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More than 2M sign up under ACA special enrollment period

July 14 (UPI) -- More than 2 million people have signed up for health insurance during the Affordable Care Act's special enrollment period so far this year, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said that as of the start of the special enrollment period, Feb. 15, more than 1.5 million people signed up through the HealthCare.gov website, while another 600,000 signed up through state-run marketplaces.

Within a month of his inauguration, President Joe Biden launched the special enrollment period to allow Americans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to gain access to health coverage. The extension was paid for under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

Open enrollment is typically limited to a 45-day window each November and December, or during certain life changes, such as a move, job change or birth of a child.

RELATED Out-of-work Americans can now receive aid to pay for ACA health coverage

In addition to the enrollment extension, the American Rescue Plan provided enhanced subsidies for those who receive health coverage under the ACA.

"Let's be clear -- the monthly Marketplace numbers show that across the country, there's a demand for high-quality, low-cost health coverage," said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

"And month after month, we are reminded that the Biden-Harris Administration is fulfilling its promise to deliver access to quality, affordable health coverage by strengthening the Affordable Care Act and pushing its Build Back Better Agenda."

RELATED Supreme Court declines to hear bid by insurers to recoup ACA payments

The special enrollment period and enhanced subsidies are expected to run through Aug. 15, though CNN cited administration officials as saying they're looking to extend it further.

North Korea warns of heat wave's impact on crops



North Korea urged citizens to prepare for a “stronger heat wave” Friday. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo


July 16 (UPI) -- North Korea could be taking preventative measures against climate change by planting more trees and protecting crops from extreme heat as temperatures soar to record highs on the peninsula.

Korean Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun said Friday that preventing crop damage from heat waves is a "struggle to protect the lives and safety of the people."

"Party organizations at all levels inform us that a stronger heat wave is expected to affect our nation next week," the paper said. "Preventing damage is an important political project for the realization of decisions made at the [Eighth] Party Congress."

The Rodong is urging the country to prepare for extreme weather only days after North Korea's chairman of the State Planning Commission said in a report to the United Nations that "severe natural disasters hit the country every year" amid a worsening food situation.

The Party paper said Friday that workers must focus on "finding a water source" and then mobilize "all means of transportation" to water crops.

Last year, North Korea said typhoons and ensuing floods wiped out crops. The regime could be responding with tree planting initiatives.

Propaganda service Meari said Thursday that a "unique forestation" initiative was taking place in the city of Samjiyon in Yanggang Province. Birch, cypress and clove trees have been planted in the area that state media said was the "standard and exemplar" of a "modern mountain city."

The Rodong reported in a separate article that various North Korean work units, including the Mangyongdae District Agricultural Machinery Workshop and the Ryusonamsae cooperative farm, were recognized for their "reforestation" efforts.

North Korea underwent a period of deforestation during the Great Famine of the '90s. Defectors in the South have said energy shortages forced people to burn wood for fuel.

Unsustainable clearing of forests also contributed to deforestation amid the food shortage, according to analysts.

Jury orders Walmart to pay $125 million in EEOC lawsuit



The exterior of a Walmart store in Salinas, Calif. Walmart was ordered Friday to pay more than $125 million in a disability lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Photo by Ken Wolter/Shutterstock


July 16 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin jury ordered Walmart to pay $125.15 million on three claims of disability discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday, but the retailer is disputing the amount.

The jury found that Walmart failed to accommodate Marlo Spaeth, who has Down syndrome, in 2015 when they changed her scheduled and she struggled to adjust. Walmart fired her instead of returning her to a schedule she was able to work, the EEOC said.

The jury awarded Spaeth $150,000 in compensatory damages and $125 million in punitive damages.

"The substantial jury verdict in this case sends a strong message to employers that disability discrimination is unacceptable in our nation's workplaces," EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows said in a statement. "All of those who come forward to ensure the right to a workplace free of discrimination do a service to our nation."

