.

"Many of the genes that are hotspots are very active -- meaning the DNA tends to be 'open' and accessible," Greenwood said.

Unfortunately, some of the more open, or active, sites on the genome are those that host large concentrations of genes related to cell proliferation.

Because KoRV mutations can affect germ line cells, they can rapidly spread through animal populations."With a normal germ line mutation, there is a 50:50 chance that it will be passed on to offspring from the parent carrying that mutation. However, with KoRV, it can frequently generate new integrations in individuals," McEwen said.

"As multiple KoRV integrations build up, then the chance of any progeny inheriting at least one endogenous KoRV integration from an affected parent becomes more than 50 percent, and this will continue to rise with further integrations," McEwen said.

The findings help explain how rapidly spreading germ line infections by retroviruses can aid the proliferation of serious health problems.

The scientists said they hope to gain further insights into the spread of KoRV mutations and their health affects by analyzing the genomes of groups of koalas living on islands, where they've separated from larger population.

They also plan to study the links between KoRV mutations and other koala disease, including chronic chlamydia and wasting disease.

upi.com/7078588

Seal rescued after crossing Canadian highway


A seal was given a ride back to the ocean in Prince Edward Island, Canada, after the animal was spotted crossing a highway and heading into a field in the opposite direction from the water. Photo courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Police in Canada's Prince Edward Island said they wrangled a loose seal for the second time in a week after one of the animals was spotted crossing a highway.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Prince Edward Island said officers stationed in the Queens district were called out Tuesday on a report of a seal pup crossing a highway near Fairview and headed toward a field, in the opposite direction from the water.
A member of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans joined in the search, and the team used a snowmobile and a drone to locate the wandering seal.

The seal was loaded onto the snowmobile and taken back to the road, where a Department of Fisheries and Oceans vehicle was waiting to transport the animal to the north shore for release.

The rescue came only days after a seal was found wandering down a sidewalk in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, about a half-mile away from the nearest water. That seal also was given a ride back to the shore and released.

Oregon man encounters extremely rare fox in parking lot




Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An Oregon man captured photos of his unusual encounter with an extremely rare animal: a Sierra Nevada red fox.

Alan Miles, of Bend, said he was in the parking lot of Skyliner in Mount Bachelor when he saw another person taking photos of an animal.

"I saw a lady taking a photo of this animal on the hill, looked up and it was this very unusual animal -- it was not a dog -- and just thought it was real special," Miles told KTVZ-TV.

Wildlife experts reviewed Miles' photos and identified the animal as a Sierra Nevada red fox. The species is considered extremely rare, with fewer than 50 believed to exist in the wild in California.

The Oregon Department of Fish And Wildlife said the species was first confirmed to be living in Oregon in 2015.

"Very little is known about the Sierra Nevada red fox," Fish and Wildlife biologist Jamie Bowles said. "We haven't taken a look yet at population size estimates or density in our area."

The photos that Miles snapped show an animal that has mostly black fur, with white at the end of its tail and on its paws.

"So it is a misnomer, their name, the Sierra Nevada red fox," Bowles said. "We actually see a lot more of the darker-coated foxes here in Central Oregon, specifically in the higher elevations."

Iceberg size of Los Angeles breaks off from Antarctica


Image of the North Rift crack on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica in January leading to an iceberg as large as Los Angeles on Friday. Photo by Andy Van Kints/British Antarctic Society

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An iceberg the size of Los Angeles broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Friday, but chances of it moving a significant distance or running aground are still unknown, according to the British Antarctic Survey.

The iceberg had been slowly breaking away from the Brunt Ice Shelf, a nearly 500-foot-thick floating ice shelf, at about a half-mile per day since January as it pushed northeast. That crack widened several hundred feet in a matter of hours Friday before completely breaking free.

The iceberg covers from 469 to 503 square miles, roughly the size of California's largest city and slightly bigger than New York City's 468 square miles.

Jane Francis, director of the British Antarctic Survey said her team had been monitoring the ice shelf daily using an automated network of high-precision GPS instruments that surround its Halley Research Station. The devices measure how the ice shelf was deforming and moving.

The team also used satellite images from the European Space Agency and NASA along with the German satellite TerraSAR-X.

"Our teams at BAS have been prepared for the calving of an iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf for years," Francis said in a statement. "Over the coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away; or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf."

The research station is located inland from all the active chasms and remains connected to the continent. She said their instruments would give them early warning if a new iceberg creates any changes around the station.

Simon Garrod, director of operations at British Antarctic Survey said the team moved the station inland to make sure it would not be carried away when an iceberg eventually formed.

"That was a wise decision," Garrod said. "Our job now is to keep a close eye on the situation and assess any potential impact of the present calving on the remaining ice shelf. We continuously review our contingency plans to ensure the safety of our staff, protect our research station, and maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley."

Study: Social media users behave a lot like animals searching for food


New research suggests that the addictive quality of likes and comments on social media is similar to the response of rats and mice seeking food rewards for completing tasks. Photo by rawpixel/Pixabay


Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Is that an influencer or a lab rat? New research suggests the two have more in common than one might think.

According to a new paper, published Friday in the journal Nature Communications, the quest for affirmation in the form of likes and followers on major social media platforms follows a pattern of "reward learning" -- a phenomenon typically used to describe animals seeking out food rewards.

"These results establish that social media engagement follows basic, cross-species principles of reward learning," study co-author David Amodio said in a news release.

"These findings may help us understand why social media comes to dominate daily life for many people and provide clues, borrowed from research on reward learning and addiction, to how troubling online engagement may be addressed," said Amodio, a professor at New York University and the University of Amsterdam.

The world has never been more online and, increasingly, human interactions are mediated by social media platforms.

Critics have complained that social media platforms encourage addictive behavior, compelling users to seek out online engagement and affirmation, while forgoing healthy in-person interaction.

The use of social media has inspired hundreds of studies and social science experiments, but what exactly drives addict-like behavior remains unclear.

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For the latest study, researchers analyzed the posting patterns of some 4,000 users on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Specifically, scientists looked at the temporal spacing of more than 1 million posts.

The analysis showed users post more often when the likes are flowing. When affirmation is harder to come by and the likes dry up, users post less frequently.

Researchers used computer models to compare the behavior of social media users to animals seeking food rewards.

The models revealed strong parallels between social media engagement and the behavioral patterns of rats inside a Skinner Box, an experimental container in which animals perform actions, like pressing various levers, to receive food rewards.

In separate experiments, researchers had volunteers post memes on an Instagram-like platform. As predicted, the users posted more often when they received more likes.

"Our findings can help lead to a better understanding of why social media dominates so many people's daily lives and can also provide leads for ways of tackling excessive online behavior," said lead author Bjorn Lindstrom, assistant professor of behavioral psychology at the University of Amsterdam.