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove told CNBC the company tried to resolve the matter with the EEOC but their requirements "were unreasonable." Hargrove said the company was trying to decide what options it has.

Hargrove said that, according to the EEOC's website, the limit for such payouts is $300,000 for companies like Walmart, and he expects the jury reward to be reduced.

Amnesty report says Libyan refugees subject to violence when forced to return

Libyans have been fleeing their country in droves, risking their lives to seek better living conditions in Europe. The International Organization for Migration says around 900 migrants have died this year in transit. File Photo by Javier Martin/EPA-EFE


July 15 (UPI) -- Amnesty International released a report Thursday detailing alleged abuses Libyans are subjected to when being forcibly returned.

The 50-page report, titled "No One Will Look For You," focuses on refugees being forcibly returned to Libya after fleeing to Europe.

The report found that those being held at detention centers within Libya faced systematic abuse, including rape.

"This horrifying report sheds new light on the suffering of people intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, where they are immediately funneled into arbitrary detention and systematically subjected to torture, sexual violence, forced labor and other exploitation with total impunity," Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

The report describes systematic rape of women in the camps by guards and withholding of necessary items, such as food, for sexual favors.

"Former detainees there said that guards raped women and some were coerced into sex in exchange for their release or for essentials such as clean water," the organization said in a statement.

Men and boys have also reported being subjected to sexual abuse, the report said.

Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have advocated for the worst of Libya's facilities to be closed.

Instead, Libya is adding two more such detention camps while hundreds have gone missing from the existing camps. Eltahawy said the Libyan government is not taking the issue seriously.

"Meanwhile, Libyan authorities have rewarded those reasonably suspected of committing such violations with positions of power and higher ranks, meaning that we risk seeing the same horrors reproduced again and again," Eltahawy added.

Amnesty is advocating for European powers to curb military assistance to Libya. Italy is scheduled to discuss the issue next week in parliament.

Thursday's report focused on the stories of 53 Libyan refugees who were detained. Of those, 49 were plucked directly from rafts in the sea, it said.

Through those individual stories, Amnesty found that detention centers in Libya are rife with abuse. In 2020, hundreds of refugees there were even directed to an informal detention center run by a militia.

Another infamous center, Tajoura, was closed in 2019 after 53 detainees died in an airstrike. That center was "notorious for torture and other ill-treatment," the report said.

Amnesty also included information about Libyan children who have been coerced into military service.

Libyans have been fleeing the country in droves, risking their lives to seek better living conditions in Europe.

The International Organization for Migration maintained numbers showing around 900 migrants have died this year in transit. In early July, a boat sank off the coast of Tunisia, killing 43 refugees. In January, a boat with 265 Libyan refugees was rescued off the coast of Sicily.

The U.S. State Department recently noted that trafficking increased in the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protester rushed to hospital after clash at South Korea THAAD site


Anti-THAAD activists in Seongju, South Korea, have clashed with local police officers several times this year, according to reports. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

July 15 (UPI) -- A South Korean protester collapsed and was transferred to a nearby hospital during a military delivery to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju on Thursday.

South Korea's military and U.S. Forces Korea had begun to deliver equipment to the base at 6 a.m., when they were confronted by more than 40 protesters, including local residents, Newsis reported.

Anti-THAAD rallies have recurred in the area since the deliveries began in May. Seoul made multiple deliveries in May and June, typically early in the morning. Protesters often attempt to block trucks from gaining entry to the base.

Activists who claimed the THAAD site illegal chanted slogans Thursday, urging the shuttering of the base and calling for the withdrawal of police, Yonhap reported.

Police officers created a line to maintain order on roads and used loudspeakers to call on protesters to disband. When the group refused to disperse, officers began to physically push people out of the way about 6:50 a.m. One protester fell and was taken away in an ambulance.

U.S. Forces Korea and local military officers secured the road at 7:25 a.m., and the deliveries were brought in on 10 trucks, according to reports.

Protesters who spoke to Newsis said that police threatened to arrest them if they did not voluntarily leave the premises.

More than 800 officers were deployed to the site Thursday. The activists previously raised concerns about the large police force deployment.

The more police there are, the more severe the human rights violations at Soseong-ri, activists said in June.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command said last month that it is seeking to upgrade defenses on the Korean Peninsula.

Improving Patriot and THAAD interoperability and bringing a Patriot launch-on-remote capability are "developments efforts associated with U.S. Forces Korea," Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler said in a statement to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

The United States and South Korea agreed to deploy THAAD in 2016 in response to North Korean missile threats.

Family of deceased South Korean university janitor rejects school-led probe


South Korea’s Confederation of Trade Unions said a woman who died on the campus of Seoul National University was bullIed on the job. File Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE


July 15 (UPI) -- The family of a South Korean janitor who died during her shift on the campus of Seoul National University said they do not want the school's human rights center to lead an investigation into her death, citing the school's abusive labor practices.

The statement comes after a local network reported the woman was forced to collect garbage at a multi-story campus dormitory building without an elevator amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Thursday that the family of the unidentified woman rejects Seoul National University's involvement into her death, News 1 reported.

Family members told the South Korean news service that officials who accused them of "playing victim" had been appointed to investigate. One official, Koo Min-gyo, dean of students, resigned Monday, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun.

The woman, reportedly in her 50s, was found dead in a staff rest area June 26.

KCTU said last week during a rally that the victim was subjected to "workplace bullying, military-style work orders" and a heavy workload, according to the Korea Times.

The woman's supervisor forced her and other janitors to take written tests to quiz them on the buildings where they worked, the group said.

"He then publicized each employee's results and publicly shamed them," KCTU said.

Local news network JTBC reported Wednesday that surveillance camera footage from the dormitory shows the woman climbing up and down the building, carrying out dozens of 100-liter garbage bags filled with trash.

KCTU has said garbage at the dormitory grew exponentially during the pandemic, as students avoided leaving their rooms and ordered food. The woman may have carried out a ton of trash in the past year while working alone, according to local estimates.

The woman's husband told JTBC that he found her collapsed on a blanket on the floor.

"How hard it must have been," he said. "There was an uneaten cup of ramen noodles next to her."

Biden to restore protections to Alaska's Tongass National Forest


The Biden administration order would still allow Alaskan Natives and small-scale operations to continue logging in Tongass National Forest. File Photo by Brock Martin/U.S. Forest Service

July 15 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to reverse a Trump-era move to open up Alaska's Tongass National Forest for logging and other business operations.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the USDA will restore protections to the United States' largest old-growth forest as part of a $25 million strategy to conserve natural resources in Alaska.

"We look forward to meaningful consultation with tribal governments and Alaska Native corporations, and engaging with local communities, partners, and the State to prioritize management and investments in the region that reflect a holistic approach to the diverse values present in the region," Vilsack said.

"This approach will help us chart the path to long-term economic opportunities that are sustainable and reflect Southeast Alaska's rich cultural heritage and magnificent natural resources."

Former President Donald Trump's 2020 order lifted the "roadless" rule for the forest, which barred road-building and logging on the 16.7 million acres of public lands. It opened the land to potential logging, mining and timber harvesting.

Critics of the Trump order said logging in the forest would push global warming.

Under the new proposal, Alaska Natives and small-scale operators would still be allowed to harvest some of the more valuable old-growth trees.

Dutch queen and robot open 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam

A steel 3D-printed pedestrian bridge spans a canal in the heart of the red light district in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, July 15, 2021. The distinctive flowing lines of the 12-meter (40-foot) bridge were created using a 3D printing technique called wire and arc additive manufacturing that combines robotics with welding. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch Queen Maxima teamed up with a small robot Thursday to unveil a steel 3D-printed pedestrian bridge over a canal in the heart of Amsterdam’s red light district.

Maxima pushed a green button that set the robot’s arm in motion to cut a ribbon across the bridge with a pair of scissors.

The distinctive flowing lines of the 12-meter (40-foot) bridge were created using a 3D printing technique called wire and arc additive manufacturing that combines robotics with welding.

Tim Geurtjens, of the company MX3D, said the bridge showcases the possibilities of the technology.

“If you want to have a really highly decorated bridge or really aesthetic bridge, suddenly it becomes a good option to print it,” he said. “Because it’s not just about making things cheaper and more efficient for us, it’s about giving architects and designers a new tool — a new very cool tool — in which they can rethink the design of their architecture and their designs.”

The 6-ton structure will be loaded with sensors that researchers at Imperial College London will use to monitor the bridge in real time and gauge how it reacts to being used by pedestrians.

It will remain in place for two years while the bridge that previously spanned the canal is renovated.

Micha Mos, a councillor at Amsterdam municipality, said the bridge could help bring in new tourists as the the city seeks to clean up a neighborhood known for seedy clubs and noisy stag parties.

“This may attract a new kind of visitor, one who is more interested in architecture and design, which will help change the way the neighborhood is perceived as more of something you want to visit but visit respectfully than it has been over the few last decades,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Mike Corder contributed from The Hague.

First 3D-printed bridge opens to public in Amsterdam


Queen Máxima of the Netherlands crosses the 3D printed bridge. Photo courtesy of MX3D.

July 15 (UPI) -- The world's first 3D printed bridge was unveiled in Amsterdam's Red Light District on Thursday.

The bridge -- weighing just over 9,900 pounds -- was created by torch-wielding robotic arms that welded the structure.

It was later transported to the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in central Amsterdam, where it was constructed and opened to bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands opened the bridge by operating a scissor-wielding robot to cut a ribbon.

The project began seven years ago by Dutch company MX3D is also under the research umbrella of Imperial College London.

"A 3D-printed metal structure large and strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic has never been constructed before," Imperial co-contributor professor Leroy Gardner said according to IET. "We have tested and simulated the structure and its components throughout the printing process and upon its completion and it's fantastic to see it finally open to the public."

The structure was not only built to show off the new technology, it will also serve as a lab to Imperial College London researchers.

A computer model of the bridge will be combined with real-world information about traffic and regular analysis to monitor the bridge's health.

The bridge performance will be studied to determine how 3D-printed steel reacts over time. The Alan Turing Institute will lead the research program.

"3D printing is poised to become a major technology in engineering and we need to develop appropriate approaches for testing and monitoring to realize its full potential," Turing Institute Prof. Mark Girolami said, according to IET. "When we couple 3D printing with digital twin technology, we can then accelerate the infrastructure design process, ensuring that we design optimal and efficient structures with respect to environmental impact, architectural freedom and manufacturing costs."

Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy announced it was developing 3D printing technology for structural metals involved in vessel construction.

"MX3D kicked off this project in 2015 when it proposed printing a metal bridge with its innovative large-scale, #robotic #3Dprinting technology, creating a playful, inspiring example of how digital tools can create a new form language for architectural objects," MX3D said on Facebook.

Don’t look up! Bangkok’s slitherers keep snake catchers busy



In this image made from video, a firefighter tries to capture a python in the Benjasiri Park in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Bangkok parkgoers looking for relief from renewed coronavirus restrictions got a slithering surprise Thursday when a python as long as two of the Thai capital's ubiquitous motorbikes was spotted in one of the popular green space. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)

BANGKOK (AP) — Bangkok parkgoers looking for relief from renewed coronavirus restrictions got a slithering surprise Thursday when a python as long as two of the Thai capital’s ubiquitous motorbikes was spotted in one of the city’s most popular green spaces.

The reticulated python was only the latest big serpent to turn up in the dense center of Bangkok, where urban sprawl eating into natural habitats has been blamed for a rise in snake sightings in recent years.

This one was found in Benjasiri Park, which is flanked by towering hotels, apartment buildings and several high-end shopping malls now largely off limits due to restrictions put in place this week to stem a surge in virus cases. The curbs have shuttered non-essential businesses and limited restaurants to takeout only, leaving parks among the few public places still open.

As parents pushed strollers and joggers rounded a nearby running path, firefighters called in to corral the snake started by trying to capture it with a ladder from the ground up.

The python plotted its escape by heading out on a limb, bound for a building on the edge of the park that houses the World Fellowship of Buddhists.

Other firefighters were waiting for it on the roof of the building. While one used a stick to grab the python by the neck, another man tried to cut the branch it was on. They soon coaxed it into a sack, tied up the bag, and carried it away.

Firefighter Somchai Yoosabai said the snake measured 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long and weighed about 35 kilograms (77 pounds).

Bangkok firefighters typically get thousands of snake-removal calls each year. Yoosabai said his department alone has caught a snake or two a day during the current rainy season, mostly in neighborhoods or houses with pets.

In this image made from video, firefighters display a reticulated python captured in Benjasiri Park in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Bangkok parkgoers looking for relief from renewed coronavirus restrictions got a slithering surprise Thursday when a python as long as two of the Thai capital’s ubiquitous motorbikes was spotted in one of the popular green space. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)

As coronavirus cases rise, so do the risks.

“If any houses ... have COVID-19 cases, we have to go to catch the snakes anyway,” he said. “Plus, wherever we go to catch a snake, the crowd is always there. We cannot avoid that.”

Thailand reported 9,186 new virus cases, including a record high 98 deaths, on Thursday.

Reticulated pythons are found throughout Southeast Asia, and are some of the largest snakes in the world. They hunt by coiling their body around their prey, typically small mammals and birds, thought they have been known to occasionally attack humans.

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Associated Press writer Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul contributed to this report.

Air cargo company that ditched plane off Hawaii is grounded

By The Associated Press

In this July 8, 2021 image from video provided by Sea Engineering, Inc. via the National Transportation Safety Board, the jet cabin from Transair Flight 810 rests on the Pacific Ocean floor off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii. The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday, July 16, that it will bar Rhoades Aviation of Honolulu from flying or doing maintenance inspections until it meets FAA regulations. The decision to ground the carrier, which operates as Transair, is separate from the investigation into the July 2 ditching of a Boeing 737, the FAA said. (Sea Engineering, Inc./NTSB via AP)

A cargo airline whose plane ditched into the ocean off Hawaii has been grounded after investigators looked into the company’s safety practices before the accident.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it will bar Rhoades Aviation of Honolulu from flying or doing maintenance inspections until it meets FAA regulations.

The agency did not detail Rhoades’ alleged shortcomings. The company did not immediately respond to phone and email messages for comment.

The decision to ground the carrier, which operates as Transair, is separate from the investigation into the July 2 ditching of a Boeing 737, the FAA said. Two pilots were rescued by the Coast Guard after the nighttime crash.

The company had one plane still in operation this week, a Boeing 737-200 like the one that crashed.

The FAA said it began investigating Rhoades Aviation’s maintenance and safety practices last fall and told the company about two weeks before the crash that it planned to revoke its authority to do maintenance inspections. The company did not appeal the FAA’s decision within the 30 days as required if it wanted the case reconsidered, the FAA said.

The pilots attempted to turn back to Honolulu after telling an air traffic controller that they had lost power in one engine and feared that the other engine on the 46-year-old plane would also fail. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board found the wreckage of the plane but have not yet recovered the data recorders that could hold clues about what caused the plane to go down.

ADDS ADDITIONAL SOURCE INFORMATION - In this Wednesday, July 7, 2021, image from video provided by Sea Engineering, Inc. via the National Transportation Safety Board, the jet body from Transair Flight 810 rests on the Pacific Ocean floor off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii. The NTSB located the aircraft on the Pacific Ocean floor approximately 2 miles from Ewa Beach. The fuselage split into 2 sections, breaking just forward of the wings. On July 2, the pilots of the Transair Flight 810 reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the Boeing 737 in the water, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. (Sea Engineering, Inc./NTSB via AP